Dwayne Johnson has vowed that his movie sets will never use real guns following the fatal shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie Rust. The former wrestler is promoting his latest movie Red Notice, which stars Johnson alongside Hollywood heavyweights Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. Red Notice, which is also being produced by the star, follows FBI interpol agent John Hartley (Johnson) as he teams up with famed criminal Nolan Booth (Reynolds) to help track down the world’s most wanted art thief, The Bishop (Gadot). The action-comedy is full of blockbuster set pieces and action sequences involving guns, as is common in many of the movies in the genre.

On October 21, a shooting incident occurred on the set of the upcoming Western movie Rust, starring Alec Baldwin. Later police investigations found that an active prop gun was misfired by Baldwin, injuring director Joel Souza and tragically killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The ongoing criminal investigation has taken Hollywood by storm, and opened up huge debates about the future of safety precautions and firearms in movies. Further reports showed that safety concerns led to crew members on the set of Rust threatening to walkout on the movie, while others suggest that prop masters were using the live gun for target practice between takes. Since the initial accident, Baldwin himself has called for more safety precautions on movie sets, and voiced support for limiting the use of live ammunition and guns in the film industry.

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Speaking to Variety on the red carpet premiere of Red Notice, Johnson declared that films produced by his company Seven Bucks Productions will be using rubber guns from now on. The actor stated any movie, television show or other project by the company “won’t use real guns at all.” Taking a stand against the often easier and cheaper approach of prop guns, Johnson declared his team would “switch over to rubber guns” and “take care” of the gun effects in post-production. Johnson clarified that the money isn’t an issue, implying safety is more important. See the actor’s full quote below:

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you, without an absence of clarity here, that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show, or anything we do or produce — we won’t use real guns at all … We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post … We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”

Alec Baldwin Rust

Johnson is one of several Hollywood voices speaking out in the aftermath of the tragic accident. As well as reactions from those involved with the film, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn also spoke on the tragedy. Gunn argued that the shooting represented a larger ongoing problem in the Hollywood system regarding unsafe working conditions and rushed schedules. The Rust shooting has shone a new light on previous set accidents, such as the death of Brandon Lee following a similar incident on The Crow. Campaigners, meanwhile, have taken to the internet with petitions calling for a total ban on real guns in the industry.

The stand being taken by Johnson is a significant development in the response to the event. The actor has a big platform in Hollywood and was recently listed as the second highest paid actor of 2021. Johnson’s aforementioned production company Seven Bucks, which he runs with long-time business partner Dany Garcia, has produced several of the actor’s huge blockbuster movies; including Jumanji, Hobbs & Shaw and Johnson’s upcoming DC film Black Adam. By switching to rubber guns, the actor may incite change in the industry, and could potentially encourage other high-profile companies to join him. While more details emerge about the working environment that led to the tragedy on the set of Rust, it’s down to creative figures and producers to ensure that it never happens again. The impact of Johnson’s pledge remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a big step towards a safer industry.

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Source: Variety

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