Rust Shooting: ‘The Rock’ stops use of real guns on set

Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has said he would not use real guns again in his movies.
His statement was in a reaction to the actor Alec Baldwin accidental shooting and killing of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins on the film ‘Rust’ set in New Mexico.

Halyna Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21 by a bullet discharged from a gun Baldwin was using to rehearse a scene on the set.

Baldwin had been told by an assistant director that the gun was “cold”, an industry term meaning it is safe to use.

Johnson, who was out in Los Angeles attending the world premiere of his new Netflix blockbuster “Red Notice” with co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, said his production company, Seven Bucks Productions, would “not use real guns ever again.”

“That was a terrible scenario that happened. I’ve known Alec (Baldwin) for many, many years. He’s a buddy of mine, and my heart goes out to the families of everybody who was involved,” he said.

“I can’t speak for other production companies, I can’t speak for other studios, but what I can tell you is this has created a new lens and a new perspective on how we can operate moving forward,” Johnson told Reuters.

The “Fast & Furious” star said from now on his production company would use rubber guns and that they would “take care of it in post (production) and we won’t worry about the dollars.”

The shooting has reignited concern about the use of prop guns and safety on movie sets. Baldwin disputes allegations that the production of “Rust” was unsafe and chaotic.

“Red Notice,” which sees Johnson team up with Reynolds and Gadot for an action-packed heist caper, streams on Netflix from Nov. 12.

Reuters/Hauwa Abu