The investigators of an accidental shooting on the set of ‘Rust’ on October 21 said that Halls has admitted that he failed to properly check a gun before handing it to Alec Baldwin.
As a result, Baldwin fired that gun while rehearsing a scene, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the director.
But new reports are coming from Variety about a crew member who shared that he warned the producers of the movie ‘Rust’ that Dave Halls, the first assistant director, was cavalier about set safety during a previous production.
The production companies credited on ‘Rust’ include Thomasville Pictures, led by Ryan Smith and Allen Cheney, as well as Short Porch Pictures, run by Nathan Klingher and Ryan Winterstern, among others.
The same two companies also produced ‘One Way’, another independent film that was shot in Georgia in February. Halls served as the first assistant director on that project as well.
During filming, the crew member said he witnessed an unsafe situation in which cars were being driven in an open field by local people who were not stunted drivers. The crew member, who asked not to be identified, said that he specifically warned the producers that Halls was putting the crew in jeopardy.
Other on-set staffers shared similar observations:
A second crew member on “One Way” also said there were safety problems involving Halls and vehicles on set. This person said there was a scene with a “car hit” that had inadequate crew, and that background actors were driving cars, instead of stunt drivers.
“They put me in a position of danger,” the second crew member told Variety. “They’re getting the bottom-of-the-barrel people.”
A third crew member confirmed that he had heard about safety issues involving Halls and vehicles from a fourth person on set. This crew member also said he witnessed Halls losing his temper on set.
Read more of this story from DailyWire:
Variety also spoke to two named sources — Jay Graves, “One Way’s” set dresser, and crewman Jared Tyree.
Graves said “One Way” was “the least safe set I’ve ever worked on in my life,” and described being nearly “clipped” by a car on two occasions. Wrote Variety, “He said that they were filming on a street, but that the street was not completely closed, such that cross-traffic was able to drive through the set between takes.”
Tyree recalled a similar incident, saying that two vehicles almost collided, causing a production delay of about half an hour.
A spokesperson for the production companies insisted that the “One Way” set did provide a safe working environment. As corroboration, the rep provided a quote from the movie’s line producer, Molly Mayeux. “I can attest with 100% certainty that ‘One Way’ was extremely safety-conscious, and all safety protocols were followed during the shoot,” Mayeux said. “I am sickened by these ‘sources’ trying to capitalize on such a horrific accident.”
As The Daily Wire has reported, Halls admitted to investigators that he did not properly check the gun that Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with when he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
Halls was fired from the 2019 production “Freedom’s Path” for a similar incident involving an accidental gun discharge.
