The family of late Halyna Hutchins, who was shot and killed on the set of the film Rust, sued actor Alec Baldwin and the producers of the film, including Anjul Nigam, alleging their “callous” disregard in the face of safety complaints led directly to her death.
Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer, was shot and killed on 21 October last year while preparing for a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, when a gun held by Baldwin accidentally went off.
The bullet from Baldwin’s gun struck Hutchins in the torso and also wounded director Joel Souza in the shoulder. The cinematographer was then airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she died. She is survived by her husband, Matthew Hutchins, and a 9-year-old son, Andros.
PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 28: Halyna Hutchins attends the SAGindie Sundance Filmmakers Reception at Cafe Terigo on January 28, 2019 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)
At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for Halyna Hutchins’ husband and son said that the “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures” of Baldwin and the other producers of Rust had led to Hutchins’ death.
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The attorneys also alleged that Baldwin had “refused” training on cross-drawing the gun. He presented a 3D animated reconstruction of the shooting.
“Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but it’s not me,” Baldwin said.
The lawsuit has been filed in New Mexico, where the incident took place. The suit also alleges producers for “cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations”. It names seven producers as defendants – Anjul Nigam, Ryan Smith, Allen Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Matthew DelPiano and Emily Salveson – as well as crew members Sarah Zachry, Dave Halls, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, Gabrielle Pickle, and Seth Kenney, among others.
