The new documentary “Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna,” which premieres Tuesday on Hulu, examines the 2021 gun accident that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of indie film “Rust” and was directed by Hutchins’s friend, Rachel Mason.
Hutchins is remembered fondly in the doc as a friend, wife, mother and aspiring cinematographer. The accident occurred when Alec Baldwin’s prop gun fired a live bullet during production on Oct. 21, 2021, and the film also includes interviews with those on set, subsequent lawsuits, criminal trials and investigations into lapses in on-set safety protocols.
The doc was previewed last week during an FYC event that also provided reflection about Hutchins. The event additionally exposed the challenges of tackling this high-profile story when “Rust” director Joel Souza, who was additionally injured in the accident and was interviewed for the doc, admitted during the Q&A, “I hoped it might have a little more Halyna in it, or a little more about Halyna.”
During the panel, which also included “Last Take” director Mason (“Circus of Books”) and producer Julee Metz, another friend of Hutchins, he added, “I know that was your original intention when you talked to me about it, and I could tell when we would talk over the years in the intervening time that, you know, you were under some pressures.”
Metz addressed his comments, saying that Mason “had a very clear vision to tell the story of [Hutchins’] life and her work and some of her death, of course, because that’s where the story began, basically. But over time and as we gained new partners on this project, it became clear that there was a commercial value to the story of ‘Rust’ and that needed to be part of the story that we had to tell. So I think it became less about Halyna’s life and more about her death.”
It appeared that quite a number of audience members knew Halyna or were affiliated with “Rust.” There was some sharing of stories about the cinematographer and mother, as well as some tears during the screening. “I know some of her dear friends are here in this audience right now,” Mason said, introducing the doc. “I think this film brings me, at least, and brings, I think, other people, closer to some kind of sense, but it’ll never really make sense. I don’t know that we’ll ever fully grasp the sadness and the pain of losing somebody we all care about so much.”
“LastTake” was made by Story Syndicate, Anonymous Content and Concordia Studio, in association with FutureClown Productions. Halyna’s widower, Matt Hutchins, is an executive producer. Halyna Hutchins has a cinematography credit, something on which Mason said she insisted.
Mason talked with Variety about the production:
What do you hope people will take away from this documentary?
I really, truly hope they have an understanding of just how incredible Halyna Hutchins was, what a vast light she was, the potential that she had and how she was robbed from us too soon.
The documentary includes footage at the scene of the accident and footage of Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed being questioned by authorities at the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Were there things that you debated whether to use for sensitivity reasons?
I would say every single frame in this film was debated back and forth about the ethics of using it, of what felt right. It was a constant dialog about how to be sensitive throughout.
What drove the decision to show Alec Baldwin getting the news that Halyna had died?
I will say this from a personal point of view, Alec’s reaction was my own personal reaction, and it was so unfathomable that that happened, that she could have possibly died. It was just a horror. It was a real horror. And I feel the way that we use that shot was done in a way that was allowing it to resonate. At least my goal was to allow it to resonate in a way that felt so real and raw that anyone watching it could feel the pain that we all felt. So that was the goal with that usage of that very, very painful, very sensitive footage.
Do you anticipate that this documentary will be used, or do you hope that it will be used, in the community to continue the dialog about on-set safety?
Absolutely, and I actually hope it opens a wider dialog into workplace safety. Not only do deaths happen on sets, they’ve happened since Halyna died…deaths that didn’t necessarily involve a celebrity. So the whole world doesn’t know about it, but in our community, each and every person who died on a set is a human being, just like Halyna, with family and friends who love them, and it’s a nightmare.
But I will say there are other workplace accidents that are just as horrifying. At the core of it, I would say, are communication issues. There are communication breakdowns that happen. And one thing that is a very valuable tool that I learned about was a stop work order. If people feel something is truly unsafe in a lot of different workplaces outside of the film industry, anyone is allowed to raise the concern that there should be a stop work order. I would hope something like that could become part of our industry, because I don’t believe the next set accident will be from a gun.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned during the course of your research and making this film?
I would say how much Halyna loved working on “Rust” and I had a first hand view of that because I had access to her actual notebooks. I had access to her iPhone, iCloud, her messages, and it was very personal. She enjoyed it. She loved the work. I mean, she loved nothing more than work and her family, and it just was so clear that she was in the zone she was in. It was hard…but every set is hard.
Matt Hutchins is listed as an executive producer. How did that influence the direction of the story?
It was Matt who actually decided to make this film, and he enlisted me to direct it. So if anything, I always was there to support Matt having that desire. Matt, I think, had the feeling it needed to get done by someone he could trust and that’s, I believe, the starting point of the whole thing.
Did you reach out to Alec Baldwin for an interview?
I did reach out to Alec. It was not necessarily to say, “I want to do an interview,” but it was a basic, just general communication. He was working on his own projects. He could not participate.
Do you have thoughts on Alec Baldwin’s reality series?
I’m aware of it. I haven’t watched it. I mean, really, I’ve just been head down and finishing this film.
As of where we are right now, do you think justice was served?
Having gone through this, I’ve changed my whole idea of what justice means, because the only justice for me is if Halyna could come back. I’m so angry that she’s dead. It doesn’t make sense to me. And so the different things that might help in the future and prevent an accident, potentially could be justice.
I simply felt sadness. It doesn’t feel like justice because my friend isn’t here.
(This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
