Actor Alec Baldwin is facing the noose as he continues to film the Western film “Rust” in Montana.
The film relocated to the Yellowstone Film Ranch after previously filming in New Mexico. Production was shut down in October 2021 after a gun that the “30 Rock” actor was holding misfired, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Director Joel Souza was also hospitalized in the incident, but he has recovered and is continuing to complete his work on the Western film, which is scheduled to wrap production in May.
Alec Baldwin’s Character Faces The Noose On ‘Rust’ Set… Justice For Halyna Hutchins?
On Friday afternoon, TMZ obtained photos and videos of two men dragging Alec Baldwin up onto a wooden platform where the noose is hanging. The clip cuts to the cast and crew having a discussion around the noose before the scene changes again to show Baldwin being dragged over to where the noose is while the wind blows sand around the area.
A burlap sack is placed over Baldwin’s head and the noose is fitted around his neck by another cast member. Almost immediately, the bag is taken off of his head as they prepare for another take. Other photos show that Baldwin, still in the same costume, appears to have taken a bullet wound to the stomach.
The plot of the film was reported by The Blast on October 16, 2021 – less than a week before Halyna Hutchins was killed on October 21, 2021. The film takes place in the American Midwest in the 1880s and tells the story of a 13-year-old boy left to take care of himself and his younger brother after the death of his parents.
However, he has to go on the run with his estranged grandfather after he is sentenced to death for the accidental killing of a local rancher. Baldwin plays the grandfather, outlaw Rust.
Baldwin Previously Struggled To Mount A Horse On ‘Rust’ Set
Although the photos may seem like a major spoiler, the photos and videos don’t actually show Baldwin’s character hanging from the gallows, so it’s possible that he may still survive.
This is not the only piece of footage to surface from the Western film set. The 65-year-old actor struggled to mount a horse in photographs obtained by the New York Post. Last week, the actor was surrounded by half a dozen crew members that helped him climb a small set of stairs to get on the horse.
Other photographs obtained by TMZ last week show the actor handling a shotgun on set. He hands it to another crew member, handle first, without incident. However, Rust Movie Productions has made it clear that there are no working firearms – or live ammunition – on set.
Live ammunition had always been banned on set, but working firearms are now being banned to avoid any further accidents. How live ammunition actually ended up on a film set is still under investigation.
Bianca Cline Will Replace Halyna Hutchins As The New Cinematographer
In February, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Bianca Cline, who has worked on the critically acclaimed “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” would be taking over as the new cinematographer with the “blessing and support” of Halyna’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, who will serve as an executive producer on the film as part of the wrongful death settlement last October.
Although he settled his lawsuit with the actor, Alec Baldwin still faces multiple lawsuits from various crew members and a lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey, her father Anatolii Androsovych, and sister Svetlana Zemko in February 2023.
The family is suing for loss of consortium, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other things, and seeking unspecified damages.
They were also none too pleased to hear that special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis had dismissed criminal charges against Alec Baldwin pending further investigation. The charges were dismissed without prejudice and it is possible that Baldwin will face involuntary manslaughter charges again in the future once the investigation concludes.
After the charges were dropped, attorney Gloria Allred – who represents the family and “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell in the lawsuit that she filed against Baldwin and other “Rust” producers in November 2021 – said that her clients “remain hopeful” that Baldwin will face justice.
“Mr. Baldwin may pretend that he is not responsible for pulling the trigger and ejecting a live bullet which ended Halyna’s life,” she said in a statement. “He can run to Montana and pretend that he is just an actor in a wild west movie but, in real life, he cannot escape from the fact that he had a major role in a tragedy which had real-life consequences.”
