After the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, actor and producer Dwayne Johnson has pledged to not use real guns on set.
During an interview with Variety, the 49-year-old former wrestler confirmed he will only use prop replica weapons in 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,” he said.
“We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post,” he said. “We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”
Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, Red Notice, followed strict safety protocols on set. But following the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, Johnson has pledged to ensure the safety of his crews.
“I love the movie business,” he explained. “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 sets, and we’re proud of that. But accidents do happen. And when something like this happens of this magnitude, [that is] this heart-breaking, I think the most prudent thing and the smartest thing to do is just pause for a second and really re-examine how you’re going to move forward and how we’re going to work together.”
After handling firearms in Red Notice, Johnson has made the decision to only use rubber replicas on any future shoots – enforcing this rule with any studios he works with.
“Any movie we do that Seven Bucks does with any studio, the rule is we’re not going to use real guns,” he confirmed. “That’s it.”
Dwayne Johnson’s decision to use rubber prop replicas instead of real guns could pave the way for other production companies to follow suit. After all, Johnson himself is a respected action star, carrying weight amongst fellow producers. Seven Bucks Productions is also behind some of the most lucrative movies of the past few years, including Jumanji, Jungle Cruise and Hobbs & Shaw.
“I was heartbroken,” said Johnson about the tragic shooting. “We lost a life. My heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, for a very long time.”
A lawyer for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of firearms on the film Rust, has claimed that the fatal live round could have been placed as an act of sabotage. However, local authorities in Santa Fe are still investigating the incident.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.