Alec Baldwin Shoots and Kills Cinematographer, Wounds Director

[RomaVicta 29574]

2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I don't KNOW if he should be held civilly liable for his actions/inactions as a producer.  I don't have all the evidence - not even close to it.  I have, however, read enough facts that would support a colorable claim and discovery into the facts and circumstances of the event to determine if he is liable.

This was a small production, and there are allegations that he was aware of sloppiness on the part of the armorer and the handling and prep of weapons.  IF that were true (the "if" is the part you find out in discovery), then yes, he may and perhaps should be found liable for negligence.  Same as if he was aware that his crew was regularly driving around local roads drunk as shit in production vehicles.  Senior personnel can have personal liability if they know of a risky situation and allow it to continue.  If there ends up being any basis for legal consequences against Baldwin, that's where they'll come from.  

Wouldn't supervising those things have to be part of a job description somewhere?

Are the producers and executive producers who were not present on the set because it was not their job (some likely just got fees for finding money or the script) be similarly liable?

If Baldwin's only role as a producer was as part of the creative team (likely) with no responsibilities for anything to do with crew, production management, scheduling, or anything other than developing the story, what would you say his liability might be?

I'm not a lawyer, so the questions are unprejudiced. I do know movie making.

[Brisketexan 103602]

2 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Wouldn't supervising those things have to be part of a job description somewhere?

Are the producers and executive producers who were not present on the set because it was not their job (some likely just got fees for finding money or the script) be similarly liable?

If Baldwin's only role as a producer was as part of the creative team (likely) with no responsibilities for anything to do with crew, production management, scheduling, or anything other than developing the story, what would you say his liability might be?

I'm not a lawyer, so the questions are unprejudiced. I do know movie making.

Bottom line, yes, some supervision/actual knowledge of the circumstances on set would be a necessary element to find someone liable (most likely, presuming NM law is similar to Texas law).  But Baldwin was -- again, by the accounts I've read -- more than just someone who provided funded and developed a story.  He was actively on-set, and was (allegedly) aware of some of the misconduct AND was in a position to do something about it.  Again, facts still to be fully determined.

Producer Jones on the other hand, who provided a traunch of money 2 years back and gets quarterly emails to his office in Hollywood saying "filming is on track," almost certainly has no liability.  It's all about the defendant's awareness of the dangerous condition, and his ability to do something about it.

[RomaVicta 29574]

Thanks for that, Brisket. I guess courts and juries will ultimately decide, but I still am not convinced that Baldwin had some supervision/actual knowledge of the circumstances on set. He likely had far less specific knowledge of what was going on around the set than a production assistant manning the craft services (snack) table. I doubt he ever did anything supervisory regarding the crew other than to ask for a Diet Coke or ask someone to get out of his eye line.

I wasn't there, so I can't say definitively. 

[TwiceHorn 30850]

Stated perhaps more simply, actors (and other on-set types) generally have knowledge of dangerous set conditions, but no power to change them.

Similarly, producers may have power to change dangerous set conditions, but generally lack knowledge of them.

Baldwin's position as both actor and producer puts him in a unique position that may expose him to civil liability.  Exposure that he wouldn't have if he had been one or the other.

[RomaVicta 29574]

Again, @Brisketexan & @TwiceHorn. thanks for the illumination.