On Oct. 21, Alec Baldwin fired a Colt .45 revolver while on set in Arizona filming the movie “Rust.” Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was struck in the chest and died. Beyond that, not much is clear.
The well-publicized incident happened on location at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, Arizona. Approximately 200 employees worked on the set.
On Thursday, the New York Post reported that script supervisor Mamie Mitchell alleges the weapon’s firing was intentional.
“Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired a loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell has retained the famed Gloria Allred, known for gravitating toward high-profile cases, as her attorney. Allred and Mitchel filed a suit against Baldwin and the movie’s producers yesterday.
According to MSN, Mitchell is seeking damages for “assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
The lawsuit claims the Oct. 21 shooting was intentional and the set was unsafe.
According to the New York Post, Mitchell is seeking an “unspecified amount for loss of future earnings, special and general damages, attorneys fees and punitive damages.”
At a press conference on Nov. 17, Allred quoted a camera operator as warning a production manager via text: “This is super unsafe.”
With a characteristic dramatic flair, the New York Post reports that at Wednesday’s press conference, Allred indicated that “every safety protocol designed to ensure safety with a firearm on set was ignored, such as the presence of live ammunition on set, and that ‘actions that were taken’ that day ‘were against all industry norms.’”
In the 30-page complaint, Mitchell states, “I relive the shooting and sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again.”
“I am depressed. I don’t feel safe,” Mitchell continued. “I feel that at any moment anything could happen to me and to those that I care about that are standing close to me.”
“I do not have a sense of guardrails in my life to keep me safe,” she added. “I’m frightened of the future. This violent tragedy has taken away the joy in my life.”
The Conservative Brief notes that in the legal complaint, Mitchell states that Baldwin must claim responsibility for the tragedy. The complaint states that as an industry veteran, Baldwin 1) should have known that a prop master or an armorer is the only person authorized to hand him a gun, and 2) should have known that he could not rely on the assistant director’s representation that it was a “cold gun.”
“Mr. Baldwin cannot hide behind the Assistant Director to attempt to excuse the fact that he did not check the gun himself,” the complaint reads.
The Brief report also notes that Mitchell’s legal filing follows a suit filed last week by Serge Svetnoy, the key gaffer on the movie set. Svetnoy’s suit notes that the scene Baldwin was rehearsing did not require the firing of a weapon.
The armorer for the movie, Hanna Gutierrez-Reed, is also named as a defendant in the suit.
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