# Rust (2024 film)

Rust is a 2024 American Western film written and directed by Joel Souza. The film stars Alec Baldwin (who also produced and co-wrote the story with Souza), Patrick Scott McDermott, Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, and Josh Hopkins. It premiered at the Polish film festival Camerimage on November 20, 2024. The film gained notoriety for a shooting incident in 2021, wherein cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed when a live round was discharged from a prop revolver that Baldwin was using.

## Premise

In 1880s Kansas, aging outlaw Harland Rust comes out of hiding to rescue his thirteen-year-old nephew Lucas Hollister, after he is sentenced to hang for an accidental killing. Now fugitives, the pair have to outrun the vicious bounty hunter Fenton "Preacher" Lang.

## Cast

* Alec Baldwin as Harland Rust, an aging outlaw
* Patrick Scott McDermott as Lucas Hollister, Rust's nephew
* Travis Fimmel as Fenton "Preacher" Lang, a bounty hunter after Rust
* Frances Fisher as Lucas' grandaunt
* Jake Busey as Drum Parker
* Josh Hopkins as Wood Helm, a sheriff
* Devon Werkheiser as Boone LaFontaine
Brady Noon was originally cast as Lucas but when production was delayed for over a year, his other commitments made him unavailable and he was replaced in the role. Jensen Ackles was originally cast before being replaced by Hopkins, again because the delayed production caused scheduling conflicts.

## Production
### Development

In May 2020, it was announced that Alec Baldwin would produce and star in Rust, a Western based on a story he created with writer and director Joel Souza. Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter that he was elated to work with Souza after missing the opportunity to star in Crown Vic (2019). He compared the screenplay to the film Unforgiven (1992), and said it was inspired by a true story. When asked about his gun slinging and horse riding skills, he said: "They're always at the ready. I'm an actor of the old school. So if you read my resume – my motorcycle riding, my French, juggling, my horseback riding, my gunplay – is all right at my fingertips at all times."
In October 2021, production was suspended after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot when a gun being used as a prop was fired by Baldwin during the preparation for a scene; Souza was injured by the same round. A number of lawsuits were filed and eventually manslaughter charges were filed against Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Filming finally restarted in April 2023 and was completed soon after. Gutierrez-Reed was ultimately found guilty but Baldwin was acquitted.
Rust was being produced on a $6–7 million budget and has been described as a "passion project" for Baldwin. The film's distribution rights were sold to The Avenue for $2 million during the pre-production phase. Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon, and Frances Fisher joined the cast in September 2021, with Jensen Ackles being cast the following month. The production involved approximately 150 crew members, half of them local, 22 principal and 230 background actors from New Mexico. The production had a filming schedule of 21 days. Filming began in New Mexico on October 6, 2021.

### Shooting incident

On the morning of October 21, 2021, which was to be the twelfth day of filming, seven unionized members of the film's camera crew collected their belongings at approximately 6:30 a.m. MT in a walkout. They claim they were told to leave the set, with a producer threatening to call the police, and were replaced. According to a statement given to TheWrap by an anonymous insider, several crew members took a number of prop guns off-set that day, including the firearm involved in the incident, to pass the time shooting at beer cans with live ammunition. After a lunch break, the prop guns had been returned. It is not clear if the firearms were checked again. On October 26, the Santa Fe County district attorney said these claims were still unconfirmed.
Later that day, the cast and crew were rehearsing a gunfight scene taking place inside of a church at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. Firearms and ammunition were retrieved from a locked safe and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed placed three guns to be used in filming on a cart. Among them were a plastic gun that could not shoot live ammunition, a modified weapon that could not fire any type of ammunition, and a solid-frame .45 Colt revolver replica made by Pietta.
According to a search warrant, the guns were briefly checked by Gutierrez-Reed, before assistant director David Halls took the Pietta revolver from the prop cart and handed it to Baldwin. In a subsequent affidavit, Halls said the safety protocol regarding this firearm was such that Halls would open the loading gate of the revolver and rotate the cylinder to expose the chambers so he could inspect them himself. According to the affidavit, Halls said he did not check all cylinder chambers, but he recalled seeing three rounds in the cylinder at the time. After the shooting, Halls said in the affidavit, Gutierrez-Reed retrieved the weapon and opened it, and Halls said that he saw four rounds which were plainly blanks, and one which could have been the remaining shell of a discharged live round. In the warrant, it is further stated that Halls announced the term "cold gun", meaning that it did not contain live rounds. Halls's lawyer, Lisa Torraco, later sought to assert that he did not take the gun off the cart and hand it to Baldwin as reported, but when pressed by a reporter to be clear, she refused to repeat that assertion.
B-camera operator Reid Russell was situated on a camera dolly, looking at a monitor with Hutchins and Souza both nearby. The scene involved Baldwin's character removing a gun from its holster and pointing it toward the camera. The trio behind the monitor were two feet (0.6 m) from the muzzle of the firearm and none of them were wearing protective gear such as noise-canceling headphones or safety goggles.
The trio behind the monitor began repositioning the camera to remove a shadow, and Baldwin began explaining to the crew how he planned to draw the firearm. He said, "So, I guess I'm gonna take this out, pull it, and go, 'Bang!'" He removed it from the holster, and the revolver discharged a single time. Baldwin denied pulling the trigger of the gun, while ABC News described a later FBI report stating that the gun could only fire if the trigger was pulled. Halls was quoted by his attorney Lisa Torraco as saying that Baldwin did not pull the trigger, and that Baldwin's finger was never within the trigger guard during the incident. When the gun fired, the projectile traveled towards the three behind the monitor. It struck Hutchins in the chest, traveled through her body, and then hit Souza in the shoulder. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell called 9-1-1 at 1:46 p.m. MT and emergency crews appeared three minutes later. Footage of the incident was not recorded.
Hutchins was flown by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead. Souza was treated by EMS and transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, where he was admitted and released by the following morning.

### Spider bite incident

In November 2021, weeks after the shooting incident, lamp operator and pipe rigger Jason Miller was bitten in the arm by a brown recluse spider while closing the set. Miller suffered necrosis and sepsis. He was hospitalized and underwent multiple surgeries to avoid amputation of his arm.

### Resumed production

In October 2022, the Hutchins family settled the lawsuit, with filming set to resume in January 2023 in California, with Matthew Hutchins, Halyna's husband, as an executive producer. Many of the film's crew gave mixed reactions towards the news, with some supporting it and planning on resuming their work on it, but others condemning the decision and deciding not to return. On January 18, filming was delayed again after New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies decided to charge Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter. In February 2023, it was reported that filming would resume in spring 2023 with Souza directing and Bianca Cline as cinematographer. Grant Hill was added as producer. The new shooting location was reported to be Yellowstone Film Ranch in Livingston, Montana. Producers stated that the use of working weapons or ammunition would be prohibited.
Production of the film resumed on April 20, 2023. The same day, it was reported that prosecutors had informed Baldwin that the charges against him were being dropped and the new, updated cast was released. Meanwhile, Patrick Scott McDermott was confirmed to have replaced Noon. By May 2023, Jensen Ackles left because of scheduling conflicts; a new character is played by Josh Hopkins. On April 24, 2023, Baldwin returned to the set to finish filming his scenes, with the production concluding on May 22, 2023.

## Release

Rust held its world premiere at Camerimage on November 20, 2024, in Torun, Poland. While some international buyers have acquired distribution rights, the US and Canada rights have not been secured.