Since the disastrous “Rust” filming near Santa Fe in October 2021, there has been a greater emphasis on movie set safety.
Roger Ivens can tell you all about it. In 2018, Ivens took kind advise to heart.
“You should become an actress. You look like a nasty man. Ivens stated, “It’s like you’re so nice in real life, but you can come across as mean.”
He took on a few little jobs, met an agent and a manager, and relocated to New Mexico in 2020 for a role in “Stranger Things.”
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“I’m in Season 4, Episode 8. “I’m the Helicopter Sniper,” he explained.
It was his largest part to date, and his first in New Mexico.
About a year later, he auditioned for “Rust.” He now has mixed feelings about not receiving the role.
“I’d like to be a director someday. I normally stand behind the director, and I prefer to be involved in everything that goes on,” Ivens explained. “It was definitely alarming to me at the time.” And, you know, I might have been a part of it.
Ivens stated that he has felt the affects of “Rust” on every set he has participated in since.
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“They even discuss ‘rust.’ “You know, we need to learn from our mistakes in the film industry,” he stated.
Ivens’ most recent performance was in Kevin Costner’s “New Horizon: An American Saga” film series. He claims that manufacture avoided genuine firearms.
“The chambers of each weapon are welded shut. So there is no way a missile could have arrived from there. But, at the same time, we performed all of those safety inspections,” Ivens explained.
Film Las Cruces’ president is state Senator Jeff Steinborn. The group promotes film-related economic development in Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico.
“I started it as a legislator after seeing the success of the film industry in northern New Mexico and wanted to try to foster that success and those opportunities in my community,” according to Steinborn.
His neighborhood felt the immediate and long-term effects of the “Rust” shooting. Shortly after the shooting, the city was working on two action films starring Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson.
“We adapted swiftly, and I believe we will definitely learn from it. “Everyone involved in the film industry,” Steinborn stated.
According to Steinborn, the New Mexico Legislature has not discussed film set safety. He doubts whether it is necessary.
“Weapons and rounds have been used safely in literally thousands of films.” And I believe the union has a very strong safety record. And this one occurrence had a terrible, disastrous outcome, but that doesn’t necessarily imply that there aren’t enough laws,” Steinborn added.
It’s a tragedy that has raised difficult concerns and brought a renewed emphasis on safety.
“I believe it has made the film union more vigilant and combative, focused on work hours and other types of rules to protect workers. And I believe that is where we should focus,” Steinborn remarked.
“We have learned, the film industry has learned, that we need to be safer with guns and not use real guns,” Ivens told the crowd.
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