Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, Oct. 26. I’m Justin Ray.
The news remains shocking. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed by a prop gun fired by actor and producer Alec Baldwin. The tragedy occurred Thursday afternoon during filming of a gunfight for a movie called “Rust.” Hutchins’ career was just taking off.
The latest development in the story has to do with a newly released search warrant; it reveals, among other things, that Baldwin was practicing removing a revolver from its holster and aiming toward the camera during rehearsal when director Joel Souza heard “what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop.”
The killing on the set at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe has had reverberations here in California. Here are four ways the Golden State has been effected:
A California state senator has called for a ban on live ammunition on movie sets and in theatrical productions. Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), chair of the Senate Labor Committee, said he would introduce legislation. However, with the Legislature now in recess, details of any bill are not likely to be available until January. “It is important that California establish new safety standards and best practices for all those who work in the industry and particularly in our own state,” Cortese said in a statement.
ABC’s popular procedural “The Rookie” has banned the firing of real guns on the show. Alexi Hawley, the showrunner of the cop drama starring Nathan Fillion as a Los Angeles Police Department newcomer, wrote to crew members Friday with the new policy. Instead, replica toy guns will be used, with computer-generated muzzle flashes added in postproduction, he said.
A petition is going around calling for the creation of Halyna’s Law,which would “ban the use of real firearms on film production sets and create a safe working environment for everyone involved.” Actors Olivia Wilde, Holland Taylor and others have tweeted their support for the petition. It currently has more than 28,000 signatures.
On Sunday night, a crowd of some 300 film workers gathered in Burbank to pay tribute to Hutchins. “We’re here to mourn,” said Michael Miller, vice president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). “But I’m afraid we are also gathered with some frustration and a little bit of anger. Anger that too often the rush to complete productions and the cutting of corners puts safety on the back burner and puts crew members at risk.”
The deadly accident came on the heels of a major IATSE labor dispute in entertainment. The union, which represents Hollywood crews, recently reached an agreement on a new contract with major studios. The crews were upset about conditions like long hours and pay; apparently those issues were present on the New Mexico set.
Producers have announced that they are going to “pause” work on “Rust” as law enforcement officials investigate Hutchins’ shooting death.
Further reading:
— As further details emerge about a lack of safety protocols that led to the accidental firing of a prop gun on the New Mexico set of “Rust,” a portion of the script obtained by The Times depicts the scene in question.
— Productions regularly use operational firearms, arguably to add realism to the scene and authenticity to an actor’s performance. A story we published explains how weapons are usually handled on sets, and the precautions usually taken to ensure the safety of crew.
And now, here’s what’s happening across California:
Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing.
Northern California saw record rainfall Sunday from an atmospheric river storm system. Downtown Sacramento reported an all-time record 24-hour rainfall total of 5.44 inches, surpassing a mark set in 1880, officials announced early Monday. Rain began to taper off in the region by daylight, after pounding the area the previous day. About 125,000 residents across the state — from the Bay Area to Sacramento and Lake Tahoe and down to San Luis Obispo — were without power Monday morning, according to PG&E. Los Angeles Times
A pedestrian wades down a flooded street on Oct. 24, 2021, in Kentfield, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Disneyland and neighboring California Adventure Park raised most daily ticket prices Monday and are adopting an even higher price to visit on the most popular days of the year, such as Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Daily ticket prices are jumping 3% to 8%, with standard daily parking rates going up by 20%. The parks last raised ticket prices by as much as 5% in February of 2020 — shortly before the parks closed for 13 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Los Angeles Times
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