Photo: Barry King/WireImage
Shannon Lee, the sister oflate actor Brandon Lee, has endorsed aLos Angeles Timeseditorial that calls for banning guns on movie sets.
Lee’s post comes days afterit was announcedRustactor and producerAlec Baldwinwould be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 shooting death of film cinematographerHalyna Hutchins.
“Thinking of Brandon. May this never happen again,” Shannon wrote in a post shared on both her brother’s official Instagram page and the official page of her father, the legendaryBruce Lee.
Lee’s post also highlighted a quote from Spencer Parsons, head of production at Northwestern University in the School of Communication’s Department of Radio/Television/Film. “Under the best circumstances, mistakes can be made, props that purposely look identical to each other can get mixed up, and the necessary handling of these props can cause malfunction,” Parsons told theTimes.
On Thursday, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb announced that Baldwin andRustarmorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will both be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, with charges formally filed before the end of the month. A press release at the time revealed that David Halls, the film’s assistant director, signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew,” Carmack-Altwies shared in a statement. “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
Brandon Lee on set of “The Crow”.Pressman/Most/Kobal/Shutterstock
TheRustshooting — which also left director Joel Souza seriously injured —happened over two decades afteranother actor unknowingly shot Brandon Lee with a gun that was supposed to have been loaded with blanks onThe Crowset. The district attorney at the time eventuallydeclined to bring chargesagainst the production company behind the film.
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In the immediate aftermath of theRustshooting, Shannon spoke withThe Hollywood Reporterabout how the death of Hutchins was “stirring up a lot of emotions and frustrations” for the her. “There are rules that are supposed to be followed,” she said. “I am certainly not pointing fingers at anyone because that would be the wrong thing to do.”
“But there is no reason for something like this to happen. My heart goes out to Alec Baldwin. I feel for the work he is going to have to do to process this and try to find some measure of peace around it,” Lee added. “And even more so for the family of Halyna Hutchins. It’s having your whole world flip upside down. There should be compassion for all the pain everyone is going through.”
At the time, Lee agreed that real guns needed to be banned from Hollywood sets and said she hoped for “meaningful change,” sharing that “in this day and age, with all the special effects that are possible and all of the technology, there is no reason to have a prop gun or a gun on a set that can fire a projectile of any sort.”
“It is not necessary, and I would love to see some changes made industry-wide,” Lee added. “My brother’s fiancée and I have been talking about it. I think we wish we had thought to do more 28 years ago, and we would love to do that now.”
source: people.com
