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Quentin Tarantino was a guest on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast over the weekend. I could only watch the first few moments, because I have a certain amount of self-respect work. But what I saw was Quentin already seated and drinking coffee/tea out of a cup. Only it turned out… it was a PIPE. Like he’s Sherlock Holmes! Cracked me up. Anyway, apparently Quentin’s big a** pipe is not what people are talking about after this interview. Instead we’re talking about Bill asking Quentin to comment on Alec Baldwin’s culpability in the killing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving an 18-month sentence, while Baldwin’s case was dismissed last month because the prosecution withheld evidence. Quentin, who’s featured many-a-gun in his movies, laid out what he believes to be a reasonable division of responsibility for handling a gun on set: 90% with the armorer, 10% with the actor. And he elaborated:
Quentin Tarantino is weighing in on the Rust set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, following the dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary-manslaughter trial.
In an interview with Bill Maher for the most recent episode of the latter’s Club Random podcast, the 61-year-old director, who is no stranger to firearms on his film sets, was asked about the incident and subsequent trial dismissal.
“It’s a situation, I think I’m being fair enough to say, that the armorer — the guy who handles the gun — is 90% responsible for everything that happens when it comes to that gun, but … the actor’s 10% responsible,” Tarantino said. “It’s a gun. You are a partner in the responsibility, to some degree.”
Added the Pulp Fiction filmmaker during the interview, released Sunday, Aug, 25, “If there’s steps to go through, you go through them, and it’s done with due diligence. And you know it’s f—in’ for real.”
An attorney for Baldwin, 66, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, while a rep for the actor had no comment.
Baldwin was indicted by a New Mexico grand jury in January after the gun he was holding during an October 2021 rehearsal on the set of his Western movie discharged, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
On the third day of Baldwin’s trial in July, the actor’s lawyers claimed prosecutors had withheld evidence and asked the judge in the case, Mary Marlowe Sommer, to dismiss the charge. Sommer agreed to the defense’s request, and issued a stinging rebuke of the prosecutors in the case.
Full disclosure: Quentin Tarantino’s films are not my cup of tea (or in my case, iced coffee). Yet I can still fully appreciate that Quentin has talent, style, and an avid command of film history. But different people have different tastes, and that’s ok. Because Quentin is a prominent filmmaker, I must say this comment from him gave me pause: “If there’s steps to go through, you go through them, and it’s done with due diligence.” What do you mean, “if,” Quentin? There are always steps to go through and protocols to follow when handling prop weapons and/or stunt work. When the safety measures are not strictly adhered to, no matter how boring or repetitive they may be, that’s when tragic accidents happen. Like a person on set losing her life, or suffering from chronic pain even 15 years later. The measures are there to protect people. Something for Quentin to think about, maybe the next time he’s smoking a pipe.
In the meantime, I feel it’s my civic duty to continue to remind the public of how much Bill Maher looks like Sylvester the Cat.
Photos credit: Olivier Sanchez / Avalon, Getty and via YouTube
