By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 03:26:30 | Updated at 2024-11-23 22:55:01
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They didn't invite Alec Baldwin, the star and producer of Rust, to the film's premiere in Poland on Wednesday this week.
As Kazimierz Suwala, the director of the Camerimage film festival, said: 'We never considered doing so.'
Instead, Baldwin was at home in New York when an audience first got to see the movie in which he played such a pivotal role.
But there was an audible gasp in the cinema when the action came to the point of a fatal mishap with a gun – the plot of the Western hinges upon an accidental shooting.
This was art mirroring life in the most tragic way. For, in a real-life Hollywood horror story, Rust ceased production after a prop gun held by Baldwin – the lead character – went off on October 21, 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. A live round had somehow got into the vintage Colt revolver Baldwin was holding.
Hutchins, 42, had been demonstrating how she wanted him to hold the weapon when it went off, fatally shooting her in the chest.
In the immediate aftermath Baldwin said he was grief stricken but denied responsibility.
In a TV interview soon afterwards he said: 'I might have killed myself if I thought I was responsible, and I don't say that lightly.' He added: 'I have dreams about this constantly now. I go through my day, and I make it through the day. Then I collapse at the end of the day. Emotionally, I collapse.'
Alec Baldwin practising drawing his revolver on the set of Rust. While filming the movie, a prop gun held by the actor went off and killed a cinematographer
Despite saying he was grief stricken, Baldwin has yet to accept responsibility for the tragedy
Baldwin also insisted: 'I couldn't give a s*** about my career any more.' Asked: 'Is it over?' He replied: 'Well it could be.'
But three years on – with Rust's armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed serving 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter and Baldwin cleared of the same charge after his trial collapsed in July on a technicality after the prosecution withheld potentially relevant evidence – the actor has no intention of retiring from showbusiness, which has made him a fortune.
Instead, he is in the throes of a multi-pronged attempt to relaunch his career.
He has a new slot on legendary US comedy show Saturday Night Live, a reality TV show featuring himself, his wife Hilaria and their seven children, and is about to receive a 'lifetime achievement' in cinema award.
He is, though, far from forgiven by Hutchins' family and colleagues, who are appalled that he should do all this while still being sued over events on the set of Rust.
For the accidental shooting has left a complicated legacy when it comes to Ukrainian-born Hutchins and her family.
Director Joel Souza said this week that Hutchins' widower Matthew and son Andros, now 12, will benefit financially from any success that the film has, and was one of the reasons they wanted to finish and release Rust.
Melina Spadone, representative for Rust Movie Productions, said: 'The decision to complete Rust was made with the full support of Halyna's family.'
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was accidentally shot dead by Baldwin on the set of the western film
Their argument is that the finished film honours Hutchins' work.
That's all very well, but despite these claims Matthew Hutchins was not in Poland for the premiere.
He is still waiting for the financial payment agreed when he settled a wrongful death suit with Baldwin and the film's backers – and the suit may actually be reactivated and come to trial, more of which later.
Meanwhile Hutchins' mother, Olga Solovey, who lives in Ukraine, is among those still pursuing Baldwin.
She expressed her disgust this week, saying: 'It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen. Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter.
'Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death.
'Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter. That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion of Rust, especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter.'
Her lawyer Gloria Allred added: 'Even though Mr Baldwin discharged the gun that killed Halyna, he has never called them to apologise. Even worse, he argued, through his attorneys, that Halyna was emotionally distant from her family in Ukraine. That is false, hurtful and insulting.
Director Joel Souza at the Rust premiere at the Camerimage Festival in Torun, Poland. He was wounded by the rogue gunshot fired accidentally on set
'Now, a decision has been made to promote Rust to buyers in order to make a profit for Alec Baldwin and others that had a role in Halyna's death.'
Thell Reed, father of armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is seven months into her prison sentence, told the Mail: 'They're trying to make money, that's all they care about.' He adds: 'People will go see it because of what happened.'
Baldwin faces four civil suits, three of which are being handled in New Mexico, where the accident happened in a church which was being used for filming.
One is a negligence lawsuit brought by Halyna's mother, her father Anatolii Androsovych, her sister Svetlana Zemko and script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, who was standing next to Hutchins at the time. Lawyers for the family confirmed the case is ongoing.
The second suit is from Hutchins' widower Matthew, accusing Baldwin of reckless conduct while handling the gun and the Rust production of cost-cutting measures that put the crew in danger.
While the suit seemed to have been resolved by a settlement in 2022, earlier this year Matthew Hutchins' lawyers said in a court filing that the payments had not been made by June 2023, the agreed date. The delayed payment appears to be due to the decision by the New Mexico authorities not to give Rust a $1.6 million (£1.2 million) tax break.
The widower's lawyer, Brian Panish, has said that the case could still go to trial and that he wants to hold Baldwin 'accountable for his actions in the senseless death of Halyna Hutchins'.
