Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/AFP/Getty Images
Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ Armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were both officially charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of Halyna Hutchins while filming on location in New Mexico. Many surprising details come from this case including evidence of Alec Baldwin not attending a mandatory firearms training course for the Rust film. This is also evidenced by cast and crew who documented the lack of safety meetings that were provided throughout filming.
Given Mr. Baldwin is a producer on this show, it would only make sense that he would have attended an important training for his own project, especially if it’s required… Right? As I think about this case, I imagine the profound impact that Rate My Set (RMS) could have on the film industry, and its potential to document the lack of accountability on each individual set.
Imagine if, before accepting any job on a film set, you could go onto a website that has reviewed the studio, the production company, and related sets all before you even hit ‘confirm availability.’ Wouldn’t it be nice to know ahead of time if a set isn’t following safety guidelines or something as simple as providing a safety meeting? Perhaps reviewing crafty and catering on sets might seem like trivial information to some people, but when it comes down to something as fundamentally important as the safety of the work environment, the lives of those who work to create and produce the project in the first place… I would definitely want to know these things ahead of time.
If I’m being real with you, I’m grateful I get the opportunity to discuss this recent incident with you in my very first blog post, because I think it perfectly highlights the importance of accountability in the film industry, and shows just how terribly wrong things can go when accountability is lacking. I founded RMS precisely because I wanted to give cast and crew an amplified voice that details what actually is going on from their own perspectives so we can all work toward positive changes and learn from these critical gaps in accountability. What happened with Halyna could have easily been avoided. Think about that for a moment. Let’s work together to build a much stronger, safer and more transparent industry for all of us.