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Filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi staged a rally outside of Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon to bring attention to Halyna’s Law, proposed legislation he is supporting to ban real guns and live ammunition on film sets.

Albuliwi’s demonstration was a response to the death of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was fatally shot when a firearm held by Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged during rehearsal on the set of the independent Western “Rust.”

Albuliwi, like Hutchins an AFI Conservatory alumnus, has delayed pre-production on his upcoming series “Sex Addict(s)” in order to campaign for “Halyna’s Law.” The filmmaker described his AFI fellows as a “tight knit family” that he stays in contact with, some of whom worked with Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”

“I heard some horror stories from my friends that walked off the movie,” Albuliwi told Variety. “Everything was building up over the course...

The list of industry notables rethinking the on-set use of firearms is growing longer. Dwayne Johnson joined the ranks this week when he pledged that his Seven Bucks production company would end the use of real guns on its movies. Legislation looms in California that would make it a requirement. Hollywood will need solutions to simulate gunfire — and Copenhagen Industries, from the country that brought you the most stringent gun laws in Europe, may have a solution.

For the last five years, the Danish company has been working on Violette, a simulated firearm that doesn’t use bullets, blanks, or dummy rounds. Instead, it uses a mix of propane and oxygen to create a small explosion that simulates the muzzle flash and bang of a gun. Its founders are Søren Haraldsted, an armorer and special effects consultant whose credits include “Melancholia” and “Babylon A.D.,” and Daniel Karpantschof, an entrepreneur who...

Rachel Morrison (“Mudbound”), Ed Lachman (“Carol”), Alice Brooks (“In the Heights”) and Stephen Lighthill, president of the American Society of Cinematographers, are among the cinematographers calling for a ban of functional firearms on set.

The open letter for support to ban guns on film sets comes following the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after actor and producer Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun on set. They described Hutchins’ death as “senseless, negligent and avoidable.”

The letter calls for immediate support and action, not just from union leadership, but from producers and lawmakers “to affect unified change on our behalf ban all functional firearms on set. We vow to no longer knowingly work on projects using functional firearms for filming purposes. We vow to no longer put ourselves and our crew in these unnecessarily lethal situations. We have safe alternatives in VFX and non-functional firearms. We won’t sit back...

While acting on four seasons of FX’s “American Horror Story,” Leslie Grossman estimates she’s been called upon to shoot a gun “several times.”

“They’re never real guns,” she says. “Nine times out of 10, I’m using a rubber gun.” When the scene does call for a more dramatic close-up of a gun firing with a physical recoil, Grossman says she usually shoots an air gun instead, with effects added in post-production to enhance authenticity. On the most recent season, “American Horror Story: Double Feature,” Grossman recalls only using rubber guns, even while shooting them.

“I even said, ‘Wait, is this gonna look super fake?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we can fix anything later to make it look super real.’ And they did, and it looked really real,” she said.

The deadly shooting on the set of the independent film “Rust” that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and...

We are all still in shock and reeling with grief and anger over the tragic death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was accidentally killed last week on the set of the Western movie “Rust” by a prop gun that was discharged by Alec Baldwin. It remains a mystery as to how in the hell this could have happened.

The fact is it should never have happened.

It is impossible to comprehend the level of carelessness and dereliction of duty, the total disregard of absolute fail-safe gun safety protocols, that led to such a catastrophic outcome that took the life of Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

It has been widely reported that gun safety guidelines were not being followed on the set of “Rust” in Santa Fe, N.M., and as a result several IATSE crew members walked off the production. According to the Los Angeles Times, prior to the Oct.

The shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” could create a Hollywood where gun violence becomes imaginary. Already, some showrunners pledge to use simulated gunfire while a California Senate leader said he plans to introduce a bill to severely restrict the use of real weapons in movies.

On October 21, what police described as a “live round” struck “Rust” cinematographer Hutchins and the film’s director, Joel Souza, after Baldwin fired a prop gun during rehearsal. Moments before, crew announced to the set that it was a “cold” gun, meaning it did not contain live rounds.

Shortly after the tragic news broke, American Film Institute graduate Bandar Albuliwi posted a petition on Change.org demanding that Baldwin “use his power and influence” in the industry to make change and ban real guns on set. As of the morning of October 26, the petition now has nearly 40,000 signatures.

Albuliwi graduated...

The tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was accidentally shot by actor Alec Baldwin on the Santa Fe set of indie Western Rust last week, has shaken up Hollywood, prompting soul-searching over safety on sets and the use of guns.

There are currently conversations underway at the major TV studios, which have been carefully examining their gun safety policies in the past few days and reviewing potential changes.

Hollywood has had a long, difficult history with guns, which always comes back in the spotlight after a tragedy. Shows depicting gun violence are temporarily shelved after a mass shooting out of respect for victims. Studies exploring possible links between violent content in movies, TV series and video games are commissioned periodically. But guns have remained a Hollywood staple; they have been an indelible part of screen storytelling since the cinema’s early days, solidifying their leading role through the Western genre,...

A Change.org petition addressed to Alec Baldwin that calls for a ban on using real firearms on set and demands better working conditions for crew has passed its stated goal of 25,000 signatures.

A prop gun handled by Alec Baldwin discharged on Thursday while filming a scene for the movie “Rust” in New Mexico, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

The petition was started by award-winning filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi (“Peace After Marriage”) on Friday and passed 27,000 signatures Monday.

