Alec Baldwin’s Rust is destined to go down in cinema history, though not in a way that anyone involved would have wanted. A firmer picture has now emerged of the tragedy: involving an oppressive working environment, ignored warnings from union workers, and lax safety standards.
That all culminated in the jaw-dropping moment where Baldwin was handed a gun he was told was “cold” and fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, as well as wounding director Joel Souza.
Now, to nobody’s surprise, Baldwin has indicated that Rust won’t ever see theaters. The actor was asked directly if production would restart and said, simply, “I doubt it.” Most expected this to be the case, most obviously because there’s an ongoing criminal investigation into who was at fault. Beyond that it just doesn’t seem plausible for anyone – but specifically Baldwin – to get back into his Rust costume and start wielding a revolver anytime soon.
The incident has shone a light on how corners are cut to save money in Hollywood and the resulting disregard for the safety of the cast and crew. The first consequences have been a call from within the industry for restrictions on prop guns, with The Boys‘ showrunner Eric Kripke leading a campaign to use only CGI muzzle-flash and gunshot impacts.
In addition, California State Senator Dave Cortese (who chairs the California Senate Labor Committee) has unveiled plans for a bill that would ban live ammunition and firearms capable of shooting it on set. All of which means the days of blanks and squibs might be coming to an end. Oh well, at least we’ll always have RoboCop.
It remains to be seen who’ll face criminal charges as a result of what happened on Rust. Alec Baldwin seems to be in the clear insofar as it’s accepted he didn’t know he was holding a live firearm, but as a producer on the movie, he may yet face charges of being responsible for an unsafe working environment. More on this as we hear it.