It’s been more than a year since the tragedy on the Western Rust, which saw DP Halyna Hutchins’ life taken after a prop gun, handled by pic’s star and producer Alec Baldwin misfired, also injuring the director Joel Souza; and the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department has finally concluded its investigation and sent it over to the New Mexico District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies who is reviewing details for potential further charges.
There are no immediate plans to make the report public, we hear.
“Today, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies received the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s investigative report on the Rust movie set incident,” read a statement from a spokesperson at the DA’s office.
Related Story
'Alone At Night': Erotic Horror Starring Ashley Benson, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Winnie Harlow, G-Eazy & Luis Guzmán Gets North American Deal & First Look Image
“The District Attorney and her team of investigators and prosecutors will now begin a thorough review of the information and evidence to make a thoughtful, timely decision about whether to bring charges,” continued the statement.
” As with all cases that the District Attorney handles, her focus will be on upholding the integrity of the process, enforcing the laws of the state of New Mexico, and pursuing justice.”
No further details were made available.
An Aug. 30 letter from Carmack-Altwies to the New Mexico State Finance Board indicated that the DA had an intent of making Baldwin “one of the possible defendants” in the Rust tragedy. The DA was seeking $635K from the state to prosecute as many as four individuals, however, she only received $317,750.
Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel blasted the DA as being “irresponsible” in using such language with the police report not even being made public yet.
Soonafter, Baldwin and the producers of Rust settled with the Hutchins estate, making the DP’s husband Matthew Hutchins, an EP on the production as Deadline told you first. The intent is to continue production on Rust, with the pic finishing its shoot potentially in California where a location scout is going on.
Despite that settlement, the DA’s office responded that it “will have no impact on District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis’ ongoing investigation or her ultimate decision whether to file criminal charges in the case.”
Given the spotlight of a potential involuntary manslaughter case, it was never Rust production’s intent to return to New Mexico to finish the western.
One high-level government source in New Mexico told Deadline last week that while no one from the Rust production contacted the state film commissions about returning to production in the wake of the settlement with the Hutchins estate, hurdles and debts would need to be cleared if in fact Rust was to ever return to the Land of Enchantment. In particular, there’s an assessed fine of $136,793 by the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau for the Rust production’s “willful and serious” violation of workplace safety procedures. Rust productions is currently disputing that charge. We also heard grumbles on the ground about certain parties in New Mexico that were involved in Rust remain unpaid. A source close to production informs Deadline that before cameras roll again on the western, “all monies will be paid up.”
The Rust production is still seeking a new assistant director, DP and armorer. The plan is to film in January.
In an ABC news interview with George Stephanopoulos last December, Baldwin insisted he never actually pulled the trigger of the gun that took Hutchins’ life during a quick-draw rehearsal move in a church location on the set of Rust. The Aviator actor was told by the Rust Assistant Director Dave Halls that the weapon was a “cold gun”.
On Aug. 18, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed slammed the Sheriff’s Office, for not pursuing the question as to “where did the live rounds that ended upon the Rust set come from? As can be seen from the attached emails, the Sheriff’s office made a conscious decision not to pursue this question at all by refusing to ask the FBI to test any of the rounds for fingerprints or DNA. We now know for certain there were live rounds on set.”
Must Read Stories
‘Girls5eva’ Moving From Peacock To Rival Streamer Netflix For Season 3
Kevin Feige Says He’ll Be “First In Line” For James Gunn Projects At DC
Jason Bateman & Jude Law To Headline & EP ‘Black Rabbit’ Limited Series In Works At Netflix
Jonathan Pryce “Bitterly Disappointed” By “Fellow Artistes” Who Attacked Show
Source: Read Full Article