Hollywood Actors And Activists Call For Changes To Set Safety And Health

TV & Film

Nov 22

While Hollywood workers achieved certain protections thanks to the dual strikes, there’s a new wave of activism in the entertainment industry. Rory Kinnear, known for his roles in James Bond films, called for greater safety on Hollywood sets. Over thirty years ago, his father Roy Kinnear fell from a horse during a filming of 1988’s The Return of the Musketeers and died at the age of 54. A few years ago cinematographer Halya Hutchins was killed on a set due to a misfire from Alec Baldwin’s prop gun during filming for Rust.

Kinnear claimed that things in the industry haven’t changed for thirty years. He said, “You’ve got a lot of young people wanting to enter an industry that they know is perilous, both financially and in terms of work, but not necessarily aware of how perilous the practices on set are as well.” He added, “I don’t think anyone’s gone to the cinema and seen a shot, and thought ‘That’s worth somebody dying.” Kinnear and other activists in Hollywood are asking for sets to start making safety a priority. Under the banner of the Mark Milsome foundations- Milsome was killed while filming a stunt after he was hit by a Land Rover- the activists are proposing a health and safety “passport.” The passport would track different levels of training specific to a person’s role and could easily be uploaded to a digital CV.

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Christopher Ross, president of the British Society of Cinematographers said, “I would love for there not to be another death on a film set. That would be a great legacy - if everybody can combine so that no one else dies on a film set unnecessarily and no one else is injured in a life-changing way on a film set.” Ross acknowledged that these changes might require a change in law, but the actor and others advocating for higher safety standards are committed to the cause.

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