Transcript · In the film
Dutch Merrick
Film and TV armourer and prop master
- In the film
- 29 lines in 1 scene, 594 words. First speaks at 9:53.
- Elsewhere
- In the credits · IMDb
9. DUTCH MERRICK, HOLLYWOOD ARMOURER — LOS ANGELES
DUTCH MERRICK
Such a pleasure. Thanks for making it all the way out to Los Angeles. Are you ready to learn?
DUTCH MERRICK
I love it. So the goals of this course are to learn the best practices for motion picture firearms use, provide you hands-on experience, first person, to build your confidence around firearms on set and off. So that you'll be a good, confident shooter, and you're accurate, and it makes it fun and safe, and you'll be like, "Oh, I really like guns. This was a lot of entertainment." So here's a chance to get to know you in thirty seconds. If you wouldn't mind standing right here, Josh.
DUTCH MERRICK
Just stand right here. All you got to do is just tell us a little bit about your background with firearms.
DUTCH MERRICK
So you've been entertained by them, but you have no sense of how to really use them safely.
DUTCH MERRICK
That's one of the problems of our industry. All right, well, we're going to break you of that, and we're going to give you genuine skills. Now we get to delve into my world: studio armorers.
DUTCH MERRICK
So this is what prop masters and armorers do behind the scenes that the real world never gets to see. We're going to deal with blanks, dummies, blank-adapted guns, blocking scenes, actors blowing up, and then we'll actually have a chance for you guys to be in a scene doing gunfire, getting hit, explosions. It's going to be really exciting. You with me?
DUTCH MERRICK
That creates pressure, setting the hammer, and it's dropping the hammer. Take your thumb and touch your middle finger. Remember what Dutch said: marry your thumb.
DUTCH MERRICK
You focus on you. Pull the trigger and nothing happens, it's a misfire. This guy is going to have a hang fire.
DUTCH MERRICK
The case, the bullet, the primer, the powder, is a cartridge. There's a thing called snap caps. Isosceles triangle, so it's a soft landing pad.
DUTCH MERRICK
That, gentlemen, is your dominant eye. You're steady as a fucking rock. Do not rely on safeties at any time. Remind me what they are, Tommy.
DUTCH MERRICK
You're learning already. Take aim. On the exhale, press the trigger. So you're not going to know when it's going to come up.
DUTCH MERRICK
Nailed it. Now that you guys know how to shoot, you fired the guns, we're gonna go do an action scene. You guys excited?
DUTCH MERRICK
First and foremost, thank you guys very much for being here today. You want to get some shit done, pick up the phone and call Hollywood, right? You're gonna fall back against the container. Go ahead and grab it and point it in that direction. Camera's rolling and set. Camera set, and action!
DUTCH MERRICK
Well, I'm so glad you guys came all the way out here from Australia. I want to give you guys something to remember the occasion. Yeah, we got Prop Gun Set Safety hats for you.
DUTCH MERRICK
And when you talk to the regular shooters out there in America, you tell them you went to Hollywood, because "reel", R-E-E-L, "reel men shoot blanks."
Every line as spoken in the film, from the full transcript. Times are from the picture-locked cut; children’s names are withheld. Quotation with attribution is welcome. Spotted a mistake? [email protected]