Michael Shannon Says ‘Rust’ Tragedy Is Part Of A Larger Filmmaking Issue: “This Is What Happens When You Lowball & Cut Corners”

There are a lot of people offering opinions about the tragedy last year on the set of the Western, “Rust.” Without going through all of the news, this is basically about how Alec Baldwin somehow had a live round in a gun he was using on set, and allegedly discharged the weapon, resulting in the death of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. Just recently, it was revealed that Baldwin, along with other members of the “Rust” crew are facing very real criminal charges for their actions that day. While Michael Shannon was nowhere near the set of “Rust” and isn’t involved in the film, the actor has a ton of experience handling weapons on set and starring in films with gunplay. And he has some interesting thoughts about why he thinks the accidental death on the set of “Rust” occurred.

READ MORE: ‘Rust’: Production To Resume On Alec Baldwin’s Western After Settlement Reached With Halyna Hutchins’ Family

Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Michael Shannon was asked to give his opinion about the events of last year on the set of “Rust.” In addition to starring in a bunch of films involving guns, Shannon is also currently in post-production for his directorial debut, “Eric Larue,” which is the story about the aftermath of a school shooting. Needless to say, though he’s not directly involved, Shannon is a qualified person to speak about what happened on the set of “Rust.” And interestingly, the actor thinks “Rust” is an example of a larger problem in Hollywood, which isn’t necessarily only about how guns are used.

“But ‘Rust’ is an example of a problem I see in filmmaking more and more these days. On smaller productions, independent productions, the producers keep wanting more and more for less and less,” Shannon explained. “They don’t want to give you enough money. They cut corners, ridiculously, every which way. And they get away with it.”

READ MORE: ‘Eric Larue’: Michael Shannon’s Ensemble For His Directorial Debut Includes Alexander Skarsgård, Tracy Letts, Judy Greer & More

He added, “So every time someone makes a great movie for a million dollars, it sets a precedent. The financiers say, well, Joe Blow made a movie for a million, we’re gonna give you a million, too. And you’re, like, ‘But I need $3 million to make it the right way.’ And they say ‘Well, I guess you won’t do it, then.’ They whittle the budget down to the bare minimum — but the one thing you can’t cut corners on is your armorer. If you have guns in your movie, that’s no place to cut corners.”

Shannon also goes deep into the process of handling an actual firearm on set. He talks about how a prop gun should have been used during rehearsals and not the actual weapon. He also goes into detail about how Baldwin could have been more vigilant about checking his weapon and handling it correctly. That said, Shannon isn’t here to place the blame on Baldwin completely. 

“I’m not condemning Alec. I feel horrible for the guy. It’s a nightmare. I feel terrible for everyone on that production,” said Shannon. “But this is what happens when you lowball and cut corners and hire people that may not be qualified, and pay them next to nothing, and make the movie on the cheap. People get jobs in this business because they’re willing to work for a low enough fee. I see it all the time.”

As for the future, Shannon thinks the job of armorer “might become obsolete.” He believes that the future could include doing all of the gunfire in post-production, using CGI. The actor-filmmaker also thinks that there is a possible future where gunplay in films is just removed.

“The other thing you could do, I guess, is take the frickin’ gunplay out of movies in general,” he said. “I mean, enough, already. You want to watch somebody shoot somebody? There are 500,000 movies already with plenty of it.”

Shannon’s new film, “Eric Larue,” doesn’t have a release date yet. And we aren’t exactly sure what’s going to happen regarding the legal battle surrounding the “Rust” incident. This is clearly an issue that isn’t going away anytime soon.