Page Nav

HIDE

Pages

Classic Header

{fbt_classic_header}

Breaking News:

latest

'Alec Baldwin chose to play Russian Roulette for no reason': Rust script supervisor breaks down in tears as she SUES Baldwin over Halyna Hutchins' death because he 'cocked and fired the gun even though the scene didn't call for it'

  Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, the first person to call 911 after Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot by   Alec Baldwin  on the ...

 Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, the first person to call 911 after Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot by Alec Baldwin on the film's set last month, broke down in tears today as she announced she is filing a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other producers of the low-budget Western movie.

The suit names names 22 defendants associated with the film including Baldwin, Rust producers, six production companies - El Dorado Pictures, Thomasville Pictures, Short Porch Pictures, Brittany House Pictures, 3rd Shift Media and Streamline Global - armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, First Assistant Director David Halls and others. 

Mitchell was standing close to the Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, when the bullet fired from Baldwin's gun killed her and then injured the director Joel Souza.

The suit claims assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm. It also states that the scene being shot did not require a gun to be fired. 

'I ran out and called 911 and said 'Bring everybody, send everybody,'' Mitchell said during a press conference. 'This woman is gone at the beginning of her career. She was an extraordinary, rare, very rare woman.'   

Mitchell said she was standing less than four feet away from Hutchins when she was shot and was hit by residue from that bullet.

'I will never forget what happened on the set of Rust that day,' she said. 'I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again.'

Mitchell said she was left depressed and 'frightened of the future'.

'This violent tragedy has taken away the joy in my life,' she added.

She said she wants to prevent what happened on the set from happening to anyone else.

Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, the first person to call 911 after Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot by Alec Baldwin on the film's set last month, broke down in tears today as she announced she is filing a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other producers of the low-budget Western movie

Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, the first person to call 911 after Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot by Alec Baldwin on the film's set last month, broke down in tears today as she announced she is filing a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other producers of the low-budget Western movie 

Emotional Rust script supervisor breaks down as she announces lawsuit
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
Previous
Play
Skip
Mute
Current Time0:00
/
Duration Time2:17
Fullscreen
Need Text
Mitchell and Allred laid out their lawsuit - which alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm

Mitchell and Allred laid out their lawsuit - which alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm

Mitchell was standing close to the Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, when the bullet fired from Baldwin's gun killed her and then injured the director Joel Souza

Mitchell was standing close to the Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, when the bullet fired from Baldwin's gun killed her and then injured the director Joel Souza

Gloria Allred (L) puts an arm around Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell as they walk from a press conference after filing the lawsuit

Gloria Allred (L) puts an arm around Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell as they walk from a press conference after filing the lawsuit

Allred alleged that live ammunition was brought to the set, that the assistant director improperly handed Baldwin the gun; Baldwin knew that the gun should've never been given to him and that he could not rely on any statement by the AD about whether or not the gun was safe to use. 

'I relive the shooting and sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again,' Mitchell - a 40-year industry veteran - said, in tears recalling her memory of the incident.  

'Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of the firearm,' Allred said. 'Mr. Baldwin chose to play Russian Roulette with a loaded gun without checking it and without having the armorer do so.' 

'Mr. Baldwin cannot hide behind the Assistant Director to attempt to excuse the fact that he did not check the gun himself,' continues the complaint from Mitchell, who was in the church location on the Bonanza Creek Ranch when Baldwin's 'quick draw' rehearsal turned tragic. 


The attorney added that Baldwin should have assumed the gun was loaded until it was checked that it was not loaded.  

Allred said last month that her client has evidence which will be 'helpful in this investigation' and has been interviewed by law enforcement and that even if the assistant director told him the gun was fine, he should not have used it based on that advice. 

'I will never forget what happened on the set of Rust that day,' Mitchell said. 'I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again.'

'I will never forget what happened on the set of Rust that day,' Mitchell said. 'I relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again.' 

Svetnoy shared the final photo of Halyna Hutchins (pictured holding the camera) on set in the church just moments before she was shot dead

Svetnoy shared the final photo of Halyna Hutchins (pictured holding the camera) on set in the church just moments before she was shot dead

Director Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust

Director Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust

Actor Alec Baldwin is one of several producers named in the lawsuit and specifically called out by Allred

Actor Alec Baldwin is one of several producers named in the lawsuit and specifically called out by Allred

Attorney says Alec Baldwin 'chose to play Russian Roulette'
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
0:00
Previous
Play
Skip
Mute
Current Time0:00
/
Duration Time3:41
Fullscreen
Need Text

'We are conducting our own investigation of what happened because there are many unanswered questions,' Allred said at the time. 'Mamie has been interviewed by the Sheriff's Department. She has information and evidence which she believes will be helpful in this investigation. 

The lawsuit claimed that the actions that led to the shooting 'do not constitute simple negligence' by the producers and Baldwin.  

She also accuses Baldwin of being careless and ignoring industry norms by not checking the gun; and that Baldwin ignored safety protocols. 

