Quentin Tarantino argues Alec Baldwin is partly responsible for 'Rust' shooting

Alec Baldwin may have had his "Rust" shooting case dismissed, but director Quentin Tarantino feels he isn't entirely blameless.

The "Pulp Fiction" filmmaker, 61, spoke with Bill Maher on Sunday's episode of the comedian's "Club Random" podcast and argued actors like Baldwin are partly responsible for the safe handling of guns on movie sets.

During the discussion, Maher slammed the criminal case against Baldwin, arguing it's absurd to claim the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was his fault because he didn't "purposely shoot her." The actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a gun he was holding went off on the set of the movie "Rust" in 2021, fatally striking Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

But Tarantino, whose movies often feature gun violence, pushed back on Maher's argument, telling the comedian, "The armorer — the guy who handles the gun — is 90% responsible for everything that happens when it comes to that gun. But the actor is 10% responsible. It's a gun. You are a partner in the responsibility to some degree."

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Baldwin for comment.

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The Oscar-winning director continued that an actor must take steps to ensure guns are handled safely.

"They show you that the barrel is clear, that there's not anything wedged in between the barrel," he said. "(They) actually show you the barrel. And then they show you some version of like, 'Here are our blanks. These are the blanks. And here's the gun. Boom. Now you're ready to go.'"

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Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins' death, saying he did not pull the trigger of the gun and was told it didn't contain live ammunition. In July, the involuntary manslaughter charge against him was abruptly dismissed over allegations that prosecutors concealed evidence. The "30 Rock" star subsequently thanked supporters for their "kindness."

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on "Rust," was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Tarantino, who described the "Rust" shooting as the kind of mistake that "undermines an entire industry," also pushed back on Maher's argument that guns should be empty on film sets for safety purposes and digitally altered in post-production.

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"It's exciting to shoot the blanks and to see the real orange fire, not add orange fire," the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" director said, going on to argue, "For as many guns as we've shot off in movies, (the fact) that we only have two examples of people being shot on the set by a gun mishap, that's a pretty (expletive) good record."

Tarantino was alluding to the fact that actor Brandon Lee was fatally shot in a mishap on the set of the movie "The Crow" in 1993. Director Rupert Sanders recently told USA TODAY that he insisted on having no live-firing weapons on the set of his "The Crow" remake, which hit theaters on Friday.

"We work in a very dangerous environment," Sanders said. "There's always a fast car with a crane attached to it, or a horse galloping at speed, or shooting takeoffs on the USS Roosevelt. You're always in the firing line, but it's safety first for me. It's just not worth the risk."

Contributing: Erin Jensen, KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY: Andrew Hay, Reuters