Alec Baldwin doubts Rust will resume production after a shooting tragedy during production resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In the film, Baldwin stars as an outlaw running from a U.S. Marshal and a bounty hunter after he travels to rescue his 13-year-old grandson, who is wrongfully convicted of accidental murder. Rust is directed by Joel Souza, who has produced with Baldwin on Crown Vic, and also stars Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, Jensen Ackles, and Brady Noon. Baldwin also serves as a producer and co-developer of the movie.
Following the incident on the set of Rust where Baldwin fired a prop gun containing a live single round and killed Hutchins and wounded Souza, production has been indefinitely suspended while an investigation is being conducted by the Santa Fe County Police Department. Since then, there have been multiple disclosures regarding the specific circumstances of the accident as well as the safety on the set for crew members, with it being revealed that many walked off the set because of its poor conditions. There were also many non-union crew members there during the day of the accident.
Per IndieWire, Baldwin has broken his silence on the the future of Rust, commenting that he does not believe the movie will be return to filming after the incident. Baldwin called Hutchins a friend in his statement while defending the set as being harmonious before the accident happened. However, despite the production company hoping for the film to finish filming after the conclusion of the investigation, Baldwin "doubts it". Baldwin's statement can be viewed below:
“The day I arrived in Santa Fe and started shooting I took her to dinner with Joel [Souza], the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.”
The investigation continues to be ongoing over the accident, with many eyes turning towards Rust's on-set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who released a statement supporting the safety concerns on set and revealing that she was working two job positions on the movie. Assistant director Dave Halls is a receiving scrutiny for not checking the rounds in the gun. Both have had prior similar instances on previous film sets where a firearm was discharged unexpectedly, with Hall having been fired before on the film Freedom's Path after the incident left a crew member injured. As of now, no charges have been filed against anyone.
The tragedy has rallied many people in the industry to not only advocate for safer working conditions but also for banning or limiting firearms on set, which Baldwin has supported. The circumstances over the passing of Hutchins definitely raise innumerable concerns about how film sets are handled and the dangers that may come about. Hopefully, the magnitude of this accident will not only stress the importance of every worker on a film being treated with respect, but also prevent incidents like this from ever happening again. More information is soon to come on Rust and whether or not it will resume production.
Source: IndieWire