Dwayne Johnson Urges That His Company Won’t Use Real Guns in Productions after Rust Shooting
Dwayne Johnson is promising to stop using real guns on the sets of his productions after the fatal Rust shooting last month.
The actor, 49, who owns the production company Seven Bucks, told Variety Wednesday that he plans to only use rubber guns on set going forward, and will aim to apply the same practice to any other studio he works with in the future.
“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 the outlet at the Red Notice premiere in Los Angeles.
He added, “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, who had to work with firearms while filming Red Notice, told Variety he always takes safety protocols seriously but acknowledged that “accidents do happen” with firearms 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, and we’re proud of that. But accidents do happen,” he said.
“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 re-examine how you’re going to move forward and how we’re going to work together,” he continued. “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.”
Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21 while rehearsing for a scene in his western film Rust. While Baldwin, 63, had been told by assistant director Dave Halls that the gun he was using was a “cold gun” — meaning it contained no live rounds — a real bullet was loaded in the chamber, which struck and killed Hutchins, 42, and wounded director Joel Souza, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office search warrant affidavit.
Johnson told Variety Wednesday that he was “heartbroken” over the Rust shooting.
“We lost a life,” he said. “My heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, for a very long time.”
Production on Rust has been halted while the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. No charges have been filed at this time.
Also on the carpet Wednesday, Johnson said that he’s had “a wonderful career.”
“And when I first broke into Hollywood, my main goal was just to have a little bit of longevity, hopefully, make a good movie or two, not suck. And you know, so it has all been surreal.”