Alec Baldwin Sued By Halyna Hutchins’ Family After “Rust” Shooting

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The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died on the set of Rust last October, sued Alec Baldwin, the production companies, and others involved in the movie on Tuesday, claiming her death was the result of the filmmakers repeatedly ignoring concerns and safety rules as they cut corners to save money.

Baldwin, who is one of the producers of the low-budget indie, shot and killed Hutchins during a rehearsal on Oct. 21 while filming at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. The actor has said he did not pull the trigger of the revolver that contained live rounds, which under best practices should never even be present on a film set. The new lawsuit maintains that Baldwin should never have pointed the gun at Hutchins or released its hammer, which allowed it to fire. It also alleges that the actor and others did not have the proper training required to handle the weapon. And, as crew members previously told BuzzFeed News, the lawsuit contends those in charge of the Western fostered an unsafe work environment by not following firearms protocols.

“What’s happened since this tragedy is that everyone is pointing the finger at someone else. We want to get to the bottom of this. Matt and his son Andros want to know who is responsible,” Randi McGinn, one of the attorneys representing Hutchins’ family, told BuzzFeed News. “The truth is there are about a dozen people who if they had done their jobs correctly, this would not have happened.”

The 29-page lawsuit is the latest that alleges that the producers and other executives intentionally flouted industry protocols to save money while putting workers in unsafe situations. The complaint states that Baldwin and other higher-ups repeatedly brushed aside concerns from crew members about the dangerous handling of guns, including a text message from a camera operator days before Hutchins died that there had already been three accidental gun discharges.

“This is super unsafe,” camera operator Lane Luper wrote on Oct. 16.

The cinematographer’s family is also suing the others involved in the making of the film, including Ryan Smith and Allen Cheney, who have come under scrutiny for how they’ve treated staff on past low-budget productions, as well as Emily Salveson, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Anjul Nigam, and Matthew DelPiano. Also named are Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, prop master Sarah Zachary, assistant director Dave Halls, and the company the live rounds allegedly came from, among others.

The lawsuit says that Baldwin, the producers, their companies, and supervisors were aware of multiple firearm safety issues on the set in the days leading up to the fatal accident and “did not take action to correct the situation.” The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the shooting, and no criminal charges have been filed. Authorities have issued multiple search warrants for the property and those involved. Last month, Baldwin handed over his cellphone as part of the ongoing criminal probe.

“Defendant Baldwin and the other defendants in this case failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie ‘Rust’ with fatal consequences,” the lawsuit states.

In a statement, Aaron Dyer, the attorney for Alec Baldwin and other producers of Rust, said that “any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false” and stated that the actor, Hutchins, and other members of the crew “relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a ‘cold gun’ – meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise.”

“This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone. Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use,” Dyer said.

The attorney said they are still cooperating with authorities to “determine how live ammunition arrived on the ‘Rust’ set in the first place.”

“Everyone’s hearts and thoughts remain with Halyna’s family as they continue to process this unspeakable tragedy,” he said.

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannasacks/halyna-hutchins-family-lawsuit-alec-baldwin-rust

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