The movie debuted in Toruń, Poland, at the Camerimage Film Festival.
Three years after Alec Baldwin, the movie’s lead, assassinated cameraman Halyna Hutchins on the set with a pretend gun, Rust has finally made it to the big screen.
The western was shown on November 20 at the Camerimage Film Festival in Toruń, Poland, by director Joel Souza. After the screening, Souza, who was also shot during the Santa Fe, New Mexico, set accident, took part in a Q&A with Bianca Cline, who took over as cinematographer when the movie resumed production.
Before the screening, Rachel Mason, the filmmaker and Hutchins’ friend, gave a speech. A documentary about the life and work of Hutchins is being directed by Mason.
According to an event spokeswoman who talked to NBC News, Baldwin was not welcomed to the festival after claiming he was informed that the prop gun was devoid of real shots.
According to NBC News, the movie got a “polite response” at the screening, with viewers applauding throughout the final credits. The cheers grew when a tribute to Hutchins was shown on screen. Before the Hutchins memorial and Souza’s Q&A, the publication reportedly reported that “a fair amount of moviegoers left the theater.”
Resuming production “was not an easy decision,” Souza told Variety. “I repeatedly said no at first. However, it became increasingly evident to me that this was what the family desired and that it would be advantageous to them.
“I don’t want people to think it was just some cynical money grab,” Souza added, adding that he did it to support Hutchins’s family and respect his final project. The film doesn’t bring in any money for the makers.
Neither the couple’s son, Andros, nor Hutchins’s widow, Matthew Hutchins, who was appointed an executive producer on Rust as part of a settlement deal for a wrongful death lawsuit, attended the screening.
Hutchins’s mother, Olga Solovey, who is suing Baldwin and the show, did not attend either. She claimed in a statement on November 19 that she is greatly hurt by Baldwin’s “refusal to apologize to me and … take responsibility for her death.”
Baldwin was exonerated of any criminal accusations.
Baldwin, who is also a producer on the movie, and Rust team members were practicing on a wooden church set when the filming began on October 21, 2021, at the Bonzana Creek Ranch. At the time, Baldwin, who portrays outlaw Harland Rust, was rehearsing how to draw his weapon. The firearm was described to him as a “cold gun,” meaning it didn’t contain live ammo. He said that he did not have to pull the trigger for the vintage Colt.45 to discharge.
The bullet entered Souza’s shoulder after passing through Hutchins’s chest. After being transported to a hospital in Albuquerque, Hutchins passed away. After being transported by ambulance to a hospital in Santa Fe, Souza was discharged the next day.
Baldwin faced two charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ passing. In July, the actor was put on trial for allegedly breaking gun safety regulations, but the matter was dropped in the middle of the proceedings. The judge found that police and prosecutors concealed information about the live round.
Baldwin, who continues to be sued in civil cases related to Hutchins’s death, has stated that he may bring legal action against the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors.
In March, a jury concluded that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter because she brought live bullets onto the set. Five more live bullets were found in Baldwin’s pistol belt, on the prop cart, and on the set after the incident. Gutierrez-Reed is incarcerated for eighteen months.
As part of a plea agreement, David Halls, the movie’s first assistant director, received a six-month unsupervised probationary sentence. He acknowledged that before handing the firearm to Baldwin, he neglected to inspect it.
Production on the movie continued at Montana’s Yellowstone Film Ranch in April 2023. Variety reports that a few cast members, including Jensen Ackles, did not make a comeback. Baldwin co-stars with Frances Fisher, Travis Fimmel, and Josh Hopkins.