Alec Baldwin will resume production of the movie “Rust” next week despite a pending trial and civil lawsuit over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Taking the low road, Baldwin feels compelled to finish a low budget movie that no one cared about in the first place and won’t go to if it’s made — except out of morbid curiosity. (These people act like they’re trying to finish “The Ten Commandments” or “Gone with thre Wind”!)
Yesterday Baldwin’s lawyers asked the court to dismiss a civil suit brought by Hutchins’ mother and sister, claiming that they were estranged from her so they don’t deserve any money. Also, Baldwin has made a deal with Hutchins’ husband, part of which includes his getting Executive Producer credit on the finished him. This is all in such poor taste, it boggles the mind.
And then there’s the criminal case in Santa Fe against Baldwin and Hannah Guitierrez-Reed. Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and presumably will stand trial unless some kind of plea agreement can be reached. Special prosecutors have been appointed who will carry on with the case.
When the gun went off that killed Hutchins, director Joel Souza was also shot. He doesn’t seem to care since he will resume directing the movie. Will they stick to the script so we see the scene that was supposed to be shot when the two people were actually shot? Since there’s no bottom to how low this goes, why not? Why not write the shooting into the screenplay?
What I can’t wait for are the press junkets and interviews when “Rust” is finally released by whatever film company can be convinced to do it. You can hear the publicists now: “Don’t ask about the shooting, or the trial, or the lawsuits.” Unbelievable.