The family of Brandon Lee has been overcome with sadness and frustration in learning that another accidental fatal shooting occurred on a film set.
On Thursday, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed when a gun handled by Alec Baldwin misfired on the set of his Western film, Rust. Director Joel Souza was also wounded. The incident remains under investigation.
Brandon Lee’s sister, Shannon, told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday that her heart was broken for all involved in the Rust tragedy and that her family was once again processing their own pain.
“I have been in contact with my mom and with my brother’s fiancee,” Shannon Lee told THR upon hearing the news. “A lot of people have been reaching it. It’s stirring up a lot of emotions — and frustration.”
In March 1993, Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, was fatally wounded by a prop gun while filming The Crow. He was 28.
Acknowledging that details are unclear over what went wrong on Rust, Lee said there is no excuse for another deadly shooting accident.
“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. 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.”
Baldwin on Friday said he was filled with “shock and sadness” over the incident. He noted he was working with authorities to determine what went wrong.
Following the Thursday shooting, a number of those involved in the industry, both in front and behind the camera, said on social media that real guns need to be banned from Hollywood sets. Lee agrees.
“I think 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,” she said. “It is not necessary, and I would love to see some changes made industry-wide. My brother’s fiancee 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.”
Noting that her family would wholeheartedly support an initiative banning real guns from sets, Lee stressed rules in place now must be followed.
“There were rules in place on The Crow. Unfortunately, there was negligence of the rules,” she said. “I don’t want to speak to the incident on Rust, but in Brandon’s accident, there were many rules that were not followed and corners that were cut, which lead to the tragedy on that set. It did not have to happen.”
Fans of The Crow star took to social media upon learning of the Rust tragedy, remembering the late actor and sharing how much he meant. Shannon Lee called the moment bittersweet.
“It is unfortunate that it is something like this that is bringing it back up to the forefront,” she said. “But at the same time, for him to be remembered, to see that outpouring of love for him — it is beautiful. Hopefully one of the things that come out of this is it does lead to meaningful change.”
Article by Ryan Parker for The Hollywood Reporter
Comments