The Rookie has officially banned “live” firearms on the set of the series following the incident involving Alec Baldwin and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the upcoming film, Rust. The Rookie stars Nathan Fillion as a rookie on the Los Angeles Police Department. It has been a staple of the ABC lineup since its initial debut in 2018.
The entertainment industry continues to reel from the death of Halyna Hutchins following the accidental discharge of a prop gun on the set of Rust. The incident occurred yesterday and has sent shockwaves through the internet as fans and insiders respond. What happened on the set of Rust comes after several members of the crew complained about the unsafe working conditions on the movie, and serves as an eerie reminder of how dangerous filming a movie can be at times. Specifically, it recalls the tragic death of Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow, as Lee was similarly killed when a mishandled prop firearm went off during production.
With the dust now beginning to settle and an investigation underway concerning what went wrong on Rust, the creative team behind The Rookie is taking no chances when it comes to the safety of the cast and crew who work on the ABC series. According to a report from THR, The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley issued a memo confirming that the LA-based police procedural would stop using any and all “live” weapons on set during production. Hawley’s memo stated:
As of today, it is now policy on The Rookie that all gunfire on set will be with Air Soft guns with CG muzzle flashes added in post. There will be no more ‘live’ weapons on the show. The safety of our cast and crew is too important. Any risk is too much risk.
So, going forward, it seems that any gunshots depicted in The Rookie will be the result of VFX work and Air Soft guns that cannot fire real bullets. Ultimately, this is part of an ongoing initiative that has been taking place on the series, as indoor gunshots were already transitioned to CGI. Recently, The Rookie had only used “live” weapons for larger outdoor set pieces. However, now the definitive move has been made to unilaterally ban the practice for the ever-growing cast of the ABC series, and the Rust incident seems to be the catalyst for the change.
Of course, this does raise an argument that one could make about whether or not this should become a standard policy across the board for film and television productions going forward. The Rust incident is just the latest in a long line of accidents and injuries that have occurred on film sets, leaving one to wonder if studios should rely more on VFX to achieve the effect of a gunshot. “Live” weapons may lend a sense of authenticity to an on-screen story, but it’s certainly not worth the life of anyone working on a given project.
Source: THR