Behind-the-scenes footage shows Alec Baldwin using a gun as a “pointing stick” on the set of The Last, forcing the film’s armorer to reload it for the second take. .
The footage, which was shot during the filming of the country-western film, was shot before the tragic on-set shooting of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on October 21, 2021, and the armored shooting that took place on Thursday. It was played for the first time in the manslaughter trial of artisan Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
In one scene shown to the jury, after Baldwin crashes through a wooden cabin, he quickly fires a blank pistol shot before the director yells, “Cut.” Immediately the actor wanted to film his second take.
“One more, one more, one more!” he shouts. “Now, now! Let’s reload. Let’s go!
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, can be seen quickly reloading the weapon with a blank from his fanny pack as Baldwin complains that he should have loaded the second one and had it ready for use.
Veteran armorer Brian Carpenter, the state’s expert witness in the trial, said the footage showed multiple safety procedures being ignored.
Carpenter said Baldwin held his pistol too close to the photographer, “basically telling the armorer how to do his job” and creating an unnecessary “dangerous and nerve-wracking situation.”
“Rushing with a firearm or directing someone to hurry with a firearm is not normal or acceptable,” he testified.
As the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reid should have told Baldwin not to rush through safety procedures when reloading his weapon.
“When you’re in that kind of rush, you start to lose safety,” Carpenter said.
Another clip from the film set shows Baldwin lying on his back on the ground, gesturing with a gun and talking while looking at reshoot notes.
“He uses the weapon as a pointing stick or as a finger,” Carpenter said.
He added that Gutierrez-Reed should have talked to Baldwin and was careful not to wave the gun in the direction of others.
“The Last” armorer, who was 24 years old at the time of filming, instead instructed the rest of the crew to stay out of the “path of the gun.”
Carpenter said it appeared the new armorer was trying to avoid the Hollywood star’s correction.
“She was not trying to correct Mr. Baldwin, but to move the crew to a safer position,” he said.
Experts say that although Ms. Guiterrez-Reid was new to the industry, she earned the role and those on set “reliant on her guidance and professionalism to ensure that no one was harmed.” “Convenience is not an option at this point.”
“When you accept the responsibility of keeping others safe, you take on the responsibility of ensuring that you do what is necessary, even if it is inconvenient or not in your best interest. “Even if you feel you can, you should never step into that position,” Carpenter testified.
Baldwin is separately charged with manslaughter for firing the gun (which was loaded with live ammunition, not a blank) that killed his Ukrainian-born mother, cinematographer Hutchins.
His trial is scheduled to begin in July.
