Alec Baldwin opens up about 'Rust' shooting, says he's hopeful for future modification of safety regulations
Mar 07, 2022
Washington [US], March 7 : Actor Alec Baldwin recently addressed the on-set tragedy that took place in October 2021 during the filming of 'Rust' and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and left the movie's director Joel Souza injured.
As per Fox News, Baldwin addressed the 'Rust' shooting on Saturday during a film festival in Boulder, Colorado.
Baldwin briefly referenced the ongoing investigation and lawsuits surrounding the on-set shooting and the future of safety regulations.
Hutchins, along with Souza, was shot on October 21 after a prop gun Baldwin was holding discharged on the movie's Santa Fe, New Mexico set, killing her and wounding Souza.
Baldwin launched into a lengthy and somewhat fragmented statement about there being just "two victims" in the shooting, while also implying some individuals who have filed lawsuits are financially motivated and just going after people they assume "are deep pockets litigants."
"From the beginning, from the moment this happened, everybody has put out -- besides all the anguish and the suffering, horrible feelings we have and, of course, there are two victims and nobody else is a victim, so to speak -- we have dealt with a situation where specific people are not as interested in finding out what really happened," Baldwin told the festival audience.
"What you have is a certain group of litigants on whatever side, who their attitude is, well, the people who likely seem negligent have enough money. And the people who have money are not negligent, but we're not gonna let that stop us from doing what we need to do in terms of litigation," he added.
"Why sue people if you're not going to get money? That's what you're doing," he further said.
The actor also suggested discussions with the unions and others will take place to address new set protocols around guns.
"The thing to remember is that guns are fired in films because that's what audiences want. Maybe not this crowd. Maybe not a festival crowd where you want to watch something that's a little more complicated," he said.
He added, "There's a place to modify the safety regulations we have to deal with and I'm very much looking forward to our decisions."
Amid the ongoing investigation into Hutchins' death, Baldwin has expressed that he has maintained cooperation with the Santa Fe authorities.
He handed his phone over to officials in mid-January, nearly one month after they requested it.