#Dozens Of Cinematographers Sign Open Letter Refusing To Work On Sets With Functional Firearms In Rust Aftermath

The crew walkout was mere hours before Hutchins and Souza were shot. According to the Los Angeles Times, several camera operators and their assistants “were frustrated by the conditions surrounding the low-budget film, including complaints about long hours, long commutes, and waiting for their paychecks.” Following the walkout, “Rust” producers hired a replacement camera crew that was initially reported as “non-union,” but the film’s costume designer, Terese Magpale Davis, disputed both the poor working conditions and the non-union hiring in a lengthy Instagram post on October 30. The post was shared by Alec Baldwin (under his official account @alecbaldwininsta) to his 2.4 million followers.

Speaking as someone who worked on the film, Davis denies that production was beset by long hours and poor accommodations. “We never worked more than a 12.5 hour shoot day,” Davis states, and that the entire crew had just come off of an extended weekend, citing that the daily time sheets would back her up. She disputes the claim that the camera operators were not given reasonable lodging, asserting that “they just didn’t feel they were fancy enough.” While the costume designer desires better working conditions in the industry, she stops short of praising the six crewmembers who walked off. “These guys are not heroes,” she says. When they did walk off, a replacement crew was hired from IATSE Local 480’s Overflow list which, according to Davis, means the “non-union” label isn’t quite accurate.

On the contrary, workers hired from the Overflow list are explicitly not yet or not currently members of IATSE, but are working towards the necessary requirements to make the cut. According to IATSE Local 480, “If a production cannot find members in one of our covered crafts who are available to work, we’ll send them a list of Overflow people for that craft and they will hire off of it, or we’ll send a blast out to the Overflow List and individuals can reply with a resume.” The Local’s website also tries to make it very clear that the Overflow list is not a viable source of regular work, stating, “we want to stress that most Overflow work is short and sparse. The Overflow List is certainly not a way to get consistent work. If your experience is different than this, please know that you are an exception, not the trend.”