A little more than a week ago, it was revealed that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed during an accidental firearm discharge on the set of “Rust.” Since that news came out, we’ve seen Hollywood figures react in horror, with some asking for immediate change to happen to ensure this sort of situation doesn’t happen again. Well, it appears a number of cinematographers have decided to take matters into their own hands and write an open letter (via Variety) calling for the complete ban of functional firearms on the sets of TV shows and films.
Cinematographers such as Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”), Ed Lachman (“Carol”), and Alice Brooks (“In the Heights”) signed the letter and are calling for the unions, as well as from producers and lawmakers, “to affect unified change on our behalf and ban all functional firearms on set. We vow to no longer knowingly work on projects using functional firearms for filming purposes. We vow to no longer put ourselves and our crew in these unnecessarily lethal situations. We have safe alternatives in VFX and non-functional firearms. We won’t sit back and wait for the industry to change. We have a duty to effect change within the industry ourselves.”
Obviously, this action is a direct result of the terrible tragedy on the set of the Western, “Rust,” where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a firearm was discharged and reportedly was loaded with a live round of ammunition. A full investigation is still ongoing, but it is said that actor-producer Alec Baldwin was involved in the accident.
As the report points out, there are four pages of signatures from a ton of cinematographers from around the world. However, noticeably absent are folks such as Roger Deakins, Emmanuel Lubezki, and Janusz Kaminski. It’s unclear if they weren’t approached to sign or if they just didn’t feel the need to add their signatures to the open letter.
It’s unclear what type of action will result from this letter and the various other actions being taken in the wake of Hutchins’ death.