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\nThe death of Halyna Hutchins is devastating news. I cannot even imagine the trauma of everyone who was there, who witnessed it. Horror. <\/p>\n
Hutchins was just getting started. <\/p>\n
A graduate of AFI – just 6 years ago! – and part of the inaugural class of the Fox DP lab for women cinematographers (just 8 people), Hutchins hailed from the Ukraine, and grew up on a military base above the Arctic circle, surrounded by obsolete Soviet nuclear warheads and etc. She started out in documentary. <\/p>\n
She worked hard to get where she was – in her career, and geographically – a long long way from the Arctic Circle. Her Instagram feed<\/a> is a testament to her joy and enthusiasm in being a part of this crazy business, loving the sunsets, the lights, the location scouting, the camaraderie and collaboration. <\/p>\n After the tragedies of Jon Erik Hexum<\/a> and Brandon Lee<\/a> – and all of the safety protocols put in place afterwards – this should not have happened. My heart goes out to her family and friends and everyone who was there when it happened.<\/p>\n \n \nHutchins was DP on last year’s Archenemy<\/em> as well as Rust<\/em>, two typically male-dominated genre films (superhero\/Western). She was quietly breaking down barriers by doing good work. American Cinematographer magazine<\/a> named her a ‘rising star’ in 2019. <\/p>\n She was a valued collaborator. Listen to the tributes from the actors and directors who worked with her. They speak of her dedication, sensitivity, enthusiasm and talent. The DP works closely with everyone: director, actors, production designer, set decoration … everyone. It’s a huge job, requiring intersection and collaboration with every department involved in making a movie. (Stay away from the appalling NY Times<\/em> piece about her death which ends in a litany of Alec Baldwin’s problems in the past, as though this was somehow deliberate on his part. Disgusting.) I know so many people have been affected by this, and I hope there are counselors on the scene, but I am thinking in particular of Jensen Ackles, who just joined the cast, and who was so excited about this opportunity, his first film in years. Trauma. All of them. They will need care and support. <\/p>\n I send out prayers to director Joel Souza who was also injured and is currently in the hospital. The three of them, Souza, Baldwin and Hutchins, were probably in a huddle of collaboration when this happened. <\/p>\n I know about the safety protocols in re: guns on set. My cousin’s husband, a retired LAPD police officer, was a weapons supervisor on various sets for years. I know how gun safety on set works and how careful the “gun people” are in terms of weapons. They take their job very very seriously, for good reason. Something broke down here in that process and it’s just devastating. <\/p>\n RIP Halyna. This should not have happened.<\/p>\n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The death of Halyna Hutchins is devastating news. I cannot even imagine the trauma of everyone who was there, who witnessed it. Horror. Hutchins was just getting started. A graduate of AFI – just 6 years ago! – and part … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/MV5BZGJlMWExZWEtY2VlNS00YjRhLWE1NTItZmIyZDUzNWRjNzk2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQxNTA1OTY@._V1_.jpg\")
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