‘Rust’ Tragedy Reflects Troubling Trends on Movie and TV Sets: ‘We Did This to Ourselves’

The Rust film set tragedy, live the Travis Scott crowd crush, is another familiar tragedy. It’s happened before and it’s likely to happen again. 

VARIETY reports on sources pointing to a number of “concerning industry trends that are reflected in the behind-the-scenes story of the low-budget independent Western.” 

Inexperience seems to be the central point raised by industry pros regarding the tragic death. The spike in demand for content has stretched below-the-line talent beyond its breaking point. “In some places you can’t find qualified people for these jobs so you are taking (crew) with very little experience,” said a veteran producer.

The “low barrier to entry” in production for streamers has led to inexperience among producers. It’s not uncommon for streaming to pay production costs upfront and this has led to smaller companies to attempt large-scale productions without fully skilled and trained staff and adequate equipment. 

Streamline Global was one of seven production entities listed as backing Rust. The company was founded in 2017 to use films produced with production tax incentives as vehicles to create tax breaks for wealthy investors. Two co-founders of Steamline Global worked on Rust as producers. Industry insiders say problems can occur when goals and incentives among producers are not aligned. 

For many producers and crew members complacency and overconfidence can kick in and safety protocols can be overlooked leading to accidents and deaths. 

 It’s easy to get into a false sense of complacency of ‘Oh we’ve done this a million times.’

Producers were quick to blame the Peak TV phenomenon for stretching the talent pool for below-the-line, craft and technical crew positions well beyond the breaking point.

The strain is felt at every level. The pace of production has more than doubled in a decade and the “tension caused by the windfall of so much work was the strike drama that gripped Hollywood this month.”IATSE, the union representing most production workers, threatened to walk out over quality of life issues in volatile contract talks that may yet be influenced by the jolt of Hutchins’ death.

Speaking to Variety, industry pros spoke of their “anger and anguish” about the turmoil surrounding production workers that is reflected in larger IATSE labour conflict. The Rust tragedy highlights problems that “are all too common on set these days.” 

“As an industry, in Peak TV times, we did this to ourselves,” said a producer.

The pros pointed to the importance of having experienced skilled technicians on set when weapons are involved. “On some shoots you might have a truck full of (firearms) and somebody has to keep track of every one of them and how they’re being used,” the producer said.

The armourer on set typically “spends a lot of time coaching people how to handle a gun safely,” the producer said. “In between takes that person is always standing around coaching.”

The producer said there can be problems if the actors do not take gun safety training seriously – another reason why it’s important to have the experts on set and maintain protocols. 

It’s inconceivable that somebody gets killed on a movie set with a prop gun if everybody follows the rules.

There’s little question that the “Rust” tragedy will yield litigation, probably for years to come. But the question of final liability can be tricky, Harris of Atlanta-based Harris Lowry Manton said, because producers who merely invested in the movie may not be culpable unless it can be demonstrated that some action on their part led to problems on the set.

The production veterans said the industry needs to promote “a zero-tolerance approach for anyone who tries to avoid or ignore safety protocols.” The pros said using inexpensive visual effects are just as effective when it comes to firearms. 

“You can add a muzzle flash so easily now with five minutes of green screen,” the producer said.

The “Rust” accident couldn’t have come at a more momentous time for below-the-line workers, as IATSE leaders have sounded the alarm about the problem of over-worked crews and dangerous conditions on set as part of its regular three-year cycle of contract negotiations with Hollywood’s major studios. Industry sources said the new hard-fought terms that IATSE achieved in its tentative contract agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (Hollywood’s collective bargaining unit) will hopefully ease some of the pressure to work long hours at a gruelling pace.

But in the near-term, there’s also growing fear among industry veterans that the shock of Hutchins’ death to Hollywood’s rank-and-file production workers may drive IATSE members to vote down the agreement that was reached after marathon negotiations on Oct. 16 and send leaders back to the table to push for greater concessions. IATSE is expected to begin its ratification vote among about 60,000 eligible members by next month.

In terms of long-term solutions, production pros say another crucial factor will be training a new generation of crew, craft and technical workers with a reverence for safety. Just as the shocking death of 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones on the set of “Midnight Rider” led to safety reforms for location shoots, the “Rust” tragedy will likely have a broader impact across the often-dangerous world of physical production.

“The takeaway here is there’s hundreds of productions going on every day with firearms,” Harris said. “It’s inconceivable that somebody gets killed on a movie set with a prop gun if everybody follows the rules.”

Read the full story, ‘Rust’ Tragedy Reflects Troubling Trends on Movie and TV Sets: ‘We Did This to Ourselves’ By Cynthia Littleton on Variety.com