"Alec Baldwin cocked and fired a gun meant to be loaded with blanks on the set of his movie “Rust,” and “did not know the prop contained live rounds.” Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed; the film’s director, Joel Souza, is in intensive care."
The armourer on the set of the movie is responsible for every weapon and ammo of any sort on the entire set.
A good one checks all weapons, ammo, loads and weapons several times during the shooting of a scene. They personally hand the gun off to the assigned actor, and personally load the gun with the prescribed blanks, and supervise each actor and each weapon.
Not only that but they should give a class to all movie personnel before filming starts about safety, handling, etc.
Any infractions can have serious consequences. But, when it's the lead actor who thinks their chit don't stink, it's pretty hard to get them expelled from the set of a movie.... That's why it's usually the famous guys that have the mishaps.
Hubris in action. I agree with your take on the armorer's role, but still,,,if a gun is in your hand, it's your responsibility. Baldwin also being the producer makes it even more difficult to admonish him for mishandling a weapon. In the middle of a scene, you have to trust that the weapon handed to you is safe, but the reports paint a picture of him playing grabass. Still, what the hell were live rounds doing anywhere near the set?
