An attorney for the company that produced “Rust” said it will continue filming the western, with Alec Baldwin continuing to star, days after a prosecutors announced they would charge the Hollywood star in the shooting that killed cinematographer Helena Hutchins.
Baldwin will continue to play Grandpa Harland Rust, Melina Spadoni, a lawyer for Rust Movie Productions, while Joel Sousa will return to direct Rust, after he was injured in the October 2021 shooting.
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Spadoni said Matt Hutchins, husband of the late photographer Halena, would become the executive producer. “The film is in the process of being completed,” she added in a statement.
The murder of Helena Hutchins
Helena Hutchins was killed on the set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when Baldwin was practicing firing a gun when a live bullet fired, also hitting Sousa.
U.S. Attorney Mary Carmack Altoise, the chief prosecutor in Santa Fe, said Thursday she intends to charge both Baldwin and the film’s gun handler, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, with involuntary manslaughter.
--Baldwin reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the Hutchins family in October, under which Hutchins’ husband will play a production role on the film, which resumes shooting this month.
-Baldwin denies responsibility for the accident
Baldwin denied responsibility for the shooting, and said that live ammunition should never have been allowed on set, and that firearms were responsible for their safety.
It has not yet been revealed how the real weapons got into the film’s set.
Pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced charge
Legal analysts said prosecutors face an uphill battle to convict Baldwin of criminal charges without evidence he knew there were live ammunition and took no precautions.
Some believe they are seeking a plea bargain with the Emmy Award-winning “30 Rock” star in exchange for reduced charges.
Baldwin penalty
Negligent manslaughter is punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
If the prosecution proves that the matter goes beyond mere negligence in using a firearm, the penalty may be up to 5 years in prison.