All guns and ammunition are supposed to be secured throughout the production and the armorer is supposed to stay around all guns; instead, Allred said, ammunition and guns were left unattended by the armorer.  

In a statement, Allred said Mitchell was standing near Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza when they were shot and immediately ran out of the church. 

'Halyna was a friend and close colleague of Mamie,' Allred said in a statement late last month. 'She is devastated by the loss of her friend who was an extraordinary woman. Mamie recently attended the vigil for Halyna and her heart goes out to Halyna's husband and son to whom she has spoken.'

Allred said her client as 'traumatized' and said they are conducting their own investigation into what happened. 

The gun Baldwin used to shoot Hutchins supplied by the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (pictured), 24
Rust assistant director David Halls (pictured) is also being sued and told Baldwin that the gun was cold

The experienced crew member also sued 24-year-old armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (left) and the movie's assistant director David Hall (right), who told Baldwin that the gun was cold

Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Baldwin, seen in the woods near his Vermont property on November 1
Svetnoy sued Alec Baldwin, 63, for his negligence as an actor and as a producer of the movie, claiming that 'the scene did not call for Defendant Baldwin to shoot the Colt Revolver'

Baldwin, near his Vermont property on November 1 (left), and on the Rust set before the shooting (right)

The head of lighting on the film filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging negligence that caused him 'severe emotional distress' that will haunt him forever.

Serge Svetnoy said in the suit that the bullet that killed his close friend Hutchins, narrowly missed him, and he held her head as she died.

'They should never, ever, have had live rounds on this set,' Svetnoy's attorney Gary A. Dordick said at a news conference Wednesday.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court names nearly two dozen defendants associated with the film including Baldwin, who was both star and a producer; David Halls, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun; and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of weapons on the set.

It is the first known lawsuit of what could be many stemming from the October 21 shooting.

It was the ninth film that Svetnoy and Hutchins had worked on together, and he had taken the job at low pay because she asked him to.

'She was my friend,' Svetnoy said at the news conference.

He said he had seen guns sitting unattended in the dirt a few days earlier in the shoot, and had warned the people responsible about them.

On the day of the shooting, he was setting up lighting within 6 or 7 feet of Baldwin, the suit says.

'What happened next will haunt Plaintiff forever,' the suit says. 

'He felt a strange and terrifying whoosh of what felt like pressurized air from his right. He felt what he believed was gunpowder and other residual materials directly strike the right side of his face.'

Then, with his glasses scratched and his hearing muffled, he knelt to help Hutchins, the suit said.

The lawsuit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages to be determined later. It was filed in Los Angeles County because the plaintiff and most of the defendants are based there.    

Svetnoy (left), held dying Halyna Hutchins (right) in his arms after she was shot

Svetnoy (left), held dying Halyna Hutchins (right) in his arms after she was shot 

Attorneys and representatives for the defendants did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment on the suit.

Gutierrez Reed's lawyer Jason Bowles said in a statement Wednesday that 'we are convinced this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed. We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived.'

Bowles said his client has provided authorities with a full interview and continues to assist them. The statement did not address the lawsuit.

'We are asking for a full and complete investigation of all of the facts, including the live rounds themselves, how they ended up in the "dummies" box, and who put them in there,' the statement said.

Gutierrez Reed said last week that she had inspected the gun Baldwin shot but doesn't know how a live bullet ended up inside.

Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said investigators have encountered no proof of sabotage. 

Her comments, first made on Good Morning America, were confirmed Wednesday by agency spokeswoman Sascha Guinn Anderson.

Carmack-Altwies says that investigators know who loaded the gun, though it remains unclear how the deadly round of ammunition got on the movie set. The district attorney said she is concerned that there were so many levels of safety failures.

Dordick said at the news conference that it was 'far-fetched' to suggest there was sabotage, but that Gutierrez Reed still had the same responsibility to know what was in the gun and who had handled it.

Authorities have said that Halls, the assistant director, handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced 'cold gun,' indicating that the weapon was safe to use.

Halls said last week that he hoped the tragedy prompted the film industry to 'reevaluate its values and practices' to ensure no one is harmed again, but did not provide details.

Baldwin said on video on October 30 that the shooting was a 'one-in-a-trillion event' saying, 'We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.'

The director Souza told detectives that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene in which he drew a revolver from his holster and pointed it toward the camera, which Hutchins and Souza were behind, according to court records in New Mexico.

Souza said the scene did not call for the use of live rounds, and Gutierrez Reed said real ammo should never have been present, according to the court records.

The Los Angeles lawsuit alleges that the scene did not call for Baldwin to fire the gun at all, only to point it.

Hollywood professionals have been baffled by the circumstances of the movie-set shooting. It already has led to other production crews stepping up safety measures.

The front page of the lawsuit filed on Mamie Mitchell's behalf by attorney Gloria Allred

The front page of the lawsuit filed on Mamie Mitchell's behalf by attorney Gloria Allred

The suit names 16 people and six production companies as defendants, including Baldwin

The suit names 16 people and six production companies as defendants, including Baldwin

No comments