‘Rust’ team reaches settlement with Halyna Hutchins estate

Los Angeles, Oct. 6 (IANS): The estate of the late cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, has come to a settlement with the film production of Western movie ‘Rust’, nearly a year after Hutchins was killed by a live round fired from a prop gun by Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, reports ‘Variety’.

Surprisingly, the film will also resume production in January. “We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of ‘Rust,’ including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC. As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed,” said Matthew Hutchins, husband of the late Halyna Hutchins, quoted by ‘Variety’.

As part of the settlement, Hutchins will become an executive producer on the film, which will resume “with all the original principal players on board in January 2023.”

“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” Hutchins said. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”

Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed when Baldwin fired a revolver that he had been told was “cold.”

According to ‘Variety’, they were preparing to film a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, N.M., when the gun fired. She is survived by her husband and her 9-year-old son.

No terms of the settlement were disclosed. Baldwin had taken the lead on an earlier effort to settle with the Hutchins estate, before the suit was filed.

However, the settlement of the wrongful death lawsuit will have no effect on the District Attorney’s (DA) consideration of criminal charges, the DA’s office said on Wednesday (Pacific Standard Time).

“The proposed settlement announced today in Matthew Hutchins’ wrongful death case against ‘Rust’ movie producers, including Alec Baldwin, in the death of Halyna Hutchins will have no impact on District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies’ ongoing investigation or her ultimate decision whether to file criminal charges in the case,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office.

The statement accessed by ‘Variety’ further read, “While civil suits are settled privately and often involve financial awards, criminal cases deal only in facts. If the facts and evidence warrant criminal charges under New Mexico law, then charges will be brought. No one is above the law.”