Alec Baldwin pushed to finish Rust to "honor Halyna Hutchins’s memory and talent"

In a less tragic universe, none of us would probably have ever heard of, or thought much about, Rust, the low-budget indie Western now notable almost solely for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film’s set. The film is now, unsurprisingly, embroiled in a few different legal cases related to Hutchins’ death, which occurred on October 21, 2021, when a firearm held by star and producer Alec Baldwin unexpectedly discharged with a live round inside it. The most prominent of said cases, to date, being the wrongful death suit that’s been lodged by Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, which names Baldwin and other producers as responsible for his wife’s death.

Today (per Variety), a somewhat shocking finding has emerged from court filings relating to the case: That Baldwin pushed his castmates, and director Joel Souza (also injured in the incident), to resume filming on Rust, starting just two weeks after Hutchins death.

This filing actually comes from Baldwin’s own camp, who positioned is as a positive. I.e., “That finishing Rust was an important step in honoring Halyna Hutchins’s memory and talent, defining her legacy, and, in turn, providing financial support to her family.”

That last part relates to settlement conversations that reportedly occurred between Baldwin and Matthew Hutchins, which included Baldwin floating the idea that a settlement for Hutchins and his son could be increased if the film was completed and released. Baldwin’s filing states that Hutchins initially expressed interest in the plan, but then became “less open-minded,” before ultimately filing his own lawsuit and issuing statements placing blame for his wife’s death at least partially on Baldwin.

The filing continues:

When agreeing to complete Rust, every person involved spoke of Halyna Hutchins’s flourishing talent and their desire to celebrate her legacy through completion of the film. But plans to complete Rust and to channel its proceeds into a fund for Hutchins’ and his son’s benefit have unfortunately broken down as a result of the lawsuit and these public statements.

It’s nearly impossible to imagine what possible good could actually come from releasing Rust under these circumstances; it seems deeply unlikely that the film could exist as anything other than a ghoulish opportunity for cinematic rubbernecking at this point. In any case, Hutchins’ opposition to the plan appears to have scuttled any possible plans that might have existed.

Baldwin continues to deny that he had any responsibility for the incident, pointing focus on whoever on the film’s set allowed a live round to be placed in the firearm.