During an early screening of Alec Baldwin’s Rust, the audience reportedly gasped at a scene resembling the real-life shooting tragedy during filming.
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In the 2021 Rust shooting incident, Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a firearm loaded with live ammunition. This resulted in the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. A manslaughter case against Baldwin was eventually thrown out earlier this year.
Since the tragedy, it has been up in the air as to whether the completed film would ever see a general release.
However, Rust was screened at a festival in Poland that focuses on cinematography. A review from the screening has emerged, highlighting a palpable shock among the audience when a character was accidentally shot and killed, according to a report in Vulture.
“Rust is indeed what was advertised: an 1880s- and Kansas-set film about a 13-year-old boy who accidentally kills a rancher and flees the law with his grandfather,” the Vulture‘s Nick Newman writes. “The first time a trigger is pulled in Rust, it clicks on an empty barrel; the second leads to a character’s accidental death, engendering a full-bore gasp from premiere attendees,” he adds.
Separating ‘Rust’ From Alec Baldwin’s Accidental Shooting Might be Impossible
Newman goes on to admit that it’s difficult to watch Rust without thinking about the Baldwin shooting.
“The moment a real bullet fired from a prop gun to kill cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the film was transformed into an object of morbid curiosity,” Newman writes.
TMZ reports that Baldwin did not join the stunned audience at the premiere. Instead, he remained in New York City, as the film’s debut centered on honoring Halyna Hutchins.
Rachel Mason, a friend of Hutchins, is currently working on a documentary about the ordeal. At the screening, she took the stage to pay tribute to Hutchins. She also stressed that it was important to complete both Rust and the documentary surrounding the shooting.
During her speech, she passionately highlighted the crew’s dedication to the project in honor of the cinematographer. Her address culminated in reading an email from Hutchins’s mother. She expressed hope for the film’s completion to honor her, her late daughter, and her grandson, now without a mother.
Rust debuted at the Camerimage Film Festival in Toruń, Poland. However, it is not currently planned to be screened for American audiences.