After a lengthy investigation, it was announced this week that criminal charges are getting filed in relation to the death of Halyna Hutchins. In October 2021, Hutchins was killed during the production of the Western movie Rust which featured one of its producers, Alec Baldwin, as the lead star. Producer and star Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been formally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter as the investigation concludes, while assistant director Dave Halls took a plea deal for a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
In the aftermath, Baldwin's co-star Douglas Stewart is sharing his thoughts on the situation, which is tragic all around. The accident happened when Baldwin was holding a firearm declared by Halls as a "cold gun," meaning it was safe to use, though that was unfortunately not the case. Those who've argued for criminal charges against Baldwin have stated that the actor had a responsibility to personally check the rounds, regardless of what he'd been told by Halls. But for Stewart, he says that it's not the actor's job to check firearm safety, as he tells TMZ.
"In all of those previous experiences, there were strict procedures followed where fi you're handling a gun, either the stage manager, or in the case of a film, an armorer, is in charge of handing the gun over to the actor. So, the actor, in all of my experiences has never checked the gun, double checked it. You're not allowed to open the chamber, check the barrel, anything."
Baldwin is getting charged for the incident both as an actor and as a producer. When it comes to the latter, Stewart also doesn't think Baldwin should be held liable, noting that he was more involved with the financials rather than on-set safety measures.
"I think it was a perfunctory role. He was probably giving up his salary in lieu of points so when the film came out, he would make his money on the back end. He was not a day-to-day producer. He wouldn't have been, in my mind, involved in any aspect of safety. For example, anything to do with production, whether it was lighting, sound, costuming, you know, name your production item. That wasn't his role at all."
Rust Was Reported to Resume Filming This Month
It was previously reported that Rust would continue filming this month after the filmmakers settled a wrongful death suit against them filed by Halyna Hutchins' widower, Matthew Hutchins, who joined the project as an executive producer. It's not yet clear if these criminal charges have impacted the plans to keep filming or if there have been other setbacks holding things up.
"I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin)," a statement released by Matthew Hutchins noted. "All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”