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On Friday, March 11, Alec Baldwin's lawyers filed an arbitration claim where they claimed that the actor was not responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of Rust. The lawyers also argued that the contractual bindings shield Baldwin from any financial obligation from the lawsuits against him.
The arbitration document also claimed that the film's production should cover the actor's legal fees. Alec Baldwin's lawyers also included private interactions with Hutchins' widower Matt, for which the latter's lawyers criticized the star.
In the document, Baldwin's lawyers also targeted Rust's production, assistant director Dave Halls, and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
Alec Baldwin's lawyers claim that Halyna Hutchins asked the actor to point the gun at her
The arbitration demand was against Rust Movie Productions LLC and Ryan Smith (who was one of the film's co-producers along with Baldwin). In the legal document obtained by Deadline, the actor's lawyers alleged that AD Dave Halls "later told an investigator that, after [Reed] opened the gun for him to inspect, he did not check all of the rounds as he should have before he handed it to... Baldwin."
As per the arbitration, the lawyers also shifted the focus towards armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was charged with the firearm's safety and was responsible for loading "dummy" rounds.
Alec Baldwin's lawyers also claimed that Halyna Hutchins had directed him to point the gun towards her to get a better shot. The document mentions:
"She directed Baldwin to hold the gun higher, to a point where it was directed toward her… Baldwin asked Hutchins whether she wanted to see him cock the gun, as the script required. She responded, yes."
A brief timeline of Alec Baldwin's Rust incident, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
The incident
On October 21, 2021, Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun during a rehearsal shoot. The gun reportedly contained a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Hutchins was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital from the set via helicopter but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Rust production was halted amidst police investigation and Hollywood demanded to ban live firearms from production sets
Following the announcement of Hutchins' death, many people from the industry supported the call to ban live guns from sets. Several comparisons were made to the tragic death of Bruce Lee's son Brandon, who passed away while filming The Crow after a similar accidental discharge of a prop gun. Brandon Lee's sister also advocated the call.
During the time of the investigation, multiple crew members reportedly came forward and told The Hollywood Reporter about the alleged incompetency of the crew that handled the gun and the producers.
Baldwin's first public interview since the incident
On December 1, last year, Alec Baldwin gave an emotional account of his involvement in the reportedly accidental death of Hutchins. In his interview with Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said:
"The gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun."
Controversies over Baldwin's alleged lack of cooperation with local New Mexico police
At the time, many publications alleged that Baldwin had not turned over his phone to the police despite official requests. However, the 63-year-old actor claimed he was following proper protocols and stated that the Santa Fe authorities' request needed to go through proper channels.
In a video shared by Baldwin, he claimed:
"Any suggestion that I am not complying with requests or orders or demands or search warrants about my phone, that's bulls**t, that's a lie."
Later on January 14, Alec Baldwin finally turned his phone over to the authorities, almost a month after their initial request.
Hutchins' Family filed a lawsuit for her "wrongful death"
On February 15, Halyna Hutchins' family retained the Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP and filed a lawsuit against Rust's production. At the time, Panish addressed the lawsuit in a press release, where he claimed that at least 15 industry standards were not followed during the production of the film.
With the recent retaliation by Alec Baldwin, whose lawyers filed the arbitration, it remains to be seen how the case will proceed.
