If you’ve seen any of Quentin Tarantino‘s hit movies, like Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards, and Kill Bill, then you know that the Oscar winner isn’t afraid to have some bloody shooting scenes in his movies. But, regardless of how graphic Tarantino’s scenes might get, that doesn’t mean he’s any less careful on set.
In a recent interview for Bill Maher’s podcast Club Random, Tarantino used his expertise to reflect on Alec Baldwin‘s fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in 2021.
“It’s a situation, I think I’m being fair enough to say, that the armorer — the guy who handles the gun — is 90% responsible for everything that happens when it comes to that gun,” Tarantino said, per Daily Mail.
As a reminder, the armorer on Rust, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence, per Newsweek.
According to Tarantino, however, the armorer isn’t the only one to blame. “But the actor is 10% responsible,” Tarantino stated. “You are a partner in responsibility to some degree.” For Tarantino, actors should have the responsibility to work with their armorers and inspect their onscreen props, especially when they could have deadly consequences.
But, despite Tarantino’s partial blame on Baldwin, the 66-year-old actor’s involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed with prejudice in July because the prosecutor withheld evidence from his defense team.
“The state’s discovery violation has injected a needless, incurable delay into the jury trial,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer remarked. “Dismissal with prejudice is warranted to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and the efficient administration of justice. Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is granted.”
As a result, experts believe Gutierrez-Reed’s sentence might be modified shortly too. “I fully expect Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to make the same argument for her conviction to be overturned,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained to CNN. “I think this case wasn’t won by Alec Baldwin as much as it was lost by the prosecution. … This evidence is more exculpatory and exonerates Gutierrez-Reed even more than Baldwin.”
So, regardless of who Tarantino might say is to blame in this scenario, it seems neither of the two parties will be getting the conviction he believes they deserve.
