Hollywood urges ban on use of firearms on sets following cinematographer death

A petition calling on Hollywood to “ban the use of real firearms on film sets” received nearly 10,000 signatures following the incident, and support from actor Xander Berkeley, actress Tara Platt, and cinematographer Eben Bolter.

“There’s no reason to have guns loaded with blanks or anything on set anymore. Should just be fully outlawed. There’s computers now,” tweeted Craig Zobel, who directed the controversial 2020 political horror movie ‘The Hunt’, and episodes of ‘Westworld’ and ‘The Leftovers’.

Zobel revealed that the gunshot effects in his show ‘Mare of Easttown’ “are all digital”, and added that though viewers “can probably tell” the difference, it doesn’t matter when “it’s an unnecessary risk”.

“I often get pushback when I demand completely disabled, non-firing weapons on set, but this is why,” director Megan Griffiths weighed in.

“Mistakes happen, and when they involve guns, mistakes kill. No gun ever needs to fire on set. Muzzle flashes are the easiest & cheapest visual effect. Why are we still doing this?” Griffiths asked.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ director Rian Johnson also expressed support for a digital replacement of live gun effects, while ‘Straight Outta Compton’ star O’Shea Jackson Jr. said, “Things are gonna change after this tragedy.”

Hutchins was killed on Thursday after Baldwin fired a prop gun at her, which he was reportedly told by a director was safe to use. Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was hospitalized with injuries.

In a statement following the incident, Baldwin announced his heart was “broken” and that he was “fully cooperating with the police investigation”.