The western “Rust” threatens to develop into a criminal case.
After the fatal shot of the main actor Alec Baldwin on the camerawoman Halyna Hutchins, the lawyers of the gun master Hannah Gutierrez are now stirring up rumors that the blank cartridges were deliberately exchanged for live ammunition.
“Hannah would never have expected in her life that the box with the dummies would contain real cartridges.
Who put them in there and for what reason are the central questions, "said the law firm of defense attorney Jason Bowles.
In an interview with NBC, the lawyer had previously indicated "attempts at sabotage". Several members of the crew were dissatisfied with the working conditions on the set. As it became known after Hutchins' death, some cameramen had left the film ranch after quarrels a few hours before Baldwin's shot. Since shooting began in early October, there have been repeated quarrels because the budget, which was rather tight at seven million dollars, made shooting difficult.
At least four rules were violated on the set of Rust, according to the Guns Rules of the Union of Filmmakers and Television Makers. Baldwin is said to have targeted Hutchins in contradiction to the regulations. The regulations also exclude live ammunition on set, as do weapons that are kept unlocked and so-called horseplay, gimmicks with prop weapons. Gunsmith Gutierrez had stated that the revolver and ammunition had been lying open on a wagon in front of the church during the lunch break. Members of the crew reported of target practice in the desert, with which one had passed the time after the end of shooting. Alec Baldwin, who is also a co-producer of the western, did not comment publicly on the allegations for the time being.
According to reports from industry journals, Rust Movie Productions LLC is now facing a civil lawsuit by Matthew Hutchins, the husband of the killed camerawoman.
The lawyer and father of her nine-year-old son Andros mandated a law firm that specializes in personal injury and unlawful homicide.