Alec Baldwin To Star In ‘Kent State’ Following ‘Rust’ Incident

Actor Alec Baldwin is making a big career comeback following the October 2021 "Rust" incident.

While filming the Western movie, a gun that he was holding went off. The bullet struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Although he was initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for her death, those charges have been dropped pending further investigation.

In the meantime, the 65-year-old actor is not putting his career on hold. At the Cannes Film Festival, it was revealed that he was going to star in a new movie called "Kent State," which tells the story of the Vietnam War protest shootings.

On Wednesday afternoon, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the "30 Rock" actor had another feature film lined up only days after finishing "Rust." This feature film, called "Kent State," is being sold in Cannes by Strive Global Media.

The film, which is currently in pre-production, will tell the story of the four students who were shot to death by the National Guard during a campus protest of the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970. Baldwin has been cast in the role of Kent State's then-President, Robert I. White.

The movie will be directed by Karen Slade, marking her first feature film directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film is being produced by Kristen Moser of Autumn Moor Productions, while executive producers on the film include Tom Ortenberg, Kevin Beer, Ivan Williams, and Michael Walsh.

That's not the only movie that Baldwin will be involved in. On Friday, April 21, special prosecutors in the "Rust" case formally dropped the criminal charges against the actor. Less than an hour later, Deadline announced that the Emmy-award-winning actor was set to star in a new film called “Hollywood Heist,” which marks the feature directorial debut of Mike Hatton.

The movie has been described as a comedy crime caper that will also star "The Masked Singer" judge Nick Cannon, Mickey Rourke, Paul Sloan, Til Schweiger, and Tara Reid. Principal photography in Los Angeles wrapped up last month; the film will be shot in both Las Vegas in Majorca Spain. The synopsis for the film reads:

“Hollywood Heist follows a Hollywood power agent (Cannon) trying to land an actor (Baldwin) by telling the story of his client, a movie producer (Hatton), along with a washed-up movie star pal (Sloan), as they race against time to save their latest production. This comes after the project’s bank account is wiped clean by a thief, leading to an onslaught of negotiations with famous actors, drug lords and death.”

The story is said to be inspired by true events, although the movie will feature a "meta" version of Hollywood. Baldwin, Rourke, and Reid are all reported to be playing fictionalized versions of themselves. The film will also feature a fictional version of producer Asko Akopyan, who will be played by Arman Nshanian.

The script was written by Mike Hatton and Paul Sloan, who will be producing the film under his Ton of Hats production company. Akopyan will also be producing for Oscar Gold Productions. Nick Cannon will be executive producing through his Ncredible Entertainment banner. Kimberly Hines will also serve as executive producer on the film.

Given the drama surrounding the "Rust" charges, Baldwin's disaster film "Supercell" was quietly released on the weekend of March 17. It did not make a big theatrical release; instead, it was released only in several small independent cinemas and video-on-demand.

The movie itself is notable because it is one of the last roles filmed by the late “Volcano” actress Anne Heche. The "Twister"-esque film tells the story of a teenager named William who runs away from home in order to follow in the footsteps of his father, a famous storm chaser who lost his life in a storm.

In June 2021, Baldwin spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the effects they were able to pull off with a limited budget. “I haven’t been running across a field trying to chase the sun for a shot in quite a while,” he said at the time.

“They don’t have money for a lot of effects, this is not a Spielberg production. They have to find ways to simulate it and render it at a low cost, and they did that,” he continued. “We’d say ‘action’ and get out of this van and oh my god, they were blowing this stuff on us like you couldn’t believe it.”