Rust: Criminal charges dropped against Alec Baldwin over fatal shooting

All criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin have been dropped over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in October 2021. The move comes less than a fortnight before a trial into the incident was set to begin.

Baldwin had been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after Hutchins was fatally struck by a live bullet fired from a prop gun on set.

Two charges of involuntary manslaughter remain against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, however a lawyer for the Rust armourer told the BBC that they “fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated”. Meanwhile, 1^st AD David Halls was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon in connection with the incident and was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation as part of a plea deal in late March.

Filming of Rust is understood to have resumed on Thursday 20 April, 18 months on from Hutchins’ death, with Baldwin set to reprise his role as the film’s main character. The production has moved from New Mexico to the Yellowstone Film Ranch at Montana’s Paradise Valley. Rust’s original director, Joel Souza, remains at the helm, while cinematographer Bianca Cline joins the project. Cline, who recently shot A24’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, is set to donate her salary to charity in honour of Hutchins.

In an interview with Sky News, Melina Spadone, the lawyer for Rust Movie Productions, said: “Alec is a consummate professional and I think we had every confidence in his ability to act within the movie, regardless of what’s going on in any aspect of his personal life. I would say, probably, for everyone else, it’s a good outcome in the sense that we feel that justice has been served.”

Spadone was challenged by Sky’s Martha Kelner about the completion of the film being seen as “disrespectful” to Hutchins’ memory by some people. “We’ve had lots of conversations about this,” said Spadone, “and because her husband and her family are on board – her husband, Matthew Hutchins, is an executive producer on this film – we are convinced we are doing what she wanted, what her family wants, and we’re not really concerned about the broader public. And for Halyna’s art not to be seen, I think, would be a much bigger disrespect.”