After the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Dwyane Johnson said he would no longer be using real guns on his film and TV sets.
During the premiere of his latest Netflix blockbuster, Johnson spoke with Variety about his decision to move away from the use of real guns after Hutchins’ on-set death.
The actor has starred in and produced several weapon-heavy films like “Rampage” and “Skyscraper“, but has now vowed to use rubber guns in all of his future Seven Bucks Productions projects.
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you, without an absence of clarity here, that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show, or anything we do or produce — we won’t use real guns at all,” Johnson told Variety. “We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post. We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”
Johnson also referred to the ability to add visual effects to replicate gunshots in post-production, so real guns aren’t necessary for the visual aspect.
He went on to add that he felt “heartbroken” about Hutchins’ death on the set of “Rust.”
“We lost a life. My heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, for a very long time,” he said.
Hutchins’ death shocked many and occurred when actor Alec Baldwin was given a functional loaded gun on the set of “Rust,” resulting in the death of Hutchins and another injured person on set.
“There are safety protocols and measures that we have always taken in the movie business and we take very seriously, and these sets are safe sets, and we’re proud of that. But accidents do happen. And when something like this happens of this magnitude, [that is] this heartbreaking, I think the most prudent thing and the smartest thing to do is just pause for a second and really re-examine how you’re going to move forward and how we’re going to work together. Any movie we do that Seven Bucks does with any studio, the rule is we’re not going to use real guns. That’s it,” said Johnson.
Johnson isn’t the only actor or producer to decide to stray away from the use of real guns on set. Alexi Hawley and Eric Kripke have also joined in on that decision.
In addition, over 200 members of the American Society of Cinematographers have signed an open letter calling for a ban on functional firearms on movie and TV sets, also vowing not to work on sets that continue to use them.
The letter reads: “We vow to no longer put ourselves and our crew in these unnecessarily lethal situations. We have safe alternatives in VFX and non-functional firearms. We won’t sit back and wait for the industry to change. We have a duty to [affect] change within the industry ourselves. Halyna Hutchins was a spirited artist who we know would take action if this tragedy happened to a member of her cinematography community. Please honor her by signing the vow alongside us and by spreading her name.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
