Tributes paid to ‘brilliant’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who died on ‘Rust’ film set

Tributes have been paid to a cinematographer who died after Alec Baldwin fired a prop firearm on a film set.

Halyna Hutchins, 42, died after Baldwin discharged the gun while filming his new Western movie Rust in New Mexico.

She was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Who was Halyna Hutchins?

Ms Hutchins was working as the director of photography on the Western movie Rust.

The 42-year-old had the same production role on the 2020 action film Archenemy and has worked on a number of other movies, including The Mad Hatter and Blindfire.

What other fatal accidents have happened on movie sets?

In an interview with American Cinematography, in 2019, Ms Hutchins said she grew up on an Arctic military base.

She explained how she started her career as a journalist but started to move into cinematography after working on British film productions in Eastern Europe.

Ms Hutchins then moved to the United States, taking up production-assistant roles, working up to grip-electric and shooting short films.

In 2015, Ms Hutchins graduated from the American Film Institute and, in 2019, she was named a “rising star” by American Cinematographer.

According to IMDb, she also won the English Riviera Film Festival’s Jury prize for best cinematography for the short film Treacle in 2019.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Many of her colleagues and friends have paid tribute to the “brilliant talent” following her death.

Casting director Sidra Smith posted on Instagram: “This breaks my heart into pieces”

Actor Joe Manganiello, who starred in Archenemy called her an “incredible talent”

Director of the Archenemy, Adam Egypt Mortimer said she was “brilliant”

Lord of the Rings star, Elijah Wood said it was “devastating news”

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn said his “heart goes out” to Ms Hutchins’ family

Screenwriter, Christopher Robert Cargill, known for Sinister, said Ms Hutchins’ death was a “tragic loss”

Brandon Lee’s sister, Shannon said on Twitter: “No one should ever be killed by a gun”

In 1993, Brandon Lee, 28, son of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee, died after being hit by a .44-caliber slug while filming a death scene for the movie The Crow.

Director and cinematographer, Elle Schneider said she was “devastated” by the “especially cruel” situation

Actress Mia Farrow said: “This should have never happened”

The American Film Institute Conservatory said “words cannot capture the loss” of Ms Hutchins

The director of Rust, Joel Souza, was also injured in the incident and taken to hospital. He has since been discharged.