Newly released footage from the New Mexico set of Rust shows Alec Baldwin handling and discharging a prop gun, and speaking with crewmembers about safety concerns he has regarding the use of the firearms.
The footage, obtained and published by NBC News, was reportedly filmed days before the tragic fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The five videos published on Wednesday show Baldwin in character as he rehearses scenes for the Western drama. The footage shows Baldwin firing prop guns while rehearsing and staging a scene, and in two of the videos Baldwin expressed concern for the safety of some crew members, and subsequently has them change and rearrange their positions and locations to prevent potential injury.
In one video, Baldwin can be seen holding a prop gun in his hand and he asks someone off screen to move to the “other side of the camera” and explains, “I don’t want to shoot towards you.”
Another clip saw Baldwin expressing concerns over a trail that the crew would be using during the filming of a scene. In one bit of the footage, a camera man falls while filming and Baldwin repeatedly asks if they are OK before filming resumes.
The videos surfaced one day before special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis were scheduled to convene a grand jury to present their case asking the jury to consider recharging Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter.
However, NBC News reports that the presiding judge rescheduled the planned proceedings on Wednesday, during a teleconference hearing. It’s unclear when the grand jury will now be convened to hear the special prosecutors’ case.
According to the report, the five videos are just some of many clips presented to the special prosecutors last month, after they were first requested from Rust Movie Productions LLC in the spring. It’s unclear at this time how much of the footage has been reviewed by the special prosecutors.
“After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Hutchins and the shooting of [director] Joel Souza,” Morrissey and Lewis said in a statement released on Oct. 17. “We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
Baldwin has repeatedly insisted he did not pull the trigger on the prop gun, and has staunchly maintained his innocence.
Hutchins was killed Oct. 21, 2021, on the set of Rust, when the prop gun Baldwin was holding suddenly discharged, striking and killing the cinematographer and injuring director Joel Souza.
In the two years since tragedy struck in New Mexico, lawsuits were filed, criminal charges were filed — then dropped, for Baldwin — and allegations were made, including that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana during filming of the Western.
The production was shut down after the tragedy, but resumed production in April 2023. In May, Baldwin took to Instagram to commemorate the end of filming on the project.
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