After a hiatus due to the legal controversy over Alec Baldwin’s shooting of Halyna Hutchins, filming on Rust is set to resume this spring, according to The Hollywood Reporter and other sources.
Hutchins died of gunshot wounds on the set in October 2021 when Baldwin fired what he thought was a stunt gun. Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have since been charged by New Mexico officials with involuntary manslaughter in the wake of the fatal incident.
As shooting resumes, Bianca Cline will join the crew as the new cinematographer. She is known for her work on Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, Belly of the Beast, and Murder Among the Mormons. It has been reported that Cline intends to donate her salary to charity in tribute to Halyna Hutchins. In addition, Hutchins’s widowed husband Matthew will serve as executive producer. Matthew Hutchins is also executive-producing a documentary on his late wife’s life that is being created by director Rachel Mason and producer Julee Metz.
According to a statement by Rust Movie Productions, “Both Mason and Metz were close friends with Halyna, and they look forward to working with the production to honor their friend and show the brilliance and depth of Halyna’s talent while conveying what her loss has meant to her friends, colleagues and the entire film industry.”
Joining Matthew Hutchins as producers of Rust will be Grant Hill and Stephen Marinaccio. Also joining the production will be safety officers Gary Jensen and Paul Jordan of Tenet Production Safety, who will enforce new, stricter restrictions about the use of weapons and live ammunition on the set.
In announcing the resumption of filming, Rust’s director Joel Souza stated: “Though bittersweet, I am grateful that a brilliant and dedicated new production team joining former cast and crew are committed to completing 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.”
Souza was also injured in the October 2021 mishap.
On February 9, Halyna’s Hutchins’s parents and sister filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles against Baldwin, Rust‘s producers and other crew members. The suit alleges battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of consortium.
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