Rust script did not call for Baldwin's gun to be fired, says lawsuit, Latest Movies News - The New Paper
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Rust script did not call for Baldwin's gun to be fired, says lawsuit

LOS ANGELES : A crew member working on the Western movie Rust said in a lawsuit on Wednesday that the script never called for a gun to be fired during a scene that Alec Baldwin was rehearsing when he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set last month.

Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell alleges the US actor should have checked the gun himself for live ammunition rather than relying on the assistant director's assertion that the Colt .45 was safe to use.

"In our opinion, Mr Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it and without having the armourer do so in his presence," her attorney Gloria Allred told a news conference.

Ms Mitchell, who said she was in the line of fire, alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm and is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

"I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again," said Ms Mitchell, who made the emergency call immediately after the Oct 21 incident.

The lawsuit, the second to be lodged over the incident, names Baldwin, the movie's producers, assistant director Dave Halls and Hannah Gutierrez, the armourer who was in charge of the weapons used on set.

It said the script called for three tight camera shots for the scene - one of Baldwin's eyes, another of a bloodstain and a third on Baldwin's torso "as he reached his hand down to the holster and removed the gun".

Baldwin "intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm", it said.

Ms Allred said she believed Baldwin's behaviour on the set was "reckless" and alleged that other safety protocols had been flouted or ignored.

Last week, chief electrician Serge Svetnoy filed a negligence lawsuit against the producers. - REUTERS

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