In the fall of 2021, camerawoman Halyna Hutchins was killed by a bullet from a gun fired by Alec Baldwin while filming the western Rust. The Hollywood star denies any guilt.
Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, who was charged with manslaughter after being shot dead while filming a western, has pleaded not guilty. The 64-year-old informed the court in the US state of New Mexico in writing on Thursday local time – and at the same time stated that he did not want to appear at a planned online hearing on Friday. The hearing in his case will now not take place, the court said. A date for the start of the process has not yet been set.
A few days earlier, Baldwin had won the case: At the request of his lawyers, prosecutors had dropped a more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the use of firearms against the actor. This could have earned Baldwin five years in prison. His lawyers argued that this allegation was legally flawed because the relevant legal basis for it only came into force months after the fatal shooting on the set of the Western shoot.
Baldwin still faces a possible sentence of 18 months in prison and a fine for involuntary manslaughter. Arms master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is also charged with involuntary manslaughter, and a hearing in her case is still scheduled for Friday. Prosecutors filed the charges at the end of January. Baldwin was “extremely” negligent in many ways, it said. As an actor and as a producer of the film, he disregarded numerous safety regulations.
Filming will continue in the spring
Several civil lawsuits are also pending in the case. The parents and younger sister of the dead camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, who live in Ukraine, filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and others involved in early February, demanding damages. Hutchins was fatally injured while filming the western “Rust” in October 2021 at a film ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin, who served as lead actor and producer on the film, was holding a gun in rehearsal for a scene when a shot went off. The projectile also hit director Joel Souza in the shoulder, injuring him. Investigations revealed that the Colt had a real bullet lodged in it. Baldwin and the Armorer had always denied responsibility for the accident. The shooting of “Rust”, which was suspended after the incident, is now set to resume in the spring – with director Souza and Baldwin as producer and actor.
Killed camerawoman’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, joins as executive producer. Cinematographer Bianca Cline has been hired by Hutchins to “complete Halyna’s vision” for the western, according to a statement. The film will no longer be shot in New Mexico, but on the “Yellowstone Film Ranch” in the US state of Montana in the north of the USA, as the producers announced on Thursday night.