Alec Baldwin has explained his side of what happened on the day of the shooting tragedy during production of Rust, resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The incident occurred during rehearsal of a scene in which Baldwin fired a prop gun, reportedly without knowing it contained a live single round, which killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. Production of Rust has been indefinitely suspended while an investigation is being conducted by the Santa Fe County Police Department.
There have since been multiple disclosures regarding the specific circumstances of the accident, with immense focus on the Rust on-set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls, both of whom were allegedly supposed to check the gun. Gutierrez-Reed was reported to have placed the gun, a .45 Colt Revolver, on set, while Halls has received scrutiny for not checking the rounds. Both have reportedly experienced similar instances on previous film sets where a firearm was discharged unexpectedly, with Halls having been fired from the film Freedom's Path after an incident left a crew member injured. Both Rust crew members have since hired attorneys, and the production and Baldwin have been named in multiple lawsuits.
Per ET Canada, Baldwin has now described in great detail what happened the day of the accident from his point of view. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News, the actor talked about the rehearsal process on set immediately preceding the tragedy. While the public has heard details of what happened before and after the incident, as well as the context around what led to the gun being handed to Baldwin, there has been little revealed about what happened right before the bullet left the gun, and Baldwin's role. Baldwin explained his perspective extensively in the statement below:
"Now, in this scene, I am going to cock the gun. I said, ‘Do you want to see that?’ And she [Hutchins] said yes. So I take the gun and I start to cock the gun. I’m not going to pull the trigger. I said, ‘Did you see that?’ [She said] Well just cheat it down and tilt it down a little bit like that. And I cocked the gun and go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? And I let go of the hammer on the gun and the gun goes off ... Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property. Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me. I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet arrived in that gun. I don’t know. But I’m all for doing anything that will take us to a place where this is less likely to happen again."
Baldwin's denial of pulling the trigger is supported by Halls' statement, who Baldwin also confirmed handed him the gun and said it did not contain any bullets. Baldwin also expressed doubts about the rumors that started to swirl about the bullet perhaps being placed in the gun intentionally. It has been revealed that, prior to the incident, many crew members lodged complaints and walked off the set because of Rust's allegedly poor working environment, such as a lack of scheduling breaks and bad traveling conditions. The investigation into the Rust tragedy is ongoing and, as of now, no charges have been filed.
The circumstances over the passing of Hutchins raise innumerable concerns about how movie set safety is handled. The tragedy has rallied many people in the film industry to advocate for safer working conditions, as well as the banning or limiting of firearms on set. As more information about the Rust incident continues to unfold, the tragedy will serve as an example of the extreme importance of safety on set, and likely change the approach to prop guns in the entertainment industry entirely. Viewers can see the entire interview, titled "Alec Baldwin Unscripted," after the airing on ABC News, and 20/20 will also air a piece on the investigation next week.
Source: ET Canada