Following the tragic shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last month on the set of indie film Rust, the film’s script supervisor Mamie Mitchell is now suing the star actor and other producers.
Hutchins was killed by a prop weapon that was apparently discharged with live ammo by actor Alec Baldwin. Mitchell originally called 911 immediately after the shooting, which also injured director Joel Souza according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mitchell is being represented by famous women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred for a case in which the script supervisor alleges she was also injured from the shooting and is claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm.
What’s more, and somewhat surprising, Mitchell’s L.A. Superior Court-filed complaint also alleges that the script didn’t even call for any gun to be discharged. The complaint stated:
“It was discussed that there would be [three] tight camera shots when filming resumed [after a lunch break]… One camera shot would be focused on DEFENDANT BALDWIN’s eyes, one would be focused on a bloodstain on DEFENDANT BALDWIN’s shoulder, and the third would focus on DEFENDANT BALDWIN’s 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.”
The complaint went on to state that Mitchell was not advised that a gun would be discharged, that there was limited plexiglass in the church setting, and that members of the crew weren’t told to look on monitors outside of the church so as not to be too close to the action when it unfolded. All of those aspects of the filming went against basic safety protocols, according to the complaint.
Mitchell specifically blames Baldwin for not checking whether the gun was loaded and that after the shot was fired, she heard loud ringing in her ears.
Though it’s been reported that assistant director David Halls handed the gun to Baldwin, saying it was safe to use, the complaint stated that it’s still no excuse for Baldwin not checking the gun himself.
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez was also named as a co-defendant alongside more than a dozen individuals and a half dozen production companies.
