“Zhang” has brought Hollywood together, but so far has facilitated limited actions

After more than eight months Oxide Tragedy focused on gun safety on set, especially at the low-budget level, raising awareness, but actual change was limited and halted. The observed modest changes appear to be caused by new concerns about the responsibilities of studio-level business departments. And as outrage subsides, reform legislation stalls or is dropped.

the hollywood reporter He reached out to many of the industry’s top armors about how his day job impacted performances after Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halina Hutchins in the film he starred in and produced. You can be wary of the stigma that surrounds you Oxide, Most did not want to talk about it. But a trend emerged in many interviews: a greater use of Airsoft tools – these are unarmed copies that fire projectiles with very little energy – rather than firearms equipped with blanks. When Airsoft guns are used, they are enhanced with visual effects including smoke and tight flickers (often even when using firearms).

“It’s a strict liability,” explains Brian U. Carpenter, New Orleans-based armor in Dark Thirty, whose credits are included. queen of the south s ultra americanIn the growing transition to Airsoft with products like ᲛThe mission is impossible – dead accounting (early adoption Oxide).“If it looks a little worse, even with the effects, so be it. “Especially if you don’t want to spend money on hiring professional armor.” (Some products try to cut costs for armor masters by ordering armor.)

Airsofts are often used in conjunction with firearms. For example, x fast – A major gun-centric movie currently produced by Wagon – includes Airsofts, but still uses firearms for some scenes and performances.

Carpenter points out the irony: It’s studio and network lawyers pushing for change: “Guess who’s doing it again. [using blanks]? small products. They are the only ones likely to have a security issue. “The bigger they are, the more I assume they have more to lose.” As evidence that major products are paying more attention to firearm use, including out of liability, Carpenter says he was pleasantly surprised when he recently appeared on AMC on a weekday. interview with a vampire And there was a note on the call sheet that there was “licensed and credited armor on set”. Carpenter explains that it was “the first time I saw and worked on a lot of shows.”

Bruce Wenzel of South Africa Hire Arms, responsible for weapons like Rwanda hotel s A translator, agrees that there has been a change in Airsoft. “We have several jobs where they are now going to do everything digitally for security reasons; “Everyone perceives failure.” He wonders if his niche is in danger. “People like me, who have invested many, many millions in historically correct pieces and blanks, think, ‘Okay, [if] This will be the future, what’s the point?

Wenzel, who argues that retrofitted firearms are only dangerous “if you don’t follow the rules,” is skeptical of the Airsoft version, given its different investment. “As actors respond, they look better with real weapons. You shoot an Airsoft rifle and walk away Pu-Pu-Pu –It doesn’t feel real.”

Many cinematographers argue that firearms are not necessary on set. After Hutchins’ death, hundreds of prominent lawmakers signed an open letter urging the entertainment industry to ban “functional firearms”, i.e. firearms that could use live ammunition. Signed by Greig Fraser (Dune), Rachel Morrison (panther avi), Bradford Young (ArrivalMandy Walker (Elvis) and Dana Gonzalez (fargoThe letter reads: “We urge immediate action from our union leadership, our producers and our legislators to influence a unified change on our behalf.” They added that they would no longer work on projects that would use functional firearms to shoot.

Visual effects professionals point out that using visual effects to move weapons won’t be very destructive; this technique is already widely used. “Silent pictures/flashes always add a little bit to the post,” wrote Drew Jones, Director of VFX Business Development at VFX Cinesite, in an email. Recent credits from your company include there is no time for death. “Often this is because empty seats on set aren’t always lit correctly, or maybe the flashes set don’t match the action or the timing is wrong. Josh Jagars, President of VFX and DNEG Stereo Group (Dune), agrees. Visual effects companies like DNEG have added close flashes [to replace or augment the real thing] “For years, nobody noticed it,” he said..

Meanwhile, new technologies are evolving. Explains visual effects supervisor Jeffrey Okun, past president of the Society for Visual Effects: “In my world, we’re looking to make solid rubber tools that have an LED bulb at the bottom of the barrel so that when you pull the trigger, the gun flash. “

Sound professionals also say that you don’t need a working firearm to get the best audio, as a shot is usually added to the post anyway. “The set shot is not intended to influence the final sound of the TV show or movie,” explains Mark Lanza, sound supervisor.Richter, Hunter), who is the president of Motion Picture Sound Editors. “The imaginary round is mainly used for visual effects, so you can see the jump of the weapon in the actor’s hand and the action of a pistol or rifle in the next round of the cycle. The sound they make on set isn’t very accurate. The charge is light and it’s obviously not a shell with a star head or camera.

Aside from similar creative approaches, the ability to regulate the use of guns by law has not progressed. In mid-May, two rival California projects, one supported by an industry-backed trade group, the Motion Picture Association, the other, by various industry associations, including SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild, and several local IATSEs, were murdered. on a State Senate Committee when both sides. No compromises could be reached in a unified approach. A law project, the SB 829, sought to specifically address the firearms regulations, and the SB 831 adopted a broader approach to security, seeking to name an independent “security supervisor” who could detain the production in an independent way for solve problems.

Senator Anthony Portantino, author of MPA-backed SB 829, chairs a committee where two bills were suspended and decided to suspend them. He says the two sides have continued to talk and don’t think they are “so far apart” but “need to come to an agreement” for the legislation to move forward. “I urge both parties to do the right thing,” he said.

Senator Dave Cortez, author of a Labor-backed opposition bill, wrote in the letter that since May he “has had more discussions with my colleagues in the Senate, as well as industry stakeholders, to advance these reforms.” He added that “you can always return the invoice”.

“We will continue to fight to achieve this [passed]”- says Baird B. Boss de Stepto, newly elected president of the IATSE Local 600 (International Guild of Cinematographers), of which Hutchins was a member. “Our locations now have a video showing safe practices for all our members, including firearms. It was a tragic incident that happened and we cannot repeat it. Therefore, we must educate our teams and the industry on how to be safer. And that’s what we do. ”

It’s unclear whether other states will be able to pass their own legislation: New Mexico’s bill, which required crew members to apply for specific firearms safety training, died earlier this year, while a law to ban live ammunition in theaters is still pending. Through the New York State Senate.

marked answer Oxide It may reflect the belief in Hollywood that mirror tragedy is a separate situation that does not require a significant change in existing standards if properly applied. On June 13, following the mass shootings in Valdale, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, the Brady Gun Control Organization published an open letter signed by more than 200 leading industry figures, including Shonda Rhimes, Jay Abrams, Jade Apatow and Michelle Da. Roberto Rei. The statement, in part, seeks to portray the screen as more responsible for the use of firearms, noting how this has helped to promote smoking, drunk driving and marriage equality in developing cultural norms and saving lives.

However, the letter did not address gun safety. Christy Callahan, co-chairman of Brady LA, helped develop the language and made it big, along with her husband, former MGM president Jonathan Glickman, who now runs Panoramic Media. “We definitely talked [gun use on set]he said, noting that the recommendations endorsed by the signatories, including a ‘conscious effort to show characters safely storing their weapons and making them inaccessible to children’, are more cultural norms than regulations. One of the truly regulated places in the country That is To establish. “

Additional reporting by Aaron Cauch, James Heberd and Katie Kilken.