Quentin Tarantino: Alec Baldwin was ten percent responsible for the filming of “Rust”

Famed director Quentin Tarantino said Alec Baldwin was “10% responsible” for the shooting on the set of the movie “Rust,” during which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in 2021.

Tarantino made these comments on Sunday's episode of the podcast “Club Random with Bill Maher.”

Maher asked the Pulp Fiction director about his thoughts on filming on the Rust set, asking, “How can it be his fault?”

“Either you believe he intentionally shot the camerawoman, or you believe he didn't intentionally shoot her. And if he didn't intentionally shoot her, then this is all fucking bullshit, or am I wrong?” Maher asked.

“I think it's fair enough to say that the armorer – the guy who handles the gun – is 90 percent responsible for everything that happens with that gun,” Tarantino replied. “But the actor is 10 percent responsible.”

“It's a weapon. You are, to some extent, a partner in your responsibility,” he added.

Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the set of the western drama in New Mexico on October 21, 2021, when a shot went off from the prop revolver he was holding, fatally striking 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin was subsequently charged with manslaughter. In July, a judge dismissed the case, saying prosecutors had suppressed evidence that might have been linked to the shooting. The 66-year-old actor, who had pleaded not guilty to the charge, wept in court when the dismissal was announced.

The set's weapons master, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison in April.

Tarantino explained that there was a protocol for handling weapons on set.

“They show you. If there are steps to go through, you go through them. There is due diligence,” he said.

“What was she supposed to do? Look down the barrel?” Maher asked. Tarantino said there were steps, including showing the actor that the barrel of the gun was clear.

Tarantino further explained that if a problem with the weapon arose during filming, it was the actor's responsibility to report any complications.

“If an actor knows he has three live rounds in his gun and he knows, ‘Okay, I’m going to shoot a scene’ … If one of the rounds doesn’t go off while he’s shooting his bam, bam, bam then he should have cut the scene out and said, 'Guys, one of the bullets didn't go off, I think I'm holding a hot gun,'” Tarantino said.

NBC News has reached out to representatives for Tarantino and Baldwin for comment.

The shooting shocked Hollywood and sparked debate about safety on film sets.

Maher asked the filmmaker if gun effects should be added in post-production, but Tarantino was against the idea.

“It's exciting to shoot the blanks and see the orange, the real orange fire, not the extra orange fire,” he said.