On Thursday, 18 months after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Western film Rust, production will resume.
Alec Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter, will continue to play the protagonist.
Principal photography is resuming in Montana at a new location.
Melina Spadone, an attorney for Rust Movie Productions, remarked,
“It will prohibit the use of all functional weapons and ammo.”
On set, live ammunition has always been prohibited.
Bianca Cline will replace Hutchins as cinematographer, and director Joel Souza, who was injured during filming in New Mexico, will return to his position.
Matthew, the spouse of Hutchins, will serve as an executive producer. Baldwin is both the film’s producer and protagonist.
Baldwin’s Rust Movie productions announced in February that the scene that was being rehearsed when Hutchins was killed has been rewritten.
Cline, whose previous work includes Marcel the Shell With Shoes On and American Horror Story, will “complete Halyna’s vision for the film” and will donate her salary to charity, according to the company.
Souza stated in February,
“Though bittersweet, I am appreciative that a brilliant and devoted new production team is committed to finishing the work that Halyna and I began.
“I will make every effort on this film to honor Halyna’s legacy and make her pleased. It is an honor to complete this on her behalf.”
Charges denied
Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene at a ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021, when the “prop” pistol he was holding discharged, killing the 42-year-old Ukrainian-born cinematographer.
Last month, the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office charged him and the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed with involuntary manslaughter.
Both parties’ attorneys denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the allegations in court.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, described the actor’s indictment as a “terrible miscarriage of justice.”
Mr. Nikas stated,
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere else on the film set.” “He relied on the assurances of the professionals with whom he worked that the gun did not contain live ammunition.”
Beginning in early May, a two-week preliminary hearing in Santa Fe will determine whether sufficient evidence exists for the case to proceed to trial.
Mr. Hutchins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Hollywood icon, which has been settled.
In February, the Hutchins family filed a new civil lawsuit against Baldwin and the production company, alleging battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and loss of consortium.
In February, Hutchins’ widower Matthew also approved a documentary about her.
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