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Attorneys for “Rust” Armorer Say Live Round May Have Been Part of an Effort To “Sabotage” Production

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Attorney Jason Bowles speculated that an unhappy crew member may have placed a live round in a box of dummy rounds “to prove a point.”


Armorer’s Lawyers Discuss Shooting

Lawyers representing Hannah Guttierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of “Rust,” suggested during a “Today Show” interview Wednesday that someone may have placed live rounds on set in an effort to sabotage the production. 

Attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence joined anchor Savannah Guthrie for a video interview to discuss the accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza in October. Actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene that involved pointing a gun at the camera when it misfired. He was told the gun was safe to use prior to the incident. 

Guttierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls have been identified as the staffers responsible for handling the gun. Guthrie asked Guttierrez-Reed’s lawyers how a live round ended up in the weapon in the first place.

“That’s the most pivotal question in this case,” Bowles responded. “I think that is the question we want the FBI and want the sheriff and the District Attorney to all address.”

According to Bowles, Guttierrez-Reed loaded the gun from “a box of dummy rounds labeled ‘dummy.’”

“Hannah did take from that box that she should, by all accounts, have been able to rely on,” Bowles explained. 

“Now, we don’t know, however, whether that live round came from that box,” he continued. “We are assuming it did. We are assuming someone put the live round in that box, which if you think about that, the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds, had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set.”

Attorney Says Crew Members Can’t Be Ruled Out as Suspects

Bowles added that a number of crew members on set were unhappy with the production. There have been multiple reports alleging unsafe work conditions prior to the shooting. Some crew walked out in protest. 

“I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove a point, want to say they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy,” Bowles claimed. “And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before.”

Bowles said this was not necessarily his “theory,” but it is a possibility he has considered while “trying to get all the facts.”

“I just want to be crystal clear,” Guthrie asked the attorneys at one point. “Are you saying that potentially those that were unhappy, the disgruntled crew members that had walked off set, that they are potential suspects, in your mind, of potentially placing a live round, to prove a point, in your words?”

“Well I think Savannah, you can’t rule anyone out at this point,” Bowles said. 

Both attorneys said they are cooperating with authorities in the ongoing investigation.

Baldwin Shares Messaged Denying Safety Allegations

Their interview came a day after Baldwin shared a statement written by Terese Magpale Davis, a costume designer on set who denied that producers on “Rust” did not take safety seriously. Baldwin added no further commentary other than an Instagram caption that said, “Read this.”

“I’m so sick of this narrative,” Davis wrote. “I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit.”

Davis claimed that the crew never worked a day over 12.5 hours. She also said production was approachable and addressed concerns as they were brought up.

Regarding Guttierrez-Reed, Davis said that while she was not “the most experienced person,” she had “qualifications typical for” production of this level. 

Davis also wrote that safety meetings were held frequently, with multiple sometimes taking place in a single day. 

“Our AD never seemed flippant about safety,” she continued. She added that she is angry over the mistake that was made, but will not “jump on the bandwagon and pretend he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through.”

Davis concluded that the issue was not one production safety, but gun safety. She said she plans to fight for more gun safety rules on set in Hutchins’ name.

Read more: (NBC News) (The Hollywood Reporter) (Los Angeles Times)

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Max to Agrees to “Properly” Credit Writers and Directors After Facing Backlash For Lumping Them in As “Creators”

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The company said the credits were laid out incorrectly due to “an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max.”


After film and television writers slammed Max for crediting all writers, producers, and directors as general “creators” on its platform, the company said it will be adjusting its credits display.

“We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” the streaming service said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. 

Max — the new rebrand of HBO Max that incorporates Discovery content — launched on Tuesday to much criticism. Amid glitches and app-switching confusion, the biggest backlash it faced was over the choice to lump creative roles into one credit section called “creators.” As one viral tweet noted, if a user were to select the film “Raging Bull,” the service’s display would not specifically credit Martin Scorsese as the director, rather, his name would be included at random with half a dozen other people, including writers and producers. 

The decision was condemned by many in the industry who argued it minimizes writers and directors by not properly giving them credit where it is due. Especially amid the ongoing writers’ strike, and with directors and actors starting negotiations with studios, some took it as a slap in the face. 

“The studios don’t want anyone to know our names,” writer Christina Strain tweeted. “It’s easier to pay us nothing if we’re faceless.”

