On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on the set of Rust when she was struck by a live round that had contained within a prop revolver. Alec Baldwin, the production’s lead actor, was reportedly handling the gun during that tragic event, and earlier this month, it was reported that the 30 Rock alum could be charged again for his role following a new investigation. Now previously-unseen video footage from the Rust set has been released showing Baldwin working on gun scenes a few days prior to Hutchins’ death.
In a series of videos shared by NBC News, Baldwin is seen practicing firing blanks and rehearsing a scene which involves him using the prop gun. At one point while doing the latter, the actor, who’s also one of Rust’s executive producers, expresses concern to an offscreen Hutchins about where she’s positioned while the scene’s being shot, as he doesn’t want to shoot “toward” her, but “close” to her. In another scene, Baldwin advises the cameraperson to track him and his costar on a smoother path because he doesn’t want them to break their “fucking neck.”
Days later, Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and Joel Souza was injured by the same round, resulting in Rust halting filming for roughly a year and a half; cameras resumed rolling this past April in Montana, and principal photography concluded towards the end of May. Alec Baldwin has repeatedly denied that he pulled the trigger of the prop gun, but in February 2023, both he and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Although the charges against Baldwin were dropped the following April, Gutierrez-Reed, who pleaded not guilty in August, is set to go on trial next February.
However, as mentioned earlier, Baldwin may not be out of the legal woods just yet. New Mexico prosecutors are determined on re-charging him with manslaughter, and they were set to convene a grand jury on the case today, but the judge has reportedly rescheduled this. As far as these videos go, they were among dozens that special prosecutors requested back in spring, but didn’t receive until October. The report notes that it’s unclear how much of this footage special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis reviewed with their team, but the videos could be presented before the grand jury.
As far as Rust itself goes, the Western movie is about an outlaw who goes to rescue his grandson when he’s sentenced to hang for an accidental murder, and the two then find themselves being pursued by a U.S. Marshal and a bounty hunter. Baldwin’s cast-mates on Rust include Patrick Scott McDermott, Travis Kimmel, Frances Fisher, Jake Busey, Josh Hopkins and Devon Werkheiser. McDermott and Hopkins respectively replaced Brady Noon and Jensen Ackles, both of whom left the project when filming resumed, the latter due to scheduling conflicts.
Rust doesn’t have a specific release date yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for that information, updates on its progress and more news concerning Alec Baldwin’s legal case tied to the movie. Use our 2023 movie schedule and 2024 movie schedule to keep track of forthcoming cinematic entertainment over the next year.