It has been one year since an accident on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust led to the death of the production’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. After months of lawsuits and investigations into the accident, the production has announced that the film will actually be completed, with Hutchins’ husband Matthew set to act as an executive producer. There are other things that will be different when Rust begins filming, as it will not return to the set in New Mexico where the accident occurred, as the cast and crew simply find it too hard.
While a return to production seemed like it might never happen following the accident, there have been plans to resume filming Rust since at least May. The film is set to begin again in January, but when it does it will do so in a new location. Locations are currently being scouted in California, near Palm Springs or the Nevada border. Somebody close to the production recently spoke with Deadline and stated that the New Mexico location simply felt too many memories for the cast and crew. The source says…
It’s emotionally difficult for the crew and the cast to return to the same place.
It’s certainly understandable that the people who were on set during the accident could have difficulties coping with returning to the location where somebody they knew died. It appears that the vast majority of the crew who had been working on the film previously is returning, although there are some positions that need to be filled. Rust has not yet found a replacement Director of Photography to replace Halyna Hutchins. The production will also need a new armorer.
While the emotional impact is certainly a valid reason for not returning, there are apparently other reasons why the Rust production may have decided not to go back to New Mexico. There is an outstanding fine of over $135,000 from the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for violations of safety procedures that would need to be dealt with before production could return.
One year ago on the set of Rust, the discharge of a prop gun fired a real bullet that killed the film’s cinematographer and injured the movie’s director. A series of investigations have been undertaken since then to attempt to determine what happened. While not all of them have concluded, the FBI has determined that the weapon in question could not have discharged without the trigger being pulled, something Baldwin still maintains he never did. There are some questions about the accident that are still outstanding, including how a live round made it into the prop gun in the first place. The report from the Santa Fe's Sherriff's Office is still outstanding.
