The death of a crew member and the injury of another that occurred Oct. 21 on the set of “Rust,” which stars and is produced by actor Alec Baldwin, calls to mind an incident that occurred on a movie set in Sudbury five years ago.
On Thursday on the set of “Rust”, director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed and the film’s director, Joel Souza, 48, was injured when Baldwin discharged a prop firearm, according to information released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico, where the movie is being filmed.
The incident remains under investigation. It also is reminiscent of a similar incident that happened on a film set in Sudbury in 2016 that injured actor Brendan Fletcher.
On March 23, 2016, Fletcher was in Sudbury for the filming of the CTV series “Cardinal”.
According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “the actor took a discharge to his throat from a firearm not fully emptied of blanks and suffered a serious flesh wound.”
CTV said Fletcher received treatment in hospital and was discharged.
"Production was interrupted for one day and has since resumed," the broadcaster said in 2016.
The AP is reporting that a spokesperson for Alec Baldwin said a prop gun misfired. The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating what type of projectile was discharged and how it came to be in the gun. Charges have not been filed, although the investigation is in its early stages.
In a statement on Twitter, Baldwin said, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding this tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation.”
In another on-set death, actor Brandon Lee, son of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee, died accidentally on the set of the film “The Crow” when a prop firearm was discharged in his direction and he was struck with a projectile that was in the barrel.
