Hollywood vigil honoring Baldwin shooting victim

Friends and colleagues of Halyna Hutchins gathered on Sunday night in Burbank, near Los Angeles, for a vigil in honor of the cinematographer who was shot to death with a prop pistol fired by Alec Baldwin during a shoot.

Sadness and anger dominated the atmosphere in Burbank, a neighboring city to Los Angeles, home to many film and television studios. Participants wondered how this tragedy could have happened.

“I had the pleasure of working with Halyna,” said actress Sharol Leal. “She was a wonderful woman and … we are so shocked,” added the interpreter.

Halyna Hutchins was shot to the torso Thursday when Baldwin fired a pistol used as props in the western Rust, according to a preliminary investigation report accessed by the AFP.

The director, Joel Souza, 48, who was crouched behind her while lining up a shot, was injured, hospitalized and later released.

The tragedy has sparked an increase in calls to ban the use of real firearms on Hollywood sets.

On Sunday night, a petition on the change.org website calling for a ban on real firearms from filming and improving working conditions for film crews gathered more than 22,000 signatures.

“There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century,” says the text of the petition launched by Bandar Albuliwi, screenwriter and director.

“It is urgent to address the alarming abuses (of labor laws) and safety violations that take place on film sets, such as unnecessary high-risk conditions and the use of real firearms,” ​​said Dave Cortese, elected Democrat. to the California Senate in a statement Saturday.

“I intend to introduce a bill that prohibits live bullets in filming in California to prevent this type of senseless violence,” he said.

The hit crime series The Rookie, whose plot takes place in Los Angeles, decided the day after the incident to ban all live ammunition on its movie set, a measure that became effective immediately, according to the specialized magazine The Hollywood Reporter.

“As of today, it is registered in The Rookie that any shot from a firearm on the set will be made with firearms. airsoft (fictional), with artificial flames coming out of the canon added in post-production, ”series producer Alexei Hawley announced to his teams.

– “Cold” weapon –

The investigation continues into the role of the specialist in charge of the film’s gun, 24-year-old Hannah Gutiérrez Reed. The young woman was in charge of preparing the pistol, which she had placed in a cart with two other weapons.

The assistant director, Dave Halls, recognized as a seasoned professional, handed this pistol to Baldwin during a rehearsal for a scene in the film, informing him that it was “cold”, meaning not loaded with a real bullet in movie jargon.

Halls “had no idea the gun was loaded with live ammunition,” said a deputy with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

After the shooting, Gutiérrez Reed received the pistol and collected the used cartridge, before turning it over to police upon arrival, according to the report.

The NBC News He said Sunday that Halls’ reputation will take a major hit for allowing unsafe practices to take place during filming.

“It didn’t create a safe working environment,” Maggie Goll, a prop designer who worked with Halls, told the news channel, citing mostly the blocking of emergency exits or the lack of safety meetings.

No indictment has yet been announced in this case, but the accidental thesis seems to prevail. Baldwin is at large after being questioned.

A judge issued a search warrant authorizing law enforcement to seize equipment related to the shooting, as well as weapons and ammunition used as props, and clothing worn by the actor and the rest of the crew during the incident.

Proof of the excitement aroused, a fundraising campaign launched by the Cinematographers Guild for Halyna Hutchins’ family topped $ 180,000 on Sunday morning, well above the initial goal of $ 10,000. (I)