Alec Baldwin’s Rust set to premiere three years after Halyna Hutchins’ death – but he won’t be there

Baldwin, the film’s star and producer, was holding the prop gun that discharged the fatal bullet that killed Hutchins. He was charged with manslaughter, but a judge eventually dismissed the case, ruling prosecution withheld ammunition evidence

Alec Baldwin’s Western movie Rust will finally have its world premiere next month at the 2024 EnergaCamerimage International Film Festival, three years after the tragic on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The festival will take place from November 16 to November 23 in Poland.

The screening will be followed by a “unique” panel discussion with director Joel Souza, who was also injured by the bullet that fatally struck Hutchins in October 2021. He will be joined by cinematographer Bianca Cline, who stepped in to finish the project, and Hutchins’ beloved AFI Film school mentor Stephen Lighthill.

There, they will discuss the “events surrounding the film, offering insight into continuing production after Halyna's death,” a press release states. “Maintaining Hutchins’ artistic vision, as tremendously challenging as it was for the entire crew, was really important to the filmmakers, hoping to fulfill their duty to complete her work.”

Baldwin, the film’s star and co-producer, will not be in attendance at the premiere, an outside source told The Hollywood Reporter.

The Independent has contacted Baldwin’s representative for comment. 

Alec Baldwin on the set of ‘Rust’ after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)

It is unknown whether the film’s other leads – Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, Josh Hopkins and Patrick Scott McDermott – will be there.

According to a logline: “Rust tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after he’s sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.”

During its initial October 2021 production, a prop gun disharged in Baldwin’s hand while he was practicing a gun-drawing technique on the set in New Mexico. Instead of a blank round, it discharged a real bullet, killing Hutchins, 42.

In the wake of her death, Baldwin stood trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter. However, in July, a judge threw out the case after it was found that the state had withheld evidence that could have shed light on how live rounds made it onto the set.

The movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, with the prosecutors blaming her for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

She was convicted in March and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Last week, Gutierrez-Reed’s appeal for a new trial was denied after her lawyers failed to convince the judge that their client had been deprived of a fair hearing.

Her lawyers had alleged that prosecutors failed to share evidence that could have cleared her – the same evidence that led to Baldwin’s case being dismissed.

The judge instead upheld the manslaughter conviction against Gutierrez-Reed and rejected a request that she be released from custody, saying it was moot because the request for a new trial was denied.