A court heard on Monday that Alec Baldwin said he was going to “knock it out,” referring to the gun that was accidentally used to shoot and kill a cameraman on the set of “Rust.”
The jury heard that Baldwin preferred to use real weapons rather than rubber weapons. He loved the feel of the “hero props.”
Horrifying footage was shown in the trial of Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of Baldwin pulling out the gun in the same spot where he killed Halyna Hutchins just hours later.
In the footage, Baldwin can be heard saying he wanted to “whip it out,” even though the scene only required him to show the handle.
One crew member, Ross Addiego, claimed that “safety seemed to be secondary to the production clock” because the film could not afford to waste time.
There was a “state of rapid chaos” on the set in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, according to witnesses who gave testimony to reveal details about the set of the indie Western where Halyna Hutchins lost her life.
One crew member, Ross Addiego, claimed that “safety seemed to be secondary to the production clock” because the film could not afford to waste time
A court heard on Monday that Alec Baldwin said he preferred using real guns rather than rubber guns. He loved the feel of the “hero props.”
Baldwin, the lead actor and one of the producers, told the crew to “move, move, move” and no one stood up to him because he was the “big boss,” the jury heard.
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, is accused of letting a live cartridge get into the gun Baldwin was using when he shot Hutchins, a prop gun that could fire live ammunition.
She denies involuntary manslaughter in a court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, near where Rust was filmed in October 2021.
The bullet passed through Hutchins, 42, a mother of one, and hit Rust director Joel Souza in the shoulder, but he survived.
Baldwin, 65, will have to stand trial at a later date on charges of involuntary manslaughter, which he denies.
He and Gutierrez-Reed face 18 months in prison if convicted.
The jury heard that Addiego worked as a dolly-grip, which involves building and maintaining any equipment on which cameras are mounted.
Addiego is one of three crew members currently suing Baldwin and the producers of Rust, claiming that Hutchins' death caused them post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
In his statement, Addiego described the litany of safety lapses that occurred on set in the two weeks leading up to the incident that were unlike anything he had seen in the 100 films he had worked on, including “Men in Black 3.” and “Terminator 3.”
Bryce Ziegler, an agent with the FBI Firearms Division who examined the gun Baldwin used, said he had to break the gun with a hammer to get it to fire without pulling the trigger
Ziegler's analysis contradicts Baldwin's claims that he merely pulled back the hammer on the vintage-looking pistol
The jury heard that on October 16, five days before Hutchins was shot, there were two accidental gunshots within an hour
Addiego said safety meetings should have happened at least once a day, but during his time on the Rust set there was only one.
According to Addiego, gunsmiths were typically some of the “most uptight and reserved people on set because they literally hold people's lives in their hands.”
He said: “They don't joke around, they keep to themselves and focus on the task at hand.”
“Most of them appear to be either ex-military or police officers and have some experience with firearms.”
But Gutierrez-Reed “wasn't as serious and wasn't as professional as I'm used to from the other gunsmiths I've worked with,” Addiego said.
He said she left firearms loose and unlocked on the top of her prop cart and pulled loose cartridges from a fanny pack.
Addiego said the gunsmith usually allowed the cast and crew to look down the barrel of the gun before loading the ammunition in front of them.
That never happened on Rust, which worried Addiego even more.
He said, “They call them security checks for a reason.” We went through those instead of pausing to pick up those checks.
Morrissey asked if Addiego ever remembered Gutierrez-Reed loading a gun in the presence of the crew.
He said: “A few times she was put in the position of reloading as quickly as possible and giving it back to the actors.”
When asked who put her in this position, Addiego said it was first assistant director Dave Halls and Baldwin.
Addiego said he saw other gunsmiths slowing down so they wouldn't rush.
Buildings used on the set of the film “Rust” are seen after filming resumed following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in New Mexico in 2021
Morrissey asked, “Did Miss Gutierrez ever take any action to slow these things down when she was rushed?”
“Not that I’ve ever seen it,” Addiego said.
The jury heard that on October 16, five days before Hutchins was shot, there were two accidental gunshots within an hour.
The first time it happened was when prop master Sarah Zachry was outside a booth and was about to fire a gun, but it accidentally went off.
Addiego said: “I was just a few meters away and she seemed quite startled and it appeared she had shot the gun at her foot.” It was unclear whether the gun was loaded.
The second discharge occurred when Gutierrez-Reed worked with Baldwin's stunt double to film a scene and it took off.
