Alec Baldwin’s movie “Rust,” which was plagued by controversy in 2021 following the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, will be released in May.
The trailer for the Western drama dropped on Wednesday, showing Baldwin as a notorious outlaw who helps his grandson escape jail after he’s sentenced to death for murder. The film, directed by Joel Souza, will be released in select theaters nationwide and video-on-demand on May 2.
A press release states that the movie’s original producers will not profit financially from it. Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their son Andros will receive movie profits as part of the terms of his wrongful death settlement.
The movie’s release comes four years ago Hutchin was fatally shot on set. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on Oct. 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, when the prop gun he was holding fired a live round of ammunition. Hutchins was killed and Souza was wounded.
The actor said in a 2021 interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he did not pull the trigger and was told that the gun was empty.
The shooting led to calls for firearm safety on movie sets, a slew of lawsuits and high-profile trials after Baldwin and “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter. In July, a New Mexico judge dismissed the case against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed against him again.
First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s lawyers that prosecutors hid evidence that may have been connected to the shooting. The actor’s legal team had accused the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office of possessing live rounds of ammunition as evidence, but failing to record them in the case file or reveal their existence to the defense.
Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor in the case, denied that ammunition was kept from Baldwin’s lawyer and said it was not connected to the case.
Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of tampering with evidence in March 2024. Prosecutors said she “was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless” on set. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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