The mother of the late Halyna Hutchins accuses Alec Baldwin of seeking to “unjustly profit” from her daughter’s death, while refusing to take responsibility or apologise.
One of the most controversial films in recent memory, Rust, is set to premiere tonight at a Polish film festival – but the mother of the cinematographer killed during its production is boycotting the event, accusing Alec Baldwin of profiting from tragedy.
The Western is premiering at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in the city of Torun three years after Hutchins was shot on set.
“It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen,” said Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey in a statement issued by her lawyer and carried by Britain’s national news agency, PA.
“Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter,” she said. “Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death. Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter.”
“That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion of Rust, especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter,” she added.
What happened on set, and where does the legal case stand today?
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer – but not the trigger – and the revolver fired.
In July this year, a New Mexico judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in the fatal shooting. But while the threat of criminal liability was lifted, he is facing other civil lawsuits, including one by Solovey.
The film armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. A New Mexico judge found earlier this year that her recklessness amounted to a serious violent offence.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Kari Morrissey described “constant, never-ending safety failures” on the set and Gutierrez-Reed’s “astonishing lack of diligence” with gun safety.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust, where it was expressly prohibited, and for failing to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Rust premieres at the Camerimage International Film Festival. It is scheduled to be released in the United States by The Avenue. No further dates have been communicated for worldwide release.
