Rust film set shooting: Alec Baldwin was ‘talking on phone’ during gun training, prosecutor claims
Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has been formally charged in New Mexico with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the western film Rust.
Baldwin has vowed to fight the two counts against him, with his lawyer calling the case a “terrible miscarriage of justice”.
A live round killed Halyna Hutchins, 42, after a prop gun held by the 64-year-old star was discharged during rehearsals for the movie in October 2021.
The charges – which could see Baldwin sent to jail for up to five years – would require prosecutors to convince a jury that Baldwin was not just negligent but reckless in his use of a firearm.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the armourer on the set of Rust. File pic: Shutterstock
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons on the Rust set, has also been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Legal experts have said prosecutors will struggle to win convictions without proof Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed knew live ammunition was present but took no precautions.
In a statement of probable cause of Hutchins’s death, the Santa Fe District Attorney listed several problems with Baldwin’s conduct.
They said:
- Baldwin was not present for required firearms training
- After failing to show up to this training, he received a 30-minute on-set training during which he was distracted talking to his family on the phone
- He exhibited “reckless behaviour” in the lead up to Hutchins’s death
- He had pointed the firearm at Hutchins in the lead up to the incident violating gun safety rules
- Baldwin had not performed the required safety checks with Gutierrez-Reed
- He broke protocol by letting Gutierrez-Reed leave the church set
- He did not deal with safety complaints on set
- He did not use a replica firearm for the unscheduled rehearsal
- He allowed the hiring of Gutierrez-Reed, who had worked on just one production before the movie, which showed he “failed to demand the minimum safety standards, protocols, and requirements on set”
The District Attorney also said that on the day of the shooting, there were “no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness” on the set before the incident, not including the actor’s handling of the gun.
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“Baldwin’s deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins,” the District Attorney said.
Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be required to appear in court – in person or virtually – within 30 days.
The District Attorney and special prosecutor will then present their case to the judge, who will rule whether there is probable cause to move forward with a trial.
Hutchins’s family welcomed the charges when they were announced earlier in January, saying Baldwin showed “conscious disregard for human life”.
Rust assistant director Dave Halls is facing negligent use of a deadly weapon charges. He has pleaded no contest and has entered into a plea agreement that is pending approval.
Pic: Dave Halls/Twitter
Industry-wide firearms safety guidelines instruct actors to assume a firearm is loaded with blanks and rely on professional weapons handlers to ensure a weapon is safe.
Actors are told to only point a weapon at a person under the guidance of firearms professionals. Live ammunition is strictly forbidden on sets.
Gutierrez-Reed said she checked the rounds she loaded in the revolver were dummies before handing it to Halls.
Baldwin pictured in New York as the charges were due to formally be filed
Halls handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a “cold gun” or unloaded, according to police.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, said: “Hannah pleaded to provide more firearms training. She was denied and brushed aside.”
He added: “We will fight these charges and expect that a jury will find Hannah not guilty.”
Read more: Alec Baldwin remains defiant and even bullish
The decision on charges was made about three months after prosecutors received the final report on the shooting from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office, following a lengthy investigation also involving the FBI.
The sheriff’s office investigation has yet to reveal how live ammunition got onto the set.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in a shooting on the set of the western film Rust. Pic: Swen Studios/ Reuters
Baldwin and the Rust production company reached a civil settlement for an undisclosed amount with Hutchins’s family in October and announced that production of the film would resume this year. After the criminal charges were announced, the film’s lawyer confirmed Baldwin would remain in the lead role in the film.
Hutchins’s husband Matt will also remain executive producer – and Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting, is returning as director.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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