Alec Baldwin doesn't want to see the final cut of 'Rust,' but hopes the film will be released. Returning to the drama that devastated the filming in an interview given this Monday, the actor and producer declared: “It’s obviously the most difficult thing I’ve ever been confronted with.”
More than three years after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western “Rust,” Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun at the time of the accident, spoke out in an interview with the Variety magazine.
“It's obviously the most difficult thing I've ever had to face in my life,” said the actor and producer during his appearance at the Turin Film Festival on Monday, where he received an award for his entire career. “Beyond the victims themselves, what hurts me the most is what this did to my wife… We're trying to get back on our feet, to move away from this kind of thing. Because the film doesn't stand up on its own. It will always be overshadowed by that,” he added.
Alec Baldwin's visit to the Turin festival marks his first festival appearance since the tragedy. The film “Rust”, whose filming had finally resumed, was presented a few days ago at the EnergaCamerimage festival in Toruń, Poland, but the actor did not make the trip.
He “waived all his fees”
While part of the victim's family accuses him of profiting from the tragedy, Alec Baldwin assures that “the idea that someone would have profited from the sale and distribution of the film is completely false.” He added that it was very painful for him to continue filming, but that he did it for the sake of the crew and Halyna Hutchins' husband.
“In order to finish the film – and this is the only thing I can say about it because I have another civil case going on – we went to Montana. All my doctors told me not to go there – psychiatrists, cardiologists. I mean, I was very sick afterwards for a while, physically exhausted and sick. But I went there. I told Joel [Souza, réalisateur de «Rust», blessé lors du tir] : 'Are you going to do it? If you think it's important to do it, I will do it. If this is the only way to settle the matter with the husband [de Hutchins] and the succession is to finish the film, let's do it.' So we went to Montana. We're done…And I waived my fee. I returned the fees to them in the budget. I waived all my fees. I gave everything to her husband. He owns the film. Her husband, I believe, is the sole owner of the film, although I could be wrong. Everything was done with this in mind.”
“We never want the people who believed in your project to be left behind. And I hope that the film will be sold, and that it [Matt Hutchins, le mari d’Halyna] will receive his money. We all made an agreement with him and we all want to respect it (…) from the beginning of the agreement, we all said: 'We don't want anything! You can have it all!' And we gave everything, literally,” he assured.
he doesn't want to see the movie
“I was sent a rough cut before everything got a little more complicated. So I haven't seen the film. But, once again, I hope that the film comes out, that it comes out, that it makes its investors profitable,” said Alec Baldwin, still in his interview with Variety.
He confided that it is still too painful for him to watch the feature film. The death of Halyna Hutchins was a trial for him but also for his family, he stressed. “Simply because it’s obviously the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face in my life. My wife was very, very traumatized by this. She suffered a lot. When you're married to someone and everything was going pretty well and we had seven kids…the ground falls out. It's very scary and very disturbing. And we're trying to get back on our feet, to move away from this stuff (…) I'm happy the movie is over (…) But for now, I want everything about 'Rust' to stay behind, so I can go do something else and be a father to my children. I am 66 years old (…) the last two years have exhausted me. And I have an obligation (…) to save the best of ourselves for our children. And that’s what was the most difficult for me.”
For the record, following the tragedy, the gunsmith in the production of “Rust”, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison, for accidentally loading the actor's pistol with a real bullet.
Alec Baldwin's trial for manslaughter was canceled due to a procedural flaw, but the actor still faces civil charges.
