Filming of Rust with Alec Baldwin to continue despite shooting incident
Filming of Rust with Alec Baldwin to continue despite shooting incident
Filming of the western “Rust” will continue despite the incident with the death of the operator, accidentally shot during the shooting of American actor Alec Baldwin. This was announced by Melina Spedown, an attorney for the film’s production company, Rust Movie Productions.
“The film, starring Mr. Baldwin and Joel Sousa as director, is on its way to completion,” she said.
Special safety inspectors and union members will be involved in the filming process to keep an eye on what’s going on. Also on the set “the use of working guns and any ammunition will be prohibited.”
On Thursday, prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwice, who is prosecuting the shooting case, said the New Mexico State Attorney’s Office has decided to charge actor Baldwin with manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Galina Hutchins on the set of “Rust.” Authorities also announced their intention to press charges against the gun responsible, Hannah Gutierrez-Reid.
As the prosecutor explained, the two charges against each defendant are being filed so that later in court it can be determined which of the two types of offense Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reid will face. The charges will be formally filed by the end of January. The actor’s attorney, Luke Nickas, said he would challenge the charges against Baldwin.
In the fall of 2022, Baldwin reached an agreement with the family of the deceased cameraman that they would not press charges against the actor in the Hutchins murder, but Carmack-Altwice then said that Baldwin’s agreement with the Hutchins family would not affect the final decision on whether criminal charges would be filed.
In 2021, during a rehearsal on the set of the western “Rust,” starring Baldwin, who also co-produced the film, the actor fired a gun that appeared to be loaded with live ammunition rather than blanks. Hutchins and director Joel Sousa were wounded. The latter was discharged from the hospital after a few hours, but the cameraman could not be saved. The shooting of the movie was suspended.