“Another move from studios to diminish the role of writers, directors, actors and other craftspeople. Miss me wit this nonsense,” Jorge Rivera, the Vice-Chair of the Writers Guild’s Latinx Writers Committee, added. 

In a statement, Directors Guild President Lesli Linka Glatter said that Warner Bros. Discovery’s choice to “collapse” these roles into one credit “while we are in negotiations with them is a grave insult to our members and our union.”

“The DGA will not stand for it,” Glatter continued.

WGA West President Meredith Stiehm claimed the move was “a credits violation,” as well as an insult “to the artists that make the films and TV shows that make their corporation billions.”

On Wednesday, Max said it would rework its crediting. 

“We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake,” the platform said.

See what others are saying: (Gizmodo) (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Los Angeles Times)

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A Quarter of Young British Men Support Andrew Tate’s Thoughts on Women

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U.K. residents at large, however, do not view him favorably.


Even under house arrest in Romania, misogynist influencer Andrew Tate still holds substantial sway over young men. 

According to data from YouGov that was obtained by The Independent, 26% of U.K. men between 18 and 29 years old who know of Tate agree with his views on women. That figure was largely the same for men between 30 and 39, as 28% agreed with Tate’s opinions on the subject. 

Men in their 30s were slightly more likely to agree with Tate on his thoughts about masculinity. Three out of ten supported those views, compared to just a quarter of men 18 to 29.

Those statistics only include the thoughts of men who have heard of Tate, but per YouGov, most have. In the 18 to 29 group, 93% were familiar with him, and 86% of men in their 30s knew of him. 

The U.K. at large was less aware of Tate, with just 63% of British adults having heard of him. Of that group, only 6% held a positive view of him. 

Tate has faced substantial backlash for his sexist rhetoric over the years. In the past, he said that men should have “authority” over their wives or girlfriends, and that women should “bear some responsibility” for being raped. He was previously banned from Twitter over his extremist views on women but has since been allowed back on the platform. 

He is currently being investigated in Romania for organized crime and human trafficking. He was arrested and held in custody in December but was released to house arrest earlier this year. No formal charges have been filed against him yet and he has maintained his innocence. 

Tate currently boasts a Twitter following of 6.7 million. It has grown significantly since he was enveloped in legal controversy, and many of his supporters have demanded his release. 

See what others are saying: (The Independent) (Glamour U.K.)

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Involved in “Near Catastrophic” Paparazzi Chase

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“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” a spokesperson for the couple said.


“Aggressive” Paparazzi Chase Couple in New York

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in a “near catastrophic” paparazzi car chase Tuesday night in New York City, according to a spokesperson for the couple.

In a statement, the spokesperson described the photographers as “highly aggressive.”

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the statement added.

“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” it continued. 

Details of the incident are still emerging, but BBC News reported that there are claims the chase involved roughly six cars driving recklessly by running red lights, driving on the sidewalk, carrying out blocking moves, going backward on a one-way road, and taking pictures while driving. 

The chase happened after Harry and Meghan were leaving the Women of Vision Awards with Meghan’s mother, Doria. They did not want photographers to learn where they were staying and attempted to avoid them in what turned into a 75-minute chase on a main road in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. They eventually ducked into a New York Police Department Precinct to hide out before getting into a different vehicle.

The NYPD released a statement confirming that they assisted in protecting the couple as “numerous photographers” hindered their transport. Officials said they made it to their destination and there were no collisions, injuries, or arrests. 

The couple’s spokesperson is asking the public to not share or post footage of the incident. 

“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved,” the spokesperson said. 

Memories of Princess Diana

The chase evokes the brutal press hounding Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was subjected to throughout her life. The paparazzi’s obsession with her ultimately resulted in her death in 1997, when she was killed in a car crash after being chased by photographers in Paris. 

Since marrying Meghan and later bowing out of the Royal Family, Harry has made it explicitly clear that he fears those events could happen again. Meghan has been the subject of endless tabloid scrutiny, enduring racism and harassment from the press. Part of the reason they left the Royal Family was to keep their family protected from such attacks.

Mayor Eric Adams brought up Diana’s tragic passing while speaking about Tuesday night’s chase. 

“I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how [Harry’s] mom died,” Adams said while speaking to reporters. “And it would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well…I think that was a bit reckless and irresponsible.” 

Adams also questioned whether or not he believes a chase could go on for two hours in a city as congested as New York, but noted that even a 10-minute chase would be dangerous. He said he will be briefed on the exact timeline and details later. 

See what others are saying: (BBC News) (Associated Press) (Yahoo News)

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