Movie/film suggestions.

. . . I missed this, @gano 

I have no doubt Spector was  "crazy". I don’t know if he was a decent human being before his decline/bipolar diagnosis, but being mean is not a crime. He should not have had a gun. (and I could go on about who else should not have a gun, and have my comment deleted)

but you are correct, he should not have had a gun, let alone as many has he did have.  There is a BATF form (I just googled it and it is 4473) that has to be filled out and then a background check completed prior to successful purchase from a FFL dealer, and some of the questions that have to be answered correctly regard use of certain drugs, PFAs, felonies, and psych diagnoses.  For some of these questions, there is a record that would come up on the background check, and for others, the honor system applies.  I suspect a psych diagnosis might meet the latter  criteria due to laws related to medical records and privacy.  And then of course, there is always the straw purchase option.  Someone with Spector's money and influence could have probably easily have paid someone to make the purchases for him.  A lot of ways to get around it, which does mean that a lot of people that own guns shouldn't be allowed to.

@hce1 , welcome to the movie club within the audio club!

Gus Van Zant: Drugstore Cowboys and Good Will Hunting were mentioned above, and I second those recs. Also excellent: To Die For (written by Buck Henry, with stunning performances by Nicole Kidman, Joachim Phoenix, Matt Dillon), Paranoid Park, Elephant, Milk, Finding Forrester

Although I don't pay enough attention to directorial credits I like some of your movie choices and there are a couple I am not familiar with (Paranoid Park, Elephant) but I'll do some googling and if they look interesting enough, I'll check 'on demand.'  I remember being mesmerized by Drugstore Cowboys not only because I like Matt Dillon, but also because, in my misguided youth, a few years before it came out, I had known someone who acted as a middleman for someone else (who I never met) who specialized in the Drugstore Cowboy thing.  Although I think it was a short career.  

And coincidentally, quite recently I watched The Trials Of Pamela Smart.

immatthewj

... as far as Rust:  Alec Baldwin was an actor on a movie set and someone handed him a loaded revolver ...

Baldwin was the producer of the film. 

Baldwin was both producer and star, and why on Earth was live ammo even anywhere near the set??!!

Baldwin was the producer of the film. 

Yes, and I thought of that after I posted that reply.  As well as being an actor on the movie set, he was also one of the producers.  So I guess that needs consideration as well.  If your kid is playing with another kid in your house and they come across a loaded firearm in the house and one kid shoots the other kid, as the homeowner and firearm owner I imagine that you are going to be in trouble.  So considering that, I suppose an analogy could be made between Baldwin and the negligent homeowner.

But maybe that comparison is apples to oranges.

Regardless, he was also an actor in the movie.  And actors are all the time pointing weapons at each other as part of the various scripts.  So if an actor is handed a firearm loaded with live ammunition and someone gets hit, who's to blame?  The actor or whoever loaded the firearm with live rounds and handed it off?