Alec Baldwin, in his first extensive remarks about Rust since the film's premiere, revealed he has no plans to watch the final cut of the movie. Speaking at the Torino Film Festival, Baldwin said the project remains overshadowed by the tragic on-set shooting that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Despite this, the actor expressed hope that the film would succeed financially to honor commitments made to Hutchins' family.
"I haven't seen the film," Baldwin told Variety. "I hope the film is released, that it comes out. That it makes its money back for its investors. You never want these people who believed in your project to be left high and dry."
The tragedy occurred on October 21, 2021, during a rehearsal on the New Mexico set of Rust. Baldwin was holding a firearm that discharged a live round, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. The incident led to Baldwin facing involuntary manslaughter charges, though the case was ultimately dismissed. Production on the film resumed in 2023, culminating in its premiere last week at the Camerimage Festival in Poland. Baldwin did not attend the event.
"Right now, no," Baldwin said when asked if he plans to view the movie. "Only because this is obviously the most difficult thing I've ever dealt with in my life. Beyond the victims themselves, the thing that most pains me is what it did to my wife. My wife has been very, very traumatized from this. There has been a lot of pain."
Baldwin described the ordeal as a devastating disruption to his family life. "When you are married to somebody and everything was going fairly well-we had seven kids-and the floor falls out. It's very frightening and very disturbing," he said. "We are trying to get the wind in our sails, to get away from this stuff. Because the film doesn't stand by itself. It's always going to be overshadowed by this."
The actor has also faced criticism from Hutchins' mother, Olga Solovey, who accused him of avoiding accountability and attempting to profit from the film. Solovey released a statement before the Camerimage premiere, saying, "Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death. Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter."
Baldwin strongly refuted the allegations. He emphasized that he had waived his fee and backend payments for the film, directing those proceeds to Hutchins' husband, Matt, as part of a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit. "We all made a deal with him, and we all want to follow through," Baldwin said. "But this idea that people-who shall remain nameless-say, 'You are profiting from this!' That is absolutely wrong."
Baldwin noted that Matt Hutchins now holds ownership rights to Rust. "We finished... and I waived my fee. I gave them back the fee in the budget. I waived all my backend. I gave everything to her husband," Baldwin explained. "Her husband, I believe, is the sole owner of the film, though I could be wrong. Everything was done with that in mind."
Reflecting on his role as a father, Baldwin admitted that the fallout from the tragedy has taken a significant toll. "For now, I want all things Rust to just leave my windshield, so I can go and do other things and be a father to my children," he said. "At 66 years old, you want to have the energy for your kids. The last two years of this situation have just hammered me, just drained me."
The Rust armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence in connection with the incident. Meanwhile, Rust remains without an official American release date or distributor, and its reputation continues to be shaped by the tragedy.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Baldwin expressed a desire to move forward and focus on his family. "I have an obligation like any other man who is a father... to save some of our best for our kids," he said. "That's been the tough part for me."
