Staff member of the film “Rust” Serge Svetnoy has filed a lawsuit against several key figures, including Alec Baldwin, in connection with the shooting on the film set that took the life of the film’s director of photography.
Svetnoy’s lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against several companies and individuals involved with the film, including producers and two crew members. He accuses Baldwin, Assistant Director David Halls, Guns Officer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and others of negligence that caused him “severe emotional distress.”
The action comes after Baldwin fired a gun during rehearsal last month that contained a lead bullet, killing filmmaker Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin said he believed the gun had no real bullets, according to court documents.
Hutchins, 42, was flown to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Souza, 48, suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and is recovering.
Svetnoy, who served as chief lighting technician on the set, was hit by “discharge materials” from the fatal explosion, noting that he was nearly hit by the bullet, according to the lawsuit. He blames the film’s producers for, among other things, not having hired a competent and experienced “gunsmith”.
“Simply put, there was no reason for an actual bullet to be placed in that Colt .45 revolver or to be present anywhere on Rust’s set, and the bullet’s presence posed a lethal threat to everyone nearby,” he declares in the lawsuit, citing failure to “Implement and maintain industry standards for the custody and control of firearms used on set.”
The lawsuit accuses the film’s producers of violating their obligations by allowing live ammunition to be stored on set.
“The claimant is informed and believes, and based on such information claims that the used ammunition was never securely stored and was simply left unattended,” the lawsuit concludes.
A CNN he sought out representatives from Baldwin, Halls, and Gutierrez Reed, as well as the “Rust” producer, but got no immediate response.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles issued a statement questioning how the real bullets ended up in the “props” box and who put them there.
“We are convinced that this was sabotage and that Hannah is being framed,” said Bowles. “We believe the scene was also tampered with before the police arrived.”
Earlier, the producer said: “The safety of our cast and crew is a top priority for Rust Productions and all associates. Although we have not been made aware of any official complaints regarding the safety of weapons or props on set, we will conduct an internal review of our procedures while production is closed.”
According to the lawsuit, Svetnoy and Hutchins were considered “close friends”, having worked together on nine films since 2017.
Svetnoy had previously talked about his trauma from the incident, posting on Facebook that he “held her in my arms while she was dying” and “her blood was on my hands”. He also shared what he called the last photo of Hutchins in the film.
Reference: CNN Brasil

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