It would start with a good intention. Actor Alec Baldwin tried to restart filming of the western Rust on which filmmaker Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed, in order “to honor her memory” and compensate her family. This was revealed by the actor’s lawyers in the context of an arbitration procedure to request financial support from the other producers of the film, arguing about their contractual obligations.
“Baldwin has made strenuous efforts to contact the distribution of Rust hoping to gain their support in order to finish the film. He did so with the intention of honoring Halyna’s memory by completing her last work and compensating [Matt] cackling [l’époux de la victime] and his son thanks to the benefits of the film, ”says the document, filed Friday with a specialized firm in Los Angeles.
Alec Baldwin requests payment of legal costs
According to the text, Alec Baldwin had managed to convince the film crew, including its director Joel Souza, who was also injured on the day of the tragedy, to complete production. But Matt Hutchins refused the offer of an amicable agreement offered to him by Alec Baldwin and ended up filing a complaint against Alec Baldwin and the production, claiming “substantial” damages from them, citing a long list of breaches.
In his arbitration file, Alec Baldwin asks the production of Rust to bear the costs of proceedings and lawyers related to the accident on the set, which is, according to him, provided for in his contract.
The actor targeted by several civil complaints
At the time of the tragedy, on October 21 on a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alec Baldwin was handling a revolver while working a scene with Halyna Hutchins, director of photography for the film. She had been presented with the weapon as harmless because it was supposed to contain only dummy bullets but the shot was fired, mortally wounding the 42-year-old filmmaker.
Alec Baldwin, who is also one of the producers of Rusthas since been the subject of several civil complaints seeking compensation, including one filed by Matt Hutchins, the victim’s husband, and their young son.
Neither guilty nor responsible
In a television interview, the actor said last year that he felt neither guilty nor even “responsible” for the death of Halyna Hutchins, assuring that it was she who asked him to point his revolver at her and that the shot had gone off without his pulling the trigger.
Alongside numerous civil proceedings initiated by members of the film crew, a criminal investigation is still ongoing. In particular, the police are looking to find out how live ammunition could have been found on the set, which is in theory strictly prohibited.