‘Rust’ Production Company Disputes Claims That It Was Responsible For Unsafe Conditions On Film Set

deadline.com:

The company that produced the ill-fated Rust movie is contesting the findings of the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, which last month fined the company $136,793 for its “willful and serious” violation of workplace safety procedures.

The fine, which is the maximum allowable by law, follows the Bureau’s six-month investigation into the circumstances leading up to the accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on October 21.Rust Movie Productions LLC had 15 business days after receiving the citation on April 20 to either pay the penalty and provide OHSB with certification of corrective action or contest the citation with the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission.In its findings, the Bureau, which is a division of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), said the company was “cited for the plain indifference to the recognized hazards associated with the use of firearms on set that resulted in a fatality, severe injury, and unsafe working conditions.”In contesting the citation, the production company said that the basis for the citation is “factually and legally inaccurate.” It said it shouldn’t have been cited at all because it “was not the ‘employer” responsible for supervising the film set, much less for supervising specific protocols such as the maintenance and loading of weapons.

The law properly permits producers to delegate such critical functions as firearm safety to experts in that field and does not place such responsibility on producers whose expertise is in arranging financing and contracting for the logistics of filming.”The Bureau found that “while the film industry has clear national guidelines for firearms safety, Rust Movie