Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reacted to the killing of Halyna Hutchins at the hands of Alec Baldwin by declaring he will no longer use real firearms, but instead will use rubber guns.
RED NOTICE – Dwayne Johnson is the FBI’s top profiler John Hartley in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber, RED NOTICE is releasing November 12, 2021. Cr: Netflix © 2021
Johnson spoke with Variety at the premiere of his upcoming Netflix film Red Notice in Los Angeles.
.@TheRock pledges to end the use of real guns on all Seven Bucks Productions sets, following the death of Halyna Hutchins: “We’re going to switch over to rubber guns. We’re going to take care of it in post. We’re not going to worry about the dollars.” https://t.co/M232HP48fJ pic.twitter.com/owKGyg18m0
— Variety (@Variety) November 4, 2021
Variety’s Elizabeth Wagmeister asked Johnson, “What do you think about firearms on set and how can we ensure that things are always safe in the industry?”
The actor responded, “Liz, that’s a great question. First of all, I was heartbroken when I read that. And it was the kind of the story that you read and you are like, ‘Wait. Am I reading this s*** right? Did this really happen?’ And you want to confirm it. I start to text people who I know who know people because it’s a small industry we’re in. And they confirmed that yeah that happened. And we lost a life. So my heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, as well for a very long time.”
RED NOTICE – (L-R) RYAN REYNOLDS, DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON, and GAL GADOT STAR IN NETFLIX’S RED NOTICE RELEASING NOVEMBER 12, 2021. WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY RAWSON MARSHALL THURBER. Cr: Frank Masi/NETFLIX © 2021
Johnson then announced he would be banning firearms from all films his production company, Seven Buck Productions, works on.
He stated, “I can’t speak for other production companies or other studios. I can tell you though what we should do in a scenario like this. Learn from it. And as we move forward there are new protocols and new measures, safety measures, that we should take. Especially, in the wake of what just happened.”
He added, “Again, 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. We are going to switch over to rubber guns. And we are going to take care of it in post.”
RED NOTICE – (L-R) Dwayne Johnson is the FBI’s top profiler John Hartley; Ryan Reynolds is the world’s greatest art thief Nolan Booth; and Gal Gadot is the world’s most wanted art thief “The Bishop” in Netflix’s RED NOTICE. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber; RED NOTICE is releasing November 12; 2021. Cr: Frank Masi / Netflix © 2021
The Red Notice actor then noted he and his production company will not be worrying about the added costs this change will incur, “We’re not going to worry about the dollars. We won’t worry about what it costs because really with something like this… It just sucks that it had to happen like this for us to, for us on our end, again I can’t speak for anybody else, for us to wake up.
He continued, “When that happened within two hours I had the entire team on the phone and we are like, ‘Okay. What can we do now?’ Like let’s really look at this and how can we move forward in a better way?”
RED NOTICE – (L-R) RYAN REYNOLDS, GAL GADOT and DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON STAR IN NETFLIX’S RED NOTICE RELEASING NOVEMBER 12, 2021. WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY RAWSON MARSHALL THURBER. Cr: Frank Masi/NETFLIX © 2021
Johnson then added, “Because then I would tell you too, also, you know I love the movie business, and I know you do too. It’s the business that we are in. There are safety protocols and measures that we have always taken in the movie business that we take very seriously and these sets are safe sets. And we are proud of that. But accidents do happen.
“When something like this happens at this magnitude, this heartbreaking, I think the most prudent thing and the smartest thing to do is just pause for a second, and really reexamine how you are going to move forward and how we are going to work together,” he said.
“Look, any movie we do, Seven Bucks does, with any studio the rule is we are not going to use real guns. That’s it,” he asserted.
Dwayne Johnson is Frank Wolff in Disney’s JUNGLE CRUISE. Photo by Frank Masi. © 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Rubber guns do indeed exist. Prop seller NewRuleFX has a number of foam rubber guns for sale on their website including their NewRuleFX Brand Foam Rubber Uzi Machine Gun Prop.
The description for the item states, “This life-sized replica is made entirely from urethane flexible foam that is rigid enough to stand up to theatrical or motion picture use. It is finished in black and features exceptional detail. This prop is perfect for stunt use in direct contact with actors.”
It continues, “This is and inert prop. It contains NO explosive and does not fire, nor can it be modified to do so. Blaze orange tip marker is affixed as required by law.”
Source: NewRuleFX
Johnson is not the only one to state he will no longer be using real guns on his productions. The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke announced he would no longer be using firearms on his productions.
He wrote on Twitter, “Someone hurt or killed on my set is my worst nightmare. Sending love to Halyna Hutchins’ family, Jensen Ackles, cast & crew of ‘Rust.’ I’m so sorry.”
“In her memory, a simple, easy pledge: no more guns with blanks on any of my sets ever. We’ll use VFX muzzle flashes. Who’s with me?”
Source: Erik Kripke Twitter
Actress and director Olivia Wilde also circulated a Change.org petition calling for the ban of firearms from film sets.
She tweeted, “Hollywood: It’s time to create ‘Halyna’s Law’, which will ban the use of real firearms on film production sets and create a safe working environment for everyone involved. – Sign the Petition!”
Source: Olivia Wilde Twitter
However, Terror on the Prairie and Justified actor Nick Searcy claims this solution will ruin the careers and lives of hundreds of armors.
In response to Wilde, Searcy tweeted, “Typical Democrat solution: penalize the hundreds of armorers who have worked safely in Hollywood for decades because some cheap asshole flaunted safety rules & got someone killed.”
He added, “This is just more Hollywood star bullshit of blaming the inanimate object. Ignore these a**holes.”
Source: Nick Searcy Twitter
Searcy also responded directly to Widle’s tweet.
He wrote, “It isn’t the gun’s fault. Stop trying to end an entire division of jobs in Hollywood because a s***ty, irresponsible friend of yours hurt someone.”
Source: Nick Searcy Twitter
What do you make of Johnson’s announcement that he will no longer have firearms on the set of Seven Bucks Productions projects?