In the aftermath of the tragedy on the set of the film “Rust” last month, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is pledging to stop using real guns on his productions.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson told Variety in an exclusive interview that all films produced by his company, Seven Bucks Productions, will stop using real firearms in the wake of the tragedy that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Johnson said that he was “heartbroken” by what transpired on the set of the Alec Baldwin film.
“We lost a life,” Johnson told Variety at the premiere of Netflix film “Red Notice” in Los Angeles. “My heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, for a very long time.”
“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 said.
“We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post,” he added. “We’re not going to worry about the dollars, we won’t worry about what it costs.”
“Any movie we do that Seven Bucks does with any studio, the rule is we’re not going to use real guns,” he said, adding: “That’s it.”
Seven Bucks Productions, founded by Johnson and his ex-wife and business partner Dany Garcia, has produced such films as “Baywatch,” “Rampage,” “Skyscraper,” “Shazam!,” “Fighting with My Family,” “Jumanji” and “Jungle Cruise,” as well as the upcoming movies “Black Adam” and “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.”
As one of Hollywood’s most lucrative and well-known stars, Johnson’s action could have a ripple effect throughout the film industry.
The news comes as attorneys for the armorer on the movie “Rust” suggested Wednesday the tragedy may have been the result of someone "sabotaging the set" by placing a live round among the ammo that was loaded into the prop gun fired by the actor.
The attorneys, appearing on NBC’s “Today" on Wednesday and speaking to the New York Times, said they are investigating a possible scenario in which a box of ammo that had been marked as dummy rounds could have been tampered with by an unknown third party who put a live round in the box.
"I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove (a) point, want to say that they're disgruntled, they're unhappy,” Attorney Jason Bowles said on the "Today" show. And we know that people had walked off the set the day before.”
Attorney Robert Gorence told the "Today" show that the prop ammo had been kept in a truck "that was completely unattended at all times, giving someone access and opportunity.”
Also Wednesday, Lane Luper, formerly first camera assistant on the film, told ABC's Good Morning America he had quit and left the production the day before the fatal shooting. He was among half a dozen other members of the camera department that walked off the set in protest of poor working conditions.
"What I put in my resignation letter was: Lax COVID policies, the housing situation — driving to and from Albuquerque — and specifically gun safety, a lack of rehearsals, a lack of preparing the crew for what we were doing that day," Luper told "GMA."
During his interview, Luper claimed there were very few safety meetings and that complaints about safety were ignored. He said that safety bulletins, which are manuals for how to run a safe set, were ignored and not attached to call sheets.
"In my 10 years as a camera assistant, I've never worked on a show that cares so little for the safety of its crew," Luper wrote in a resignation letter obtained by ABC News.
"Rust" producers denied Luper's claims to ABC News.
New Mexico authorities said last week it was too early to say if criminal charges will be filed against anyone — but the sheriff said more than 500 rounds of ammunition, likely including some live rounds, were found on the set.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the ammunition — apparently a mix of blanks and dummy rounds, along with some suspected live ammunition — is among 600 pieces of evidence that have been gathered so far in the investigation.
The sheriff also confirmed that the lead projectile apparently fired by Baldwin was recovered Souza's shoulder.
Tracked down by reporters in Vermont last weekend, Baldwin said that he couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation.
“It's an active investigation in terms of a woman died,” Baldwin said. “She was my friend.”
"We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened,” he continued.
City News Service contributed to this report.