The third New Mexico case is from three members of the Rust crew: Ross Addiego, the dolly operator, Doran Curtin, the set costumer, and Reese Price, the key grip [responsible for equipment]. They claim they suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress as they were in the church when Halyna Hutchins was killed.
The fourth negligence lawsuit was filed by Rust gaffer [chief lighting technician], Serge Svetnoy, who held her as she died.
In the Svetnoy case, filed in Los Angeles, Baldwin's lawyers argue that the matter be adjourned due to the impending appeal in the criminal case. Because that case against Baldwin may yet not be resolved.
It was dramatically dismissed on July 12 – two days into the trial –after the judge ruled prosecutors mishandled evidence. The trial judge then rejected a request from prosecutors late last month to overturn that decision.
But court documents seen by the Daily Mail show that Baldwin's lawyers claim the Santa Fe district attorney 'is not done trying to prosecute Baldwin' for the shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
The District Attorney vowed to appeal to a higher court, meaning that the case grinds on.
Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor who brought the case, declined to comment but in court filings has strenuously defended the way Baldwin was prosecuted.
Baldwin's lawyers have angrily fired back, claiming she 'buried evidence' and had the 'audacity' to continue the case.
The actor's lawyer Alex Spiro demanded that the state of New Mexico even cover Baldwin's legal fees as the conduct of the prosecution was so egregious.
Meanwhile the family of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed say she has been 'scapegoated' over the killing. Her father Thell said: 'She shouldn't be in jail in the first place. She never checked the guns or anything. They never called her to the set. It's crazy.
'I don't think anyone should be in jail. They turned Alec Baldwin loose. They should turn my daughter loose.'
In these circumstances many may think it's extraordinary that Baldwin wants to return to the spotlight.
Now 66, Baldwin started out as one of three handsome acting brothers, the others being Billy and Stephen. He rose to fame through macho roles in films like Working Girl and The Hunt for Red October.
Off-screen he had a fiery marriage to actress Kim Basinger, and became infamous when, following a vicious seven-year custody battle over their daughter Ireland, he left a voicemail message for her calling the girl 'a rude, thoughtless little pig' for avoiding his phone calls. Revealing he wasn't sure if she was 11 or 12, he added: 'You [Ireland] don't have the brains or the decency as a human being.'
Years later, Ireland checked into rehab for 'emotional trauma'.
More recently, Baldwin had huge success with the TV show 30 Rock and was acclaimed for his portrayal of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live from 2017 to 2020.
Alec Baldwin with his family. The cameras began rolling on The Baldwins – to be shown on cable network TLC – earlier this year even before manslaughter charges were brought
Last Saturday he was on the show again portraying RFK Jr, Donald Trump's new health supremo. There was an instant backlash over that performance which mimicked the controversial politician's raspy voice, the result of a vocal condition called spasmodic dysphonia.
One critic wrote: 'SNL actually brought back Alec Baldwin… after he killed a woman… to do the worst possible impersonation of RFK Jr. This is what they're reduced to.'
It remains to be seen if his take on RFK will become a running joke on the show.
Baldwin's biggest professional step back into the spotlight is not being taken alone, however, but with wife Hilaria in a family reality TV show called The Baldwins.
He met yoga instructor Hilaria in a restaurant in 2012 when she caught his eye and winked at him. They were married the same year and have seven children aged between ten and one.
The cameras began rolling on The Baldwins – to be shown on cable network TLC – earlier this year, even before he had faced manslaughter charges. A trailer suggests it will depict the chaos of life in the big family at their New York home. They've also been seen filming an outdoor cook-outs in The Hamptons.
Hilaria – controversial for adopting a Spanish persona, despite being raised plain Hillary in Boston, by American parents – seems to have been instrumental in putting the family on the screen.
At one time she was interested in joining the cast of The Real Housewives of New York before she switched her attention to a proposal for her own show. Insiders say The Baldwins, out in January, pitches Alec as the doting older dad, the butt of 'amusing' jokes about how out of control his brood are, and how he struggles to keep up with them.
Many, though, disapprove of the move. One online critic wrote: 'If he had any decency he would disappear permanently after what he did. Instead he flaunts his family in a show after destroying a different family.'
Others are critical of Hilaria calling her: 'Thirstier (for attention) than a camel in the Sahara and as Spanish as your average Bostonian.'
You certainly can't just blame Hilaria for Baldwin's return to the spotlight, though. The Mail has learned he is flying to Italy this weekend to pick up an award.
Organisers say he is due to arrive in Turin on Sunday, without his family. He will be handed the Stella della Mole lifetime award at the Torino Film Festival on Monday. He's also going to give a press conference.
He'll have lots to say – Alec Baldwin always does. But whether that will include an apology to the family and colleagues of the woman who was shot by the gun which was in his hand is much less of a certainty.
