Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of Rust with a prop gun, a half-dozen camera crew workers walked off the set to protest working conditions.
The camera operators and their assistants were frustrated by the conditions surrounding the low-budget film, including complaints about long hours, long commutes and collecting their paychecks, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
Safety protocols standard in the industry, including gun inspections, were not strictly followed on the Rust set near Santa Fe, the sources said. They said at least one of the camera operators complained last weekend to a production manager about gun safety on the set.
Three crew members who were present at the Bonanza Creek Ranch set that day said they were particularly concerned about two accidental prop gun discharges on Saturday.
Baldwins stunt-double accidentally fired two rounds Saturday after being told that the gun was cold lingo for a weapon that doesnt have any ammunition, including blanks, two crew members who witnessed the episode told the Los Angeles Times.
There should have been an investigation into what happened, said the crew member. There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldnt happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.
A colleague was so alarmed by the prop gun misfires he sent a text message to the unit production manager. Weve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe, according to a copy of the message reviewed by the Times.
The cinematographer who was accidentally killed, Halyna Hutchins, had been advocating for safer conditions for her team, said one crew member who was on the set and was tearful when the camera crew left.
She said, I feel like Im losing my best friends, recalled one of the workers.
As the camera crew members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees spent about an hour assembling their gear at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, several nonunion crew members showed up to replace them, two of the knowledgeable people said.
One of the producers ordered the union members to leave the set and threatened to call security to remove them if they didnt leave voluntarily.
Corners were being cut and they brought in nonunion people so they could continue shooting, the knowledgeable person said.
The shooting occurred about six hours after the union camera crew left.