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Alec Baldwin has been sued by the family of Rust movie cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, for a prop gun misfire incident that killed the latter on October 2021.
The lawsuit also named at least seven producers and five crew members, including assistant director David Halls and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, as defendants.
The suit accused the production team of embracing cost-cutting measures by “hiring inexperienced and unqualified” armorers and safety crew members, following an "unreasonably rushed" production schedule and failing to meet “industry standards.”
The 29-page document also alleged that Alec Baldwin himself "disregarded at least 15 industry standards" on the set, leading to the misfired shot that took Hutchins’ life. The actor has been accused of firing a single bullet that fatally hit Hutchins and left director Joel Souza injured.
Hutchins’ lawyers also released a chilling animated video alongside the lawsuit. The CGI video documented the entire moment when Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger on an alleged prop gun while filming a sequence for Rust but instead shot Halyna Hutchins in a live-round misfire incident.
A look into the animated Alec Baldwin shooting video
An animated video titled Killing of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’ released by the late Halyna Hutchins’ family detailed on the exact moment the Rust movie cinematographer was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin in a prop gun misfire incident.
The 10-minute video showed a CGI version of Baldwin sitting in a makeshift church pew on the New Mexico film set, moments before pulling the trigger on a Colt .45 revolver and targeting it towards Hutchins.
The video shows the actor firing a gun and hitting Hutchins from approximately four feet away. A single bullet is then shown searing through the cinematographer’s chest and skeleton and hitting director Joel Souza.
As Souza is shown crying out in pain, Hutchins can be seen collapsing to the ground saying “I’m hit.” The footage also contained animated text messages and email screenshots from several crew members alleging that weapon safety was a "massive" issue throughout the production process of Rust.
A narrator can also be heard breaking down the ill-fated moment in the background of the video by providing details about the production team's failure to implement industry safety standards on set.
The clip even explained the simple ways to identify a live bullet before firing it. The narrator mentioned that a dummy bullet often has a hole in it that rattles when shaken, while a real bullet is devoid of the hole and does not make any sound.
The video further alleged that Alec Baldwin "refused" to receive proper weapons training about performing cross-draw actions before shooting Hutchins and failed to meet industry standards of inspecting a weapon before using it on the movie set.
Hutchins' family attorney Brian Panish elaborated on the intentions behind releasing the animated video and said:
"I think the video explains why Mr. Baldwin and others were responsible and are responsible for safety on the job site and why their reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures led to the death of Halyna Hutchins.”
The lawyer also held Alec Baldwin directly responsible for the shooting incident on the Rust movie set:
“I think it’s clear what happened. He had the gun, he says he pulled the hammer back, it fired, and she was killed. … The experts will look at it and make any determinations, but we don’t think this was caused by any defect in the weapon.”
Meanwhile, he also mentioned that other people were also involved in the situation leading to Halyna Hutchins’ death:
“[Baldwin] has significant portion liability, but there are others, and that’s what this case is going to be about — assessing fair apportionment to whoever’s responsible for the senseless tragedy.”
The actor had previously mentioned in an emotional interview that he did not know about the presence of real bullets in the prop gun and “did not pull the trigger” intentionally. However, he has not responded to the latest lawsuit or the animated video.
What happened in the Rust movie set shooting incident?
On October 21, 2021, Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by misfiring an alleged prop gun on the set of Rust. The actor was reportedly rehearsing a shooting sequence at the time of the incident.
The Boss Baby star said that the director told him that the weapon was a “cold gun” and not loaded with any live rounds. However, the revolver did contain actual bullets that fatally struck cinematographer Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Hutchins was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque and pronounced dead on arrival. Meanwhile, Souza was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe and survived the gunshot injury.
The cinematographer was just 42 at the time of her passing and left behind her husband Matthew and son Ardos.
