Alec Baldwin film set shooting: Rust production company agrees to pay $100k fine to health and safety bureau
The production company behind the film Rust has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine to an occupational health and safety bureau following a fatal shooting on set.
The New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) had issued a $136,796 (£114,457) fine, the maximum allowable by state law, last April.
It was later reduced to $100,000 (£83,705) under the settlement.
It came after a prop gun held by Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin opened fire and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set in October 2021.
Under the settlement, which is pending approval, the bureau downgraded its claim from “wilful-serious” to a “serious” violation.
Melina Spadone, senior counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and lawyer for Rust Movie Productions, said: “We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with OHSB, subject to approval, which downgrades the citation and reduces penalties.
“Our top priority has always been resuming production and completing this film so we can honour the life and work of Halyna Hutchins.
“Settling this case rather than litigating is how we can best move forward to achieve that goal.”
Producers recently announced that filming would resume in the US state of Montana later this spring.
The co-founders of the Yellowstone Filming Ranch, Richard Gray, Carter Boehm and Colin Davis, offered the venue to Rust Movie Productions, saying that the decision to finish the film had “deeply moved us”.
“We are honoured to play a role in the realisation of [Ms Hutchins’s] vision and to carry forward her inspiring legacy through championing this film,” they said in a joint statement.
Alec Baldwin pictured on the set of Rust. Pic: Sante Fe Police
A number of original crew members will return to the project alongside director Joel Souza, with Bianca Cline reported to be joining in Ms Hutchins’s place as cinematographer.
Baldwin will remain in his starring role and as producer.
On Thursday, Baldwin pleaded not guilty to two charges of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Ms Hutchins.
The actor will next face a preliminary hearing at a date yet to be set, which will determine whether or not the case will go to trial.
Baldwin was charged by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s (DA’s) office last month over the fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins.
The first of the two charges brought against him can be referred to as involuntary manslaughter and requires proof of underlying negligence.
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The second charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death.
The district attorney recently dropped a firearm enhancement to the charge, which would have made the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.
Baldwin’s lawyers had argued that the enhancement was “unlawful” and accused the DA of “extraordinary” media briefings against him.
The actor’s legal team said that after the “legally erroneous” enhancement had been rescinded, their own motion to have the charge dropped was now “moot”.
Police officers found a handgun, a silencer and a red notebook described as a “manifesto” when they arrested Luigi Mangione.
The 27-year-old was arrested in December 2024 and charged with killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City.
Mangione‘s lawyers want to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors at his eventual trial in Manhattan about statements he allegedly made and items they said police seized from his backpack during his arrest at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
The objects include a 9mm handgun prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a healthcare executive.
Mangione with his attorney. Pic: Reuters
The defence contends the items should be excluded because police did not get a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.
Prosecutors deny claims Mangione was illegally searched and questioned.
They also want to suppress some statements he made to police, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers asked him questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Last week, Mangione watched surveillance videos of the killing of Mr Thompson, 50, as he walked to a New York City hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges.
The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
This week’s hearing concerns only the state case, but Mangione’s lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases.
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In September, a judge dismissed two terrorism counts against Mangione, finding prosecutors had not presented enough evidence Mangione intended to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy.
Trial dates are yet to be set in either the state or federal cases.
Paramount has launched a £108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros, challenging Netflix, which had reached a $72bn takeover deal with the company.
Paramount said on Monday that it was going straight to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of the company, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy WBD, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max
The agreement means Warner Bros Discovery’s library of film and TV successes including Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones will come under the same roof as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
But Paramount says its deal will pay $30 cash per share, representing $18 billion more in cash than its rivals are offering.
In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.
File pic: iStock
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD in the course of 12 weeks, but that they were never “meaningfully” engaged with.
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