Alec Baldwin sued by family of late ‘Rust’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/alec-baldwin-sued-by-cinematographer-halyna-hutchins-family/
Marjorie Hernandez (15 February 2022)
Lawyers for Halyna Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful-death suit against actor Alec Baldwin on Tuesday — while releasing a chilling video re-enacting the movie-set shooting that killed the cinematographer.
The eerie animated footage, titled “Killing of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust,’ ” uses computer-generated figures of Baldwin and others on the fated film shoot that day.
It includes the moment the star allegedly pulled the trigger of what was supposed to have been a prop gun with blank bullets.
“There are many people culpable, but Mr. Baldwin was the person holding the weapon … that but for him shooting, she would not have died,” said Hutchins family lawyer Brian Panish at a press conference in Los Angeles.
“[Baldwin] has significant portion liability, but there are others, and that’s what this case is going to be about — assessing fair apportionment to whoever’s responsible for the senseless tragedy,” the lawyer said of the suit, which was filed in New Mexico.
Baldwin is accused of firing the single bullet that hit and killed Hutchins, then exited her body and struck director Joel Souza in the clavicle, while filming the Western flick in New Mexico on Oct. 21.
During the press conference, her family’s lawyers showed the nearly 10-minute animation video — which includes a gruesome moment depicting the bullet searing through Hutchins’ chest and skeleton, reddening them with blood amid a bone-crunching sound effect.
The video has Baldwin sitting in a pew in a makeshift church on the set when he fires the gun, which hits Hutchins from 4 feet away.
“I’m hit,” a dying Hutchins said, according to the suit, while Souza cried out in pain.
The footage explains that there are simple ways to tell whether a bullet is live before it is fired. A dummy bullet would have had a hole in it and rattled when someone shook it, while a real bullet lacks the hole and makes no sound, the narrator said.
The lawyers claimed Baldwin refused weapons training on how to perform the cross-draw, which was the type of action he was supposed to do.
Randi McGinn, a lawyer from Albuquerque who is also representing the Hutchins family, said she is confident that a New Mexico jury will be able to understand the complexities of the case, which could go to trial within two years.
“We’re used to people coming in from out of town to play cowboy who don’t know how to use guns,” McGinn said. “The jury in Santa Fe is used to that and understands that even on a dude ranch, you don’t hand somebody a gun until you’ve given them safety training. … No one should ever die with a real gun on a make-believe set.
“That should never happen, and the people in Santa Fe understand that. They’re used to guns, and they are real cowboys in Santa Fe.”
The Hutchins family lawyers said the industry standard requires a crew to be behind protective glass and have other safety equipment during such a scene.
Panish said while his legal team does not have video to show Baldwin cocked the gun’s hammer before he fired, that would be the only way the single-action revolver would have gone off.
“I think it’s clear what happened,” Panish said. “He had the gun, he says he pulled the hammer back, it fired, and she was killed. … The experts will look at it and make any determinations, but we don’t think this was caused by any defect in the weapon.”
Baldwin responded on Tuesday night with an
Instagram post that simply included an image of an art installment from the Parrish Art Museum that says: “Everything is going to be alright.”
The actor has claimed in a weepy interview that he had no idea there were real bullets in the weapon and that he
“didn’t pull the trigger” — although the film’s script supervisor said in a separate lawsuit the actor
“intentionally … cocked and fired” the gun.
The 29-page complaint from Hutchins’ family also names David Halls, the assistant director who handed the gun to Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and other producers as defendants.
According to the document, Baldwin and the producers knew Gutierrez-Reed was “inexperienced” and “unqualified” for the armorer job — and that she was not even inside the church when the crew was lining up their shot, which is an “industry standards” requirement.
Members of the crew and production also were aware of previous safety issues that occurred on the “super unsafe” set, including three accidental gun discharges, according to the suit.
The lawyers said there were at least 15 industry standards that were violated, including failing to use a rubber prop gun, failing to treat the gun on set as if it were loaded and operating a camera remotely when a firearm is aimed at or near a camera.
Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor and New York-based criminal defense attorney, said filing a civil case before prosecutors have even filed criminal charges introduces several complications.
“Victims of crimes should tread carefully, particularly during this critical period when law enforcement is investigating the case,” Levin told The Post. “Criminal investigators are never particularly pleased with a parallel civil case being brought by crime victims. It’s a parallel investigation being conducted by non-law enforcement, who are trying to talk to the same people and trying to collect the same evidence. It’s duplicative, and sometimes confuses people. In certain circumstances, it could appear that victims care more about getting money than about enforcing their rights in court.”
Panish said Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, and their young son, Andros, continue to grieve.
The family has not placed an exact figure on their wrongful-death and punitive-damages claim, but Matthew “understands that a lawsuit is necessary to get answers,” Panish said.
“He wants answers. He wants closure,” the lawyer said. “And people have been respecting his privacy as he and his son deal with this in their own way.
“And I think when you meet Matt, you will see what a resilient, courageous, wonderful person he really is … and a great father, and he was a great husband to Halyna. It’s tragic that this happened to him and his son to go through this senselessness. It never ever should’ve happened.”
Levin said the family’s decision to file the lawsuit could signal they have lost faith in law enforcement since no one has been charged with a crime so far.
“At this point, they’re suing someone who law enforcement hasn’t even decided whether to charge or not,” Levin said. “It gives him (Baldwin) an opening to say, ‘I’m innocent. I’m out here living my life and I haven’t been charged with anything, yet these guys are jumping to the conclusion that I did something wrong. Well, let’s not jump to conclusions, let this process play out. You’ll see that I did nothing wrong.’ It will allow (Baldwin) that kind of opening, strategically speaking.”
Baldwin did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Hutchins’ family suit is one of now four legal claims filed against Baldwin and “Rust” producers.
Lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, the film’s script supervisor Mamie Mitchell and Gutierrez-Reed previously filed their own lawsuits.
Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of checking all firearms on the set, claimed in her suit that ammunition supplier Seth Kenney mixed live rounds in boxes she thought contained only blanks.
Baldwin was told that the gun was “cold,” indicating the weapon contained only dummy bullets, but a live bullet inside the weapon struck and killed Hutchins as she was setting up a close-up shot of the actor, Gutierrez-Reed said.
