"We're not friends"— Rust Director Joel Souza opens up about his relationship with Alec Baldwin

In an interview published by Vanity Fair on August 15, 2024, the director of the Western drama Rust Joel Souza talked about his relationship with actor Alec Baldwin. It is the first time that the director gave an interview about the shooting that occurred in his set back in October 2021. A prop gun held by the actor fired a live bullet, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Souza was also injured in the mishap.

The accident happened when the director was standing behind Halyna Hutchins. As the gun fired, the bullet hit Hutchins in her chest first and then Souza in his shoulder. When asked about his relationship with Alec Baldwin, Joel Souza said that the two are no longer friends.

“Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship”, said Joel Souza.

The director recalled the series of events from that day. When asked how he felt that moment, he said it was like someone hitting him with a bat. The right portion of his body went numb. His ears were ringing, and all he could see in front of him was people running in panic.

“It felt like a horse kicked me in the shoulder or someone hit me with a bat. The whole right side of my body went numb, completely numb, but it also hurt excruciatingly at the same time, if that makes sense”, Joel Souza recalled.

The bullet missed his lung and stopped before hitting his spine. He added that on that very night of the fateful day, he hoped not to wake up the next morning. He didn’t want to be around anyone as well. The next day, Alec Baldwin came and sat with him, but he seemed like a wreck.

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Joel Souza has known Alec Baldwin since 2015

The director said that he had a good relationship with the actor. It took a long time for the two to get to know each other. Alec Baldwin was also supportive of Joel Souza’s creative abilities. He was also one of the producers of Souza’s 2019 film Crown Vic.

Right before the mishap occurred, Souza and the actor had a disagreement. However, it was strictly related to the character, as Alec Baldwin wanted his character to stand somewhere. Still, the director preferred otherwise, so he asked Baldwin to do what he said.

“So they start setting all that up. We were in the middle of this aisle between pews, and there’s Alec and all these people. I’m bumping into 25 people. I’m in the way completely. This is always the case when you’re setting up a shot. He’s the only character at that point. But there’s grips and a lot of people in there”, narrated Joel Souza.

The incident brought up several legal cases. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armourer, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Dave Halls, the first assistant director, agreed to a plea bargain and faced a misdemeanour charge for negligently using a deadly weapon. However, Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed as the authorities were found to withhold evidence.