Michael Shannon is no stranger to on-set safety precautions—especially when it comes to guns. The Bullet Train star says on a movie set with well-trained professionals, safety is placed as the highest priority; if done well, the process is "very, very meticulous."
But when safety gets sloppy due to steep cost-cutting measures, tragedy can strike. That's what Shannon says occurred in October 2021, when actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot and killed director Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust after being handed a gun that contained live rounds.
"...Rust is an example I see in filmmaking more and more these days. On smaller productions, independent productions, the producers keep wanting more and more for less and less. They don't want to give you enough money. They cut corners, ridiculously, every which way. And they get away with it," the actor told the Chicago Tribune in a recent interview.
Shannon—who is not involved with Rust—says the preventable tragedy on this particular production is a symptom of a larger problem: as filmmakers create stellar movies on small budgets, producers want more and more for less money.
Rust made the fatal mistake of cutting the wrong corners by hiring an armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who Shannon says "clearly was not qualified for the job."
"They whittle the budget down to the bare minimum—but the one thing you can't cut corners on is your armorer. If you have guns in your movie, that's no place to cut corners," he asserted.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Western flick began filming with a $7 million production budget.
Shannon Says He's Sympathetic, But Shooting Was Natural Consequence of Trying to Save on Safety
Though Shannon is firm that Hutchins was grievously failed on all sides when it came to her death, he doesn't condemn his fellow actor for the accident.
"I'm not condemning Alec. I feel horrible for the guy. It's a nightmare. I feel terrible for everyone on that production," he said, adding that his sympathy does have limits.
"But this is what happens when you lowball and cut corners and hire people that may not be qualified, and pay them next to nothing, and make the movie on the cheap. People get jobs in this business because they're willing to work for a low enough fee. I see it all the time."
In the wake of the tragedy, Shannon is one of many calling for an end to real guns on movie sets for the safety of all involved, telling the Tribune:
"There's a big push now to do [all the gunfire]...in postproduction. No more live firing on set, period. So you act like you're firing a gun when you're not. It's called 'acting.' And it's truly not worth dying for."
Ultimately, Shannon wants to remind audiences of the seriousness of gun violence.
"[It's] no joke...It destroys peoples lives," he shared.
Hutchins was 42 and is survived by her husband and son.