Quentin Tarantino weighed in on the ‘Rust’ shooting Sunday during his appearance on Bill Maher’s “Club Random.”
Tarantino shared his thoughts on the shooting incident on the set of “Rust,” involving Alec Baldwin and the late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. During a discussion on Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, Tarantino expressed a nuanced perspective on the responsibilities surrounding the incident. He also claimed Baldwin is partly at fault during the incident.
“How can it be his 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 f*cking bullshit. Am I wrong?” Maher asked the director.
“No, it’s a situation I think I’m being fair enough to say that the guy who handles the gun, then armorer is 90% responsible for everything that happens when it comes to that gun,” Tarantino explained. “But the actor is 10% responsible.” (RELATED: Filmmaker Seemingly Trying To Capture Alec Baldwin’s Every Move By Making Documentary Over ‘Rust’ Set Shooting)
Tarantino emphasized the importance of actors personally verifying the safety of the weapons they handle on set. “It’s a gun. you are a partner in the responsibility to some degree… They show it to you, if there’s a step to go through, you go through them. It’s done with due diligence,” he continued.
![EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK - JULY 20: Alec Baldwin attends a HamptonsFilm SummerDocs screening of "War Game" at the Regal UA East Hampton on July 20, 2024 in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2162854405-scaled.jpg)
EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK – JULY 20: Alec Baldwin attends a HamptonsFilm SummerDocs screening of “War Game” at the Regal UA East Hampton on July 20, 2024 in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)
It was previously reported that first Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin, as reported by NBC News. Sommer determined that the prosecution had withheld evidence, rendering the trial untenable.
The actor was visibly emotional, shedding tears in the Santa Fe, New Mexico courtroom as Sommer concurred with Baldwin’s legal team that the suppressed evidence constituted prosecutorial misconduct. Meanwhile, the rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed received an 18-month prison sentence for her role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Hutchins.