Actors including Lena Dunham, Sarah Paulson, Olivia Wilde, Anna Paquin, Holland Taylor and Ariana DeBose have signed and shared the petition on social media.

“We need to make sure that this avoidable tragedy never happens again,” Albuliwi states in the petition. “There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century. Real guns are no longer needed on film production sets. This isn’t the early 90’s,...

A petition to ban real guns on film sets has raced past 23,000 signatories following the death of DoP Halyna Hutchins.

The change.org petition, launched by filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi, has accumulated 23,600 names after being launched Friday.

The petition states: “We need to make sure that this avoidable tragedy never happens again. There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century. Real guns are no longer needed on film production sets. This isn’t the early 90’s, when Brandon Lee was killed in the same manner. Change needs to happen before additional talented lives are lost.

“Please sign this petition and demand for Alec Baldwin to use his power and influence in the Hollywood film industry to make change and ban real guns on film sets.” Additionally, the petition calls for better working conditions on independent and studio film sets.

Actress and filmmaker Olivia Wilde was...

Twelve Hours Shoots In New York

Exclusive: Filming is underway in New York on the sophomore feature from writer-director Bandar Albuliwi, whose 2013 debut Peace After Marriage starred Succession and Ramy actress Hiam Abbas. Starring are Adam Budron (Sundance 2020 entry Wild Indian), newcomer Emma Eudes, Mauricio Bustamante (Little Men) and Louis Anthony Arias (Uncut Gems). Albuliwi produces with Budron and Faruk Ozerten. Albuliwi, who is also working on U.S. projects Juliet and A Brotherhood, told us: “Twelve Hours is a tale of an accidental encounter between two former lovers that rekindles feelings that have been laying dormant all these years. Shooting the movie on location during the Covid-19 pandemic in NYC while taking extreme precautions has proven to be both exhilarating and challenging at the same time. Many people have come up to us on the street and have told us how happy they were to see a film production shooting once again,...

The film will shoot for four weeks in New York and Paris from October.

French actress Alix Benezech and Us-Palestinian actor Adam Budron have signed to star in Us director Bandar Albuliwi’s solo directorial debut Juliet, which will begin production on October 29.

The film will shoot for four weeks in New York City and Paris. It centres on an astrophysicist who struggles to reintegrate into society after the death of her husband. Molly Price, Laith Nakli and Luke Guldan also star.

Benezech, whose credits include Mission: Impossible - Fallout, replaces Yasmine Al Massri, who was previously attached to star and produce.

Exclusive: Quantico and Miral actress Yasmine Al Massri is to star in and produce feature drama Juliet, which is due to shoot in New York City later this year.

Al Massri will play the eponymous Juliet, an astrophysicist who struggles to acclimate back to society after the passing of her husband. The film will follow her during a series of encounters on the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death.

The fully-financed indie pic is the second from writer-director Bandar Albuliwi (Peace After Marriage) who is also in development on Iraq war movie A Brotherhood, whose producers include Hany Abu-Assad (Omar) and All Square outfit Mill House Motion Pictures. Producer-financiers on Juliet include Albuliwi’s New York outfit Falafel Entertainment and Assal Ghawami’s (Peace After Marriage) production company Expat Films.

Al Massri told us of Juliet, “It’s a beautifully written script. Once you read it, you immediately know...

Exclusive: The Mountain Between Us director Hany Abu-Assad, whose hard-hitting dramas Omar and Paradise Now were both Oscar-nominated, has joined Iraq war feature A Brotherhood as an executive producer.

Joining the drama as producers are Jordan Foley and Jonathan Rosenthal of Mill House Motion Pictures, producers of SXSW Audience Award-winner All Square, starring Michael Kelly.

Abu-Assad, whose 2017 survival story The Mountain Between Us starred Idris Elba and Kate Winslet, told us he was attracted by the project’s “emotional and thrilling script, which we hope can be a modern-day answer to The Deer Hunter.”

As we previously revealed, actor-turned-producer David Moscow (Big) will also produce the movie, the sophomore film from writer-director Bandar Albuliwi, whose 2013 debut Peace After Marriage starred Hiam Abbas (Insyriated).

Currently in advanced development, A Brotherhood tells the story of William, a struggling U.S. veteran of the Iraq War, who is forced to return to the...

Exclusive: Actor-turned-producer David Moscow (Big), an executive producer on David Robert Mitchell’s Cannes Competition entry Under The Silver Lake, will produce Iraq war drama A Brotherhood, which is currently scouting locations in the Middle East.

Moscow will produce under his UnLtd Productions banner, which has previously produced movies including To Dust, Thirst Street and Hellbenders. Fellow Under The Silver Lake execs Jason Dreyer (To Dust) and Todd Remis (Magic Magic) will serve as executive producers on the project, which is the second feature from writer-director Bandar Albuliwi, whose 2013 debut Peace After Marriage starred Hiam Abbas (Insyriated).

A Brotherhood tells the story of William, a struggling U.S. veteran of the Iraq War, who is forced to return to the Middle East after Isis kidnaps his estranged brother. Albuliwi was inspired to write the film after coming across a 2015 article about a 28-year old former American soldier who travelled from...