‘Rust’ Director Says He Has “No Relationship” With Alec Baldwin, Is Unsure Whether Justice Was Done
Rust director Joel Souza is opening up about the indie Western’s production, during which he was shot and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a prop gun handled by star Alec Baldwin was discharged on Oct. 21, 2021.
Souza spoke with Vanity Fair in an interview published online Thursday, marking his first media sit-down about the project since that fateful day in New Mexico. The filmmaker was asked whether he feels justice has been done, now that film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in jail, while first assistant director Dave Halls took a plea deal for negligence with a deadly weapon. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but his case was dismissed.
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“I don’t know, and I don’t know what that even is anymore — I’ll be very honest with you about that,” Souza said about whether justice was served. “No one feels good about someone going to jail.”
Regarding whom he blames for what happened, Souza replied, “I think it would be disingenuous and lunacy to say that people didn’t screw up things. I don’t think anyone would ever allege that anything was intentional. But when there are matters of things like ammunition and guns and safety, you don’t fuck around there. You just don’t. And so the armorer had to answer for her role in that. And then Dave chose to answer for that.”
He added, “The live bullet got put in the gun. It was a horrible mistake to make, and [Gutierrez-Reed is] now living with the consequences of that mistake. … Everything that happened was born out of that sin, out of that moment. That single act is what put the rest of this into motion.”
Most of the cast joined Souza in Montana to finish the film when production resumed in April 2023, and the movie is now complete as of March. (Jensen Ackles did not return to Rust as the U.S. marshal and was replaced by actor Josh Hopkins.) The director said that some foreign territories have been sold for the movie, but it has not yet been shopped for domestic distribution.
Souza explained that he initially was not planning to finish the movie but did so in order for Hutchins’ husband, Matt Hutchins, who is now a producer on Rust, to benefit financially. Souza recalled initially feeling that he did not want to survive being shot. But he said that after time, he was grateful to be alive and knew he wanted Halyna Hutchins’ final work to be seen.
According to Souza, the scene that was being filmed in a chapel when the gun discharged will not appear in the movie. “I’m not going back to that,” he said. “I don’t want anyone who ever does see this to be waiting for that. No one ever pushed to keep anything like that.”
During the interview, Souza said that he and Baldwin have known each other since 2015 and “had a very good relationship” before working on Rust. Souza recalled that he and the star had differences of opinion surrounding Baldwin’s character prior to the firearm discharge. Upon resuming production, Souza said he was clear with Baldwin that he did not want his vision for the project to be questioned.
As far as working with Baldwin to finish the film after Hutchins’ death, Souza said, “Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship.”
Souza said he doesn’t know if Baldwin acted recklessly or if the actor should have done more to examine the prop gun.
“There is an argument that says, if he checks it and starts fiddling around with it, he’s creating a safety issue,” Souza said. “And then there is another thing that says, it’s common sense, Jesus Christ. Be careful with this goddamn thing. So I don’t know anymore, to be honest with you. The charges got filed. That’s what they decided to do. Was he overcharged? I don’t know.”
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