Rust producers had earmarked $650,000 to pay themselves and $7,913 to pay the film's armorer upon the film's completion. The independent movie, with a slated budget of under $8 million, began filming in early October; however, production would quickly shut down after the movie's star and producer, Alec Baldwin, fatally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in a horrific accident during rehearsal.
The tragic incident occurred on October 21 while Baldwin was rehearsing a gunfight scene that required him to aim the .45 Long Colt Revolver at the camera. Baldwin was handed the revolver by assistant director David Halls, who declared the gun was "cold," meaning it didn't contain any live rounds. However, during the rehearsal, Baldwin fired the gun, shooting a live projectile that ultimately killed Hutchins and wounded the movie's director, Joel Souza. While blame for the Rust incident continues to shift, a new report may help shed light as to what the production's priorities were before the shooting.
THR obtained a copy of the production budget for Rust, which shows the film's producers setting aside $650,000 to pay themselves, $7,913 to pay the armorer, and $350,000 as a contingency in the event anything went wrong. The film had a total of six producers, including Baldwin, who was set to earn $150,000 as the lead actor, as well as $100,000 for his production company, El Dorado. Other producers, Allen Cheney and Ryan Donnell Smith, were planned to collect a $150,000 fee, which Nathan Klingher and Ryan Winterstern would collect as well. Baldwin's manager and first-time producing partner, Matt DelPiano, was also going to collect $150,000, while Anjul Nijam would earn $100,000.
The budget also shows that in addition to armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's $8,000 pay day, the production set aside $7,469 for an "armorer crew." Additionally, the budget called for $17,500 for weapons rentals and $5,000 for rounds. While Rust armorer Gutierrez-Reed's fee may seem a little low, experts say it's not an unusual amount for a film made under IATSE's Tier 1 contract, which covers budgets under $7.5 million. What is particularly noteworthy is the $25,000 the producers set aside for hotel rooms for themselves, which consisted of five people. In contrast, they only set aside $95,200 for below-the-line crew members, which consisted of 21 people. This is of note following reports that part of the camera team walked off the set on the morning Hutchins died because of a dispute over hotel rooms.
While the entire budget seems in line with other films of similar scale, there are certain areas that seem a little noteworthy. This includes the total hotel budget explained above, as well as a completion bond the producers' financial plan omitted. This bond serves an insurance policy that covers costs in the event the film is not finished. Similar bonds typically account for about 2 percent of the budget. Given Baldwin's recent remarks that production for Rust will probably not resume at all, it seems that the completion bond will have to come into play.
Source: THR