More than three years on from the deadly on-set shooting of celebrated cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin’s Rust is now finally available to watch, while the tragedy continues to overshadow the release
Alec Baldwin’s long-awaited Western epic Rust is finally being released, three and a half years after tragedy rocked the set.
Set in the 1880s, Rust stars Baldwin as Harland Rust, an outlaw who helps his 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Patrick Scott McDermott) flee to Mexico after he accidentally kills a rancher. Sadly, life imitated art in the most shocking way after Baldwin accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins using a prop gun, causing her death.
Director Joel Souza was also injured during the horror incident, which occurred during a rehearsal at a New Mexico ranch on October 21, 2021, with the bullet becoming lodged in his shoulder.
Ukrainian-born Halyna was just 42 years old when she died, leaving behind her husband, Matthew Hutchins and their young son, Andros Hutchins. Her death sent shockwaves throughout the film community, and production of Rust was shut down in the aftermath, as Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico’s occupational safety agents took over Bonanza Creek Ranch, the original filming location.
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The investigation continued for more than a year, during which three people faced criminal charges: Baldwin, armourer Hannah Gutierrez, and assistant director David Halls, who had presided over on-set safety.
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2022, meaning he was accused of causing another person’s death through careless actions. However, these charges were ultimately scrapped three days into Baldwin’s trial in July 2024, after his defence attorneys raised questions over how the evidence had been handled by New Mexico law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
The multi-Oscar nominee also faced a civil lawsuit from Halyna’s family, and in March 2023, he and the film producers agreed to a financial settlement with the family. Baldwin, 67, faced criticism for not checking the prop gun before using it, raising conversations about the importance of safety on film sets. The Golden Globe-winning actor denied any intentional wrongdoing, asserting that he hadn’t pulled the trigger and that the gun had been fired accidentally.
In January of this year, Baldwin filed a malicious prosecution civil lawsuit against New Mexico prosecutors and law enforcement, alleging that defendants had been “blinded by their desire to convict Alec Baldwin for all the wrong reasons, and at any cost”. The lawsuit continues: “Defendants sought at every turn to scapegoat Baldwin for the acts and omissions of others, regardless of the evidence or the law.”
Back in March 2024, Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. As reported by The Los Angeles Times, Gutierrez has served almost 14 months in prison, and it’s expected she will be released later this month. Meanwhile, Halls, who pleaded no contest to a single count of negligent use of a deadly weapon, gave testimony during Gutierrez’s trial, and has since left the film business altogether.
Production resumed in Montana approximately 18 months after Halyna’s death, with filmmakers explaining that they wanted to complete the movie as a tribute to the gifted cinematographer. Discussing this decision with NPR last autumn, director Souza admitted: “It was a really tough decision, and I’ll be very honest — I was a wreck through most of the second go-round.”
He continued: “Obviously, the human cost and the tragedy of it overshadows everything, rightfully so, and is so much more important than any movie. I guess I just wonder if people will sort of see past that and engage with it as a film, or if it will be a thing where people just can’t ever separate the movie from what happened during its filming.”
After the film premiered at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland back in November, Halyna’s mother, Olga Solovey, issued the following statement: “Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death.”
Proceeds from the film will go towards the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Halyna’s widower, Matthew, who became an executive producer of the film, and son Andros, who was just nine years old at the time of his mother’s death.
Cinematographer Bianca Cline took over from Halyna as director of photography, with Souza telling The Guardian that he’d insisted on a woman filling the position. He explained: “The agencies throw male candidates at you, but I know there are a lot of women coming out of the American Film Institute. Then somebody told me, ‘Women can’t shoot westerns.’ And I thought, ‘F*** you. I’m going to stick that up your a** and only look at women’.”
There were also a number of significant case changes, with actors Jensen Ackles and Swen Temmel no longer appearing in the finished feature. Rust is now available to stream via Apple, Amazon, and other video-on-demand platforms, and it will also be played at select cinemas across the US. A UK release date has not yet been given.
In their reality series The Baldwins, which premiered back in February, Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, spoke of the “survivor’s guilt” her husband had been left with in the aftermath of the tragedy. Addressing the cameras, Hilaria told viewers: “I found these text messages the other day, between us, you know, the day after. And you know, he said he wanted to kill himself.” She continued: “He has survivor’s guilt. You’re involved in this thing that nobody could even possibly imagine. And so it goes back to that day. He wishes it were him. He would change places in a second. This has affected his health and his mental health tremendously.
“The past few years, all of a sudden, he started having heart problems. He’s been hospitalised multiple times. He’s fainted… everybody’s just screaming, I’m going, I’m on top, and I’m shaking him. It’s hard sometimes. But hopefully we’re in the hardest, but tail end of it.”
The Baldwins was made as Baldwin prepared for his involuntary manslaughter trial. The second episode followed Alec and Hilaria as they faced his upcoming court date, with Baldwin opening up about how his mental health had declined to the point where he felt unable to
Baldwin shared: “There was a period all this last year where I’d lay in bed and I’d think I don’t want to get out of bed. I’d think to myself, my children are downstairs having breakfast.”
Crediting Hilaria with being his rock throughout this dark period, he added: “The last year was the year in which I think that they noticed I was really, really down. But the person who saved me was my wife because she got up. There were times she didn’t want to either, but she did, that’s the difference.”
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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