The unfortunate circumstances surrounding Alec Baldwin’s Western, Rust, hadn’t deterred the production from continuing. After the immensely tragic events of the accidental killing of the movie’s former Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, filming would inevitably come to a halt in the wake of an investigation. The production resumed filming 18 months after a messy legal process since the star, Alec Baldwin, had discharged a faulty prop gun that had become legitimately loaded. Deadline has now revealed an exclusive first look at the film with newly released images.
According to Deadline, “Rust is based on a story developed by [writer/director] Joel Souza and Baldwin: A 13-year-old boy, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s Kansas, is taken on a violent, harrowing journey to old Mexico by his long-estranged grandfather after he’s sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.”
It was also reported that “Rust counts Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, as its executive producer. Grant Hill (Tree of Life, Titanic, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions) produced. The new production also counted safety officers Gary Jensen and Paul Jordan (Tenet Production Safety).”
The marketing around this movie will be tricky with the weight it bears, but the photos that showcase the late Halyna Hutchins’ cinematography do not show Baldwin in full view; however, it features a silhouetted lone rider on the right of the frame as well as another one that features actress Frances Fisher, as she is standing in front of a doorway. The rest of the first-look photos are from DP Bianca Cline, the cinematographer who had taken over after the production restarted in April 2023. Patrick Scott McDermott, who plays the movie’s protagonist Lucas Hollister, is showcased in a photo that looks to take place in either the same or a similar location as the Frances Fisher photo.
Although Baldwin was initially cleared of manslaughter charges for his part in the accidental killing, last summer, a new report held Baldwin responsible for pulling the trigger. A Variety article published the report that said, “This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger…Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”