The armorer for the ill-fated film Rust has pinned the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Alec Baldwin. The shooting, which took place late last year while production on the indie western was underway, also injured the film’s director Joel Souza. Hutchins was struck in the torso after Baldwin reportedly fired a handgun during rehearsals. After being airlifted to hospital, the 42-year-old Hutchins was pronounced dead.

The incident rocked the film industry, highlighting the need for better safety precautions and prompting some Hollywood stars to ban the use of real guns on their film sets. Though Rust was a smaller scale indie production, it did have Baldwin – an Oscar-nominated Hollywood veteran onboard as both the film’s star and one of its producers. As a result, when Hutchins was killed by a gun that Baldwin was holding, the 63-year-old star was immediately viewed as responsible not just for shooting Hutchins but for helping to create a set that allowed such a thing to happen. For the most part, Baldwin has been eager to highlight the fact that he is cooperating with the ongoing investigation into the shooting, but in recent weeks, as lawsuits continue to be launched against the actor, this helpful veneer has cracked somewhat.

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The most recent twist in the events that have followed since Hutchins’ death is Rust’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, stating that she was not called upon to inspect the weapon that ultimately killed the cinematographer. As CTV reports, Reed also claims that Baldwin pointed the gun at Hutchins, “against all rules and common sense.” Reed insists that Baldwin was aware of the proper protocols required for the on-set use of a handgun but that she received “constant resistance” from Baldwin and others on the Rust set with regard to these safety measures. As Reed stated:

“Mr. Baldwin knew that he could never point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and had a duty of safety to his fellow crew members. Yet he did point the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense.”

While Baldwin originally appeared to be beside himself with grief after the incident took place, even voluntarily undergoing police questioning, he’s taken a more defensive stance as of late. At one point, Baldwin even went as far as to claim that he did not point the gun at Hutchins and that he did not pull the trigger. This has led to considerable confusion as to how Hutchins could have been shot in the torso with a live weapon held by Baldwin if he did not point it in her direction or pull the trigger. But according to a legal filing on the part of the actor, the gun went off after Baldwin pulled back the hammer and let it go.

It seems with each passing week, this tragedy grows in scale, with some members of the crew already making clear statements against Baldwin. What originally began as a shocking lesson in the importance of on-set firearms safety has since devolved into finger-pointing. Much of this can be attributed to what appears to be Baldwin’s outright refusal to take responsibility for the production he helped to build and his own actions on the Rust set. It remains to be seen what will take place in the courts and whether or not this will bring about satisfactory closure for Hutchins’ family. For now, at least, it appears that much still needs to be examined.

Source: CTV

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Mike Jones
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Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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