Addiego said he couldn't remember a single other layoff during his time in the film industry.
When both incidents occurred, Addiego said he told Halls of his “frustration and anger at the fact that safety seemed to be secondary to the production clock.”
Halls “ignored me and walked away,” Addiego said.
The discharges had “plunged us into an even greater state of chaos than we already were,” Addiego said.
He told the jury: “Sometimes we would say that we were moving at ridiculous speeds, just trying to beat the production clock because we had limited time to meet a very ambitious schedule, so we were always rushing and falling short There seemed to be pressure to get things done and move on.
Under cross-examination by Gutierrez-Reed's attorney, Jason Bowles, Addiego said that Baldwin appeared to be in charge of the set.
Bowles said, “You heard Mr. Baldwin coming at people telling them to move, move, move,” Addiego said he did.
“Have you ever stood up to Mr. Baldwin and said we won't move so quickly?” asked Bowles.
Addiego said it was “not my job” and that he didn't remember “seeing anyone fight Mr. Baldwin on the set of Rust.”
“He's running the show, he's the big boss, right?” Bowles said.
“He’s the producer, one of the writers, and he’s number one on the call sheet, so yeah,” Addiego said.
The jury heard that Baldwin always wanted to use his “hero props,” meaning real weapons as opposed to rubber weapons.
The court heard that Baldwin didn't stay there after the shooting and left the church when paramedics arrived to help Souza and Hutchins
Addiego said that was “my understanding of the way he liked to perform,” including on the day of the shooting on Oct. 21, 2021.
That day, Baldwin was sitting in a church pew rehearsing a scene in which he looked up when some lawmen came in and ordered him to surrender.
As Addiego understood it, Baldwin was supposed to “reveal only the part of the gun that contains the bullets.”
He said: “As soon as we saw the gun come out of the holster, it would give the audience the impression that Harland Rust (Baldwin) was about to defend himself.”
Footage of the scene taken hours before the shooting showed Baldwin sitting in a crucifixion pose with a figure of Christ on the wall behind him.
He's wearing a cowboy hat, his head bowed and his hands in his lap.
A voice tells Baldwin to “stand up very slowly and throw away all the weapons you have.”
One of the crew tells Baldwin to “pull your gun and look up.”
Baldwin says, “Flogging?” and then continues drawing.
Addiego said the camera lens was just a foot away from Baldwin when the bullet was fired.
With a shaking voice, he said: “In a small wooden church, a gun immediately exploded, a concussion, ringing in the ears, a moment of panic for everyone.”
“The first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was obviously injured by the gunshot.”
“She started blushing and holding her right side, and then I think Joel let out some kind of scream to indicate that he was hurt too.”
“My attention was on Joel (Souza, the director) because he was closest to me.”
Two other crew members went to Hutchins' aid while Addiego yelled, “If you can't help us get the fuck out of here.”
Addiego said, “I tried to calm Joel down and let him know we were going to make it work because I didn't know what else to do.”
Baldwin, 65, will have to stand trial at a later date on charges of involuntary manslaughter, which he denies
There was a “state of rapid chaos” on the set in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, according to witnesses who gave testimony to reveal details about the indie Western's set
Baldwin didn't stick around and left the church when paramedics arrived to help Souza and Hutchins, the court heard.
Addiego said: “Joel was writhing in pain and worried about himself and asked how Halyna was doing.”
He came to the realization that he had been shot. I was trying to figure out where he was wounded, so I started pulling back his hoodie to reveal what looked like a circular wound in his right shoulder.
“I helped turn Joel around.
“I was able to see what looked like a bullet just under the skin where his right shoulder blade was and he was in a lot of pain.”
All Addiego could hear from Hutchins was “groans and discomfort,” he said.
There was a bullet in Souza's shoulder that was “barely contained by his skin.”
Earlier in the day, the court heard from an FBI firearms expert who disputed Baldwin's claim that he never pulled the trigger on the gun he accidentally used to shoot Hutchins.
Bryce Ziegler, an agent with the FBI Firearms Division who examined the gun Baldwin used, said he had to break the gun with a hammer to get it to fire without pulling the trigger.
Ziegler said that couldn't happen on the set of “Rust” because the gun was functional on him.
His analysis contradicts Baldwin's claims that he only pulled back the hammer on the vintage-looking pistol.
Speaking to ABC News in December 2021, Baldwin said: “I didn't pull the trigger. “I would never point a gun at someone and then pull the trigger. Never'.