‘Rust’ Production Company Fined Nearly $137,000 For “Willful & Serious” Safety Violations: “An Avoidable Loss Of Life Occurred”

deadline.com:

UPDATED with detailed summary of the investigation: The company that produced the ill-fated Rust movie has been slapped with a fine of $136,793 by the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for its “willful and serious” violation of workplace safety procedures.

The fine, which is the maximum allowable, follows the Bureau’s six-month investigation into the circumstances leading up to the accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on October 21.“There were serious management failures,” state Environmental Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said in a video statement (watch it below), “and more than sufficient evidence to suggest that if stardard industry practices were followed, the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutching and the serious injury to Joel Souza would not have occurred. … This is a complete failure of the employer to follow recognized national protocols that keep employees safe.”Read the report summary here; a detailed summary with the Bureau’s key findings, conclusions and recommendations is below.Hutchins and Souza were stuck by a bullet fired from gun held by Alec Baldwin, who has said that he was told that the gun was not loaded.

He has also claimed that he did not pull the trigger and that it must have misfired as he pointed the gun toward the camera during rehearsals at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe.The report concludes that Rust Movie Productions LLC’s management “knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action.”Oscars Honor Slain ‘Rust’ Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins During In Memoriam TributeThe