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'Rust' production halted following fatal shooting

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Production on Rust has been wrapped for the time being following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Last week, star Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on set that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, with filming halted indefinitely to comply with police investigations.

A new letter has was released to the film’s crew last night (October 24), confirming that they had “made the decision to wrap the set at least until investigations are complete”, according to Deadline.

It also tells the crew that “we are working through when you can pick up your personal items. You should expect an update on the wrap-out schedule tomorrow.”

Halyna Hutchins
Halyna Hutchins at Sundance 2018 CREDIT: Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks

The letter continues: “Our hearts are with all of you, as we all go through this tragic time and mourn the loss of our colleague and dear friend, Halyna Hutchins.

“We are family and we must stand beside each other as families do in difficult times. We remain in close touch with Halyna’s family and commend the strength they show in the face of unspeakable tragedy. It is beyond an inspiration.”

It adds that production is conducting their own investigation and that in-person and virtual grief counsellors will be available to the crew round the clock. They also revealed that they will be “making a donation to the Halyna Hutchins Scholarship Fund established by Halyna’s family” and matching any donations made by the crew.

Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin. CREDIT: Getty

According to People, Baldwin is also cancelling his other projects in the wake of the shooting to take some time to himself.

It comes after an affidavit was released, with Rust director Joel Souza saying that he had been told that the gun that killed Hutchins was safe beforehand. He recalled that a church scene was being rehearsed that involved “cross drawing” a revolver and pointing it at the camera lens when the incident occurred.

Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead fatal shooting prop gun Alec Baldwin
Halyna Hutchins photographed in 2019. Credit: Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie

Cameraman Reid Russell also spoke as part of the affidavit, claiming that Baldwin had been “very careful” with the firearm, and had tried to ensure safety on set earlier on by making sure a child was not in the vicinity when he fired.

Following the incident, a petition has been released by actor Xander Berkeley, which calls on the industry to ban real guns on film sets.

At the time of writing, no charges have been filed in relation to the shooting.

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