Alec Baldwin’s film Rust, which became controversial after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on set in 2021, will be released in May.
The trailer for this Western drama was released on Wednesday. It features Baldwin as a notorious outlaw helping his grandson escape from jail after he is sentenced to death for murder. Directed by Joel Souza, Rust will hit selected theaters and become available on video-on-demand on May 2.
A news release stated that the film’s original producers will not receive any financial profits. Instead, Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their son, Andros, will receive the movie’s profits as part of the settlement from her wrongful death case.
The movie comes four years after Hutchins tragically died on set. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on October 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, when a prop gun he was holding discharged a live round. Hutchins was killed, and director Joel Souza was injured.
In a 2021 interview with ABC News, Baldwin said he did not pull the trigger of the gun and that he was told the weapon was empty.
The incident led to widespread calls for stricter firearm safety on movie sets. It also sparked multiple lawsuits and legal proceedings, with Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed charged with involuntary manslaughter. However, in July, a New Mexico judge dismissed the case against Baldwin, ruling that the charges could not be refiled.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s legal team that prosecutors had hidden evidence related to the shooting. Baldwin’s lawyers claimed the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office had live rounds of ammunition but did not record or disclose them in the case file.
Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor in the case, denied any wrongdoing and said the ammunition was unrelated to the incident.
In March 2024, Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter but was cleared of charges for tampering with evidence. Prosecutors described her as negligent, careless, and thoughtless on set. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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