Alec Baldwin speaks on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in Santa Fe, N.M., after he was questioned about a shooting on the set of the film “Rust” on the outskirts of Santa Fe, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, officials said. (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)
In a surprise announcement Wednesday, Alec Baldwin and the husband of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have reached a settlement in her family’s lawsuit, stemming from her October 2021 death in a fatal shooting on the set of the New Mexico set of the film “Rust.”
What makes this announcement “controversial,” in the words of the Los Angeles Times, and even alarming to those in the court of public opinion, is that filming will resume on the low-budget Western in January 2023.
Baldwin will return to star, and director Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting, will return to helm the project, the Los Angeles Times also reported. Even more surprising to many on social media Wednesday is that Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, has agreed to serve as executive producer, and is on board with the idea of finishing the film.
In a statement, Matthew Hutchins said “all of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.” He said he has no interest “in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame”(to the producers or Baldwin, and expressed gratitude that the entertainment community has “come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
Earlier this year, when filing his lawsuit, the grieving widower offered a much different take. In a “Today” show interview, he wasted no time in vilifying Baldwin for his “sickening,” shameless and insensitive attempts to deny responsibility and cast himself as a “victim” in the tragedy.
"Are we really supposed to feel sorry for you, Mr. Baldwin," Matthew Hutchins tells "Today" https://t.co/xmNf6oIs0r via @TheWrap
— Gina Lawriw (@GinaLawriw) February 24, 2022
It’s understandable that Hutchins would want to move on a year after his wife’s death, but his cooperation with resuming production — with an executive producer credit — has left people with questions.
There were expressions of shock and distaste on social media. People couldn’t believe that anyone involved in the movie would return to a set that seems so marred by tragedy. They also recoiled from the idea of paying to see the movie in theaters or on a streaming service.
“Good luck trying to crew that job up. I wouldn’t go back on that set no matter how much you were willing to pay me. Bad juju,” one person wrote in response to a tweet linking to a New York Post story, “‘Rust’ to resume filming after settling Halyna Hutchins wrongful death.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” someone else wrote. “Love westerns but you couldn’t pay me to go and see this movie.”
“This is the worst idea anyone ever came up with,” yet another person wrote.
In replies to a tweet from Variety about the settlement, people called the move “disgraceful” and “tone-deaf.” Someone said generously, “Looks like her husband is executive producing it now in a tribute to her final work. … Mixed feelings and it’s tough. Just hope they maintain a safe set if they’re moving forward.”
However, others said that Baldwin and the other producers just want to recoup their investment, while a self-described filmmaker declared, “I am appalled that they are continuing to make this movie!!!! Shame shame shame on everyone involved.”
The Los Angeles Times said that Hutchins’ death “sent shockwaves through the film industry, which is still grappling with how to respond.”
Baldwin was handling a gun during an Oct. 21, 2021 rehearsal for a gunfight scene, when the gun fired. For reasons that have yet to be revealed, the gun contained a live round, even though no live rounds were supposed to be allowed on the set. The live round struck Hutchins, fatally wounding her, then injured Souza.
Baldwin has denied any wrongdoing, saying a crew member told him the gun was “clear,” or safe to use. He also controversially denied pulling the trigger.
In a statement on Instagram, Baldwin sounded relieved that at least one of the legal challenges he’s dealing with in the fallout from the “Rust” tragedy has been resolved.
“Throughout this difficult process, everyone has maintained the specific desire to do what is best for Halyna’s son,” Baldwin said on Instagram Wednesday, referring to Hutchins’ 10-year-old son. “We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the resolution of this tragic and painful situation.”
Baldwin, also a producer on the film, and the production still face multiple other lawsuits in Los Angeles and New Mexico. The district attorney in Santa Fe County also this month said she may bring criminal charges against up to four people in the case, including Baldwin.
In a statement, Souza said he planned to return to work on the film, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“In my own attempts to heal, any decision to return to finish directing the film could only make sense for me if it was done with the involvement of Matt and the Hutchins family,” Souza said in a statement. “Though certainly bittersweet, I am pleased that together, we will now complete what Halyna and I started. My every effort on this film will be devoted to honoring Halyna’s legacy and making her proud. It is a privilege to see this through on her behalf.”
Hutchins’ lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that Baldwin and other producers of the low-budget film sacrificed crew members’ safety by hiring inexperienced crew members and disregarding safety concerns expressed earlier by camera crew operators, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In his lawsuit, and in his “Today” show interview, Matthew Hutchins placed much of the blame on Baldwin, who, according to the lawsuit, refused training in the “cross-draw” maneuver that he was practicing that day.
Nonetheless, Baldwin almost immediately took the position that he was in no way responsible for Hutchins’ death. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but it’s not me,” Baldwin said in a December 2021 interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
Baldwin also emphasized to Stephanopoulos that he felt no guilt and at one point said he was only following Hutchins’ directions to point the gun her direction while rehearsing the gunfight scene. But Matthew Hutchins expressed incredulity over Baldwin’s attempt to shift blame to others, including Hutchins, and to deny pulling the trigger.
“And hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it. I just feel — are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr. Baldwin?” Hutchins said.
Originally published at Martha Ross