Is Alec Baldwin responsible for fatal shooting on set?

Alec Baldwin's temper is legendary in Hollywood. His explosive behavior on the set of “The Edge” (he refused to shave his beard) so affected producer Art Linson that he made a film about it, “What Just Happened,” in which Bruce Willis caricatures Baldwin as a star who throws tantrums.

But he's also a capable and reliable actor. Dean Goodine was the prop master on “The Edge,” a thriller shot in the Canadian Rockies. Before a key scene, he showed Baldwin how to load dummies into a Winchester Model 1886.

“I don't have any stories to tell, except that he was very professional,” Goodine said. “He followed all the training carefully. He played the scene perfectly.”

Baldwin is on trial this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on involuntary manslaughter charges. While working on the 2021 Western film “Rust,” prosecutors say Baldwin recklessly pointed a Colt .45 at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and pulled the trigger, killing her.

The case may come down to which version of Baldwin the jury finds more credible: the brash egomaniac who thinks the rules don't apply to him, or the consummate professional who was betrayed by those around him.

Baldwin did not know that the gunsmith had loaded a live round into his gun. Yet prosecutors argue that if Baldwin had checked the gun or followed simple rules of safe gun handling, Hutchins would be alive. They will also present videos and witnesses to show that Baldwin was out of control on set — going off-script, lunging at the crew, yelling and cursing at each other.

To convict Baldwin, the jury must find that he acted with “willful disregard” for safety, meaning he knew what he was doing was dangerous and did it anyway.

While this case is unique, it is not uncommon for someone involved in a gun accident to say they thought the gun was unloaded or that it simply went off. It is also not uncommon for that person to be prosecuted.

“I think the responsibility for gun safety always rests in the hands of the shooter,” says Gary Klein, a gun safety advocate who tracks unintentional shots. “You cannot delegate this responsibility to someone else, even if you consider that person to be more expert.”

Baldwin claimed he did not pull the trigger and that he pointed the gun at Hutchins only because she asked him to, as she prepared to shoot.

In an interview with a workplace safety investigator, Baldwin said he learned safety practices from his father, a Navy instructor, and from his years working with weapons on set. He didn't recall ever seeing Safety Bulletin No. 1industry firearm safety protocol. But he knew full well that you shouldn't point a gun at someone and shoot, even on a movie set.

“I've never done that in my life,” he said. “Never.”

Some gun safety guides list six “golden rules,” while others list twelve. In the 1940s, the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute published pamphlets promoting the “Ten Commandments of Safety.”

In the 1970s, Colonel Jeff Cooper summed it up in three points: All guns should always be loaded; never let the barrel of your gun cover anything you don't want to destroy; and be sure of your target. Later, he added a fourth point: Don't pull the trigger until you have the target in sight.

Cooper ran a firearms academy in Arizona until his death in 2006. He was an evangelist for “trigger discipline” and claimed that violations of the trigger rule were responsible for 80 percent of accidents. published on YouTubeHe mocks Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone for carrying guns with their finger on the trigger. “We don't do that,” he says.

Cooper's four rules are used on shooting ranges and in the military, and have also been adapted into Safety Bulletin No. 1. (The gun barrel rule has been modified to allow an actor to point a gun at someone on camera, under proper supervision.) According to prosecutor Erlinda Johnson, Bulletin No. 1 shows that “the handling of firearms on a film set is not much different than the handling of firearms in real life.”

At trial, the state plans to use the report card to show that Baldwin knew he was breaking the rules. In other words: It was a willful disregard.

Last month, in a Burbank office, Dutch Merrick, a veteran movie gunsmith, spent an entire day training a handful of movie workers how to safely use guns on set.

For the final module, he asked the team to prepare a close-up shot, with a blue plastic gun pointed at the camera. He invited the students to adjust the gun and the camera to get the perfect shot. It wasn't easy. They took turns grouping behind the camera.

After a while, Merrick asked if there was anything dangerous about this.

“I point a gun directly at a group of crew members?” the actor said.

Everyone focused on shooting and neglected safety. “That's the point of the exercise,” Merrick said. “That's what happened in 'Rust.'”

Thanks to “Rust,” firearms training will be mandatory for all California gunsmiths starting next year. Merrick already travels the country to deliver his gun safety workshop, often in partnership with local aircrew unions.

At the end of the session, he summarized the “Rust” shooting and asked the class who was most at fault.

“Producers,” said one student.

Merrick wrote this on a whiteboard. “Who else?”

“First assistant director,” another student said.

Merrick wrote it. “Who else?”

“Gunsmith.”

It was only after these three that someone named Baldwin.

Many crew members agree that while Baldwin violated firearms protocols, others bear more responsibility.

“He has a vague responsibility. But the real responsibility lies with the gunsmith and the first assistant director,” says Buddy Joe Hooker, a veteran Hollywood stuntman. “He's an actor. That's not their job. Their minds are usually 100 miles away from checking the gun.”

Goodine, who has worked on westerns with Kevin Costner, Brad Pitt, and Clint Eastwood, says shootouts can get the adrenaline pumping for actors. He adds that it's important for the first assistant director and other crew members to react calmly and professionally.

Tommy Tomlinson handled guns in the films “Die Hard” and “Predator,” and also worked with Baldwin on “The Hunt for Red October.” He recalls that the set was a “controlled environment” and that he had no problems with Baldwin.

“He was great on set,” he said. “We learned a lot about handling guns from him. He was very comfortable with the safety rules.”

The safety instructions are long, and Merrick says most people don't read them. Crew members generally rely on their experience and those around them to create an atmosphere of safety.

“All the rules that you get in gun clubs are very important. But in movies, it’s different,” Goodine says. “If there’s action in the script, our job is to make it happen. It’s a whole different world.”

At one point in “The Edge,” Baldwin points the Winchester directly at Anthony Hopkins. Before the cameras rolled, Goodine made sure the dummy cartridges were removed and the rifle was clean.

Asked whether he thinks the actor should be fined for safety violations on “Rust,” Goodine is unequivocal.

“Absolutely not,” he replies. “It’s my job.”