Local Opinion: Film sets in Tucson should follow gun safety rules

Tucson has a rich history as the host for filming major motion pictures. Films including “Easy Rider,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Cannonball Run,” and westerns such as “How the West Was Won,” “Hombre” and dozens of others were shot in and around Tucson. Recently the HBO pilot “Duster” finished their first round of shooting. Tucson is, and Tucson should be a film destination. It’s in our regional DNA.

While “Duster” was busy doing casting calls and building sets in Tucson, many of us were alarmed with what was happening on the New Mexico set of “Rust.” While New Mexico, which offers lucrative film incentives, is having one of its busiest film production years, safety on the set took a back seat. And it cost the life of budding film cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

You’ve seen the news accounts. Somebody loaded a live round of ammunition into a gun that was being used in the movie. Actor Alec Baldwin shot and killed Hutchins during a rehearsal. Every single person I’ve spoken with who is either associated with the film industry, or who isn’t, has asked the same obvious question; what was a live round doing in that gun?

My own interest in film and bringing it back to Tucson is well grounded by the work my brother has accomplished in that industry. Pete Kozachik has created visual effects in movies such as “Matrix,” “Starship Troopers,” “Innerspace,” and Disney favorite “Honey I Shrunk the Kids.” And I’ve visited the sets where he was creating effects in such stop motion films as “Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Coraline,” “Corpse Bride” and “James and the Giant Peach.” With visual effects, during post production they can create and enhance whatever is needed for the big screen reality they’re trying to achieve. There is no justification – there is no need – for shooting a weapon on a set that is loaded with live ammunition. Any effect they’re trying to achieve can be produced in post.

The Actors Equity Association is a labor union that’s made up of the various trades working in the film industry. Through the association, a set of safety-on-the-set guidelines have been issued. Yes, they were in effect prior to the recent death on the New Mexico set. Few if any of them were followed. Had they been, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today.

During our Dec. 7th study session I will be asking the mayor and city council to adopt a regulation that simply says a condition of any permit the City of Tucson issues for film-related work is that the production follow the Actor’s Equity Association guidelines for handling weapons and ammunition. One of those is ‘no live ammunition is allowed’ on the set. It’s not necessary, and we owe it to all of the workers, and to the members of the public who may be gathered watching a film shoot, to assure their safety. If your film includes firing a weapon, use blanks.

Throughout Tucson’s history of playing host to films, many have included firing guns on the set. There have been over 300 films shot out at Old Tucson alone. “Rio Bravo,” “Gunfight at the OK Corral” and the television series “The High Chaparral” all included gunfire. And not a single incident even remotely like what happened in New Mexico has occurred. That’s a history we must honor and assure is carried on with this new policy.

In New Mexico, safety on the set took a back seat to the demands coming from the corporate offices to bring in finished products, on budget and on time. Electricians, makeup artists, sound control engineers, producers, camera operators, and actors have been working extended shifts, day after day. They must know their safety is built into management’s plan for every scene being shot during the film. Whether it’s rehearsal, as was the case with Halyna Hutchins’ killing, or during the filming of a scene, there is no need for live ammunition.

When films come calling in Tucson, they will know that we value their presence, and that we place their safety on the top of our welcome mat. We may not have the New Mexico financial incentives, but we can put into place policies that assure safety on the set for all who come here and are involved with filming.