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Director Joel Souza: »That was a film.
It's impossible for there to be live ammunition there."
Photo:
Eddie Moore/AP
US director Joel Souza testified in court about Hollywood star Alec Baldwin's fatal shot at a camerawoman while filming the western "Rust."
"There was an incredibly loud bang," said Souza, who was seriously injured in the incident, on Friday at the trial of film set gun master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“It felt like someone had hit me on the shoulder with a baseball bat,” the director explained.
“I remember it clearly.” He staggered backwards because of the force of the hit and screamed.
Souza was hit by the same bullet that killed camerawoman Halyna Hutchins in the October 2021 incident.
The 50-year-old said in court on Friday that he couldn't believe he had been hit by a real bullet.
He told the doctors: “You don’t understand this.
That was a movie.
It's impossible that there is live ammunition there," Souza said.
“At some point they got fed up with my protests,” explained the director.
"They showed me the X-ray of my back and there was a very large ball."
Souza also testified in court that after the shooting he saw Armsmaster Gutierrez-Reed, who now has to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter.
"She looked upset," said the 50-year-old.
"I remember her saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Joel.' And I remember someone yelling at her and she was taken out."
Baldwin shot Hutchins during a rehearsal for the low-budget production “Rust.”
It is unclear how live ammunition could get into the revolver.
Gutierrez-Reed has denied any guilt;
she blames the supplier of the film ammunition.
If convicted of negligent homicide, she could face 18 months in prison.
Alec Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter.
His trial is scheduled to begin in July.
sol/AFP