A lawsuit against Alec Baldwin alleges that the film script did not require him to fire a gun when he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, who called police after the shooting on the New Mexico film set, filed the suit. Her lawyer accused the actor of “playing Russian roulette” when he fired the gun without checking it.
Ms. Mitchell’s lawsuit claims that the script called for three tight camera shots, one of Mr. Baldwin’s eyes, another of a bloodstain on his shoulder, and a third of his torso “as he reached his hand down to the holster and removed the gun”.
“There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by defendant Baldwin or by any other person”.
Mitchell
In a news conference on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, Ms. Mitchell’s lawyer, Gloria Allred described the behavior of Mr. Baldwin and the film’s producers as “reckless”, as she accused them of failing to follow safety protocols.
According to court records, Mr. Baldwin was handed the weapon by the film’s assistant director who did not know it contained a live ammunition and indicated it was unloaded by shouting “cold gun”.
Ms. Allred noted that Mr. Baldwin “chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it and without having the armorer do so in his presence”.
She added that a range of safety failures meant that it was “a case where injury or death was much more than just a possibility, it was a likely result”.
Ms. Mitchell was standing less than four feet away from Mr. Baldwin when the weapon was discharged, according to the lawsuit.
Speaking to some reporters, Ms. Mitchell said: “I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again. This violent tragedy has taken away the joy in my life”.
Ms. Mitchell’s lawsuit is claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm, and is requesting unspecified damages.
Mr. Baldwin and the film’s producers, who were also named in the lawsuit, have not yet commented.
Authorities are still investigating the 21st October shooting that took place on the set of the Western film ‘Rust’. Currently, no criminal charges have been brought against anyone.
This lawsuit is the second lawsuit to be filed over the incident after the set’s head electrician began legal action earlier this month.
Serge Svetnoy, filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and others, alleging negligence that caused him “severe emotional distress” that would haunt him forever.
Describing Hutchins as a close friend, Svetnoy recalled how the bullet that killed her narrowly missed him, and how he held her head as she died. It was the ninth film that they both had worked on together and Svetnoy shared that he took the job despite the low pay at Hutchins’ request.
“They should never, ever, have had live rounds on this set”.
Svetnoy
Meanwhile, the film’s armorer, who was responsible for the guns and ammunition on set, is still claiming that she does not know how a live round came to be in the weapon.
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