Quentin Tarantino Says Alec Baldwin Is “10 Percent” Responsible for ‘Rust’ Shooting

Quentin Tarantino believes Alec Baldwin has some culpability in the Rust set shooting.

The topic of Baldwin accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after being given a prop gun with live rounds came up during Tarantino’s recent appearance on the Club Random podcast, where Bill Maher joked that the actor was asked to host the Oscars, but “couldn’t do it; he was shooting.”

Maher then asked the filmmaker, “How can it be [Baldwin’s] fault — like either you think he purposely shot that cinematographer or you think he didn’t purposely shoot her. And if he didn’t purposely shoot her, then it’s all fucking bullshit. Am I wrong?” 

“No,” Tarantino responded. “I think I’m being fair enough to say that the armorer, the guy who hands him the gun, is 90 percent responsible for everything that happens when it comes to that gun.” The director did opine, however, that “the actor is 10 percent responsible” in this type of situation. 

“It’s a gun. You are a partner in the responsibility to some degree,” Tarantino continued. 

“What do you do to test it?” wondered Maher. “They show it to you,” the auteur said. “If there are steps to go through, you go through them and it’s done with due diligence. And you know it’s fucking for real.”

Tarantino explained that if Baldwin “went through the steps that he’s supposed to go through, then he [should know better].” Those steps include making sure that “the barrel is clear, that there’s not anything wedged in between” and being shown the blanks used for the scene. 

The director also noted that if an actor is aware of having “three hot rounds” in the prop gun and is going to do a scene, “if one of the rounds doesn’t go off while he does his ‘bam, bam, bam,’ then he should cut the scene and say, ‘Guys, one of the rounds didn’t go off. I think I’m still holding a hot gun here.’” 

When asked by Maher why prop guns can’t be empty and have gunshot sounds added in postproduction, Tarantino remarked, “I guess I can add digital erections to porno, but who wants to fucking watch that?” He added that it’s “exciting to shoot the blanks and to see the real orange fire and not add orange fire.”

Earlier this year, Baldwin faced a trial for involuntary manslaughter. The case was ultimately dismissed in July. “The late discovery of this evidence has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stated in court. “There is no way for the court to right this wrong. The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.”