The actor, however, hopes “ that the film will be released and that it will make its investors profitable ». The family of the deceased Halyna Hutchins, director of photography who was shot dead during filming, refuses to “promote the film”.
« It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through. » More than three years after the fatal accident on the set of Rust, which cost the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin spoke to Variety Monday November 25 on this traumatic event. The 66-year-old American actor notably revealed that he refuses to see the final cut of the film in which he plays Harland Rust, the main character.
« I was sent a rough cut before everything got a little more complicated. So I haven’t seen the movie », he explains as Joel Souza’s feature film was presented for the first time last week in Poland. The actor was, moreover, not present during the screening, the reasons for his absence having not been mentioned. In this western, Harland Rust is a famous outlaw who has had a price on his head for years. When his grandson Lucas is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to help him. The two fugitives will have to escape those who want them dead.
Alec Baldwin, however, hopes that “ the film will be released and it will make its investors profitable », even if it does not currently have a release date. “ And I hope the movie sells, and Matt Hutchins (Halyna’s husband) gets his money. We all made an agreement with him and we all want to respect it. But this idea that people (…) say: ‘You’re taking advantage of it!’ is totally false,” he added. Those close to Halyna Hutchins, who were also not present during the screening, “ refuse to promote the film » and think that Alec Baldwin “ refuses to take responsibility for Halyna’s death », Olga Soloveï, the mother of the director of photography, told AFP. The actor, however, claims to have made an agreement with the victim’s husband, giving him all the rights to the film.
« Move on »
Alec Baldwin also explains that he went through a very difficult period for him but also for those close to him. “ Besides the victims themselves, the thing that hurts me the most is what it did to my wife. She was very, very traumatized (…)We are trying to move on but it is very difficult,” he tells Variety.
The accident occurred on October 21, 2021 while filming in New Mexico. For a scene in the Western, Alec Baldwin has to handle a weapon. So he shoots in the direction of the team. But the weapon, which was not loaded with blanks, injured the director and killed director of photography Halyna Hutchins. Nearly two years of legal proceedings then followed. The production’s gunsmith, 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 manslaughter trial was canceled due to a procedural flaw.
