Rust film producers sentenced for security breaches

Video by Diariatou Ahouandjinou

A committed responsibility. On October 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchinsdirector of photography on the set of the film Rust lost his life at only 42 years old. His accidental death, caused by a shot from a gun held by Alec Baldwin during rehearsalshad restarted the gun safety debate present on the film sets of Hollywood productions. A first trial was expected on this subject.

This Wednesday, April 20, the six producers of the film Rustwhich includes actor Alec Baldwin, were sentenced for non-compliance with safety instructions on set. According to a report from the Department of the Environment of New Mexico, the American state where the drama took place, the producers of the feature film “demonstrates a blatant disregard for the risks associated with firearms by consistently failing to enforce their own safety protocols”. Departmental Secretary James Kenney added that there are “several management failures and more than enough evidence to suggest that if security procedures industry standard had been followed, the fatal shooting on Halyna Hutchins and the serious injury of Joel Souza would not have taken place“.

Rust producers challenge decision

Faced with these shortcomings “serious” and “deliberate”the State of New Mexico ordered them to pay the highest possible fine : $136,793, or approximately 126,000 euros. They also receive a report involving willful misconduct. Rust Movie Productions spokesperson Stefan Friedman said in a statement that producers will challenge this report. “While appreciating the time and effort of the Department of the Environment (…), we disagree with its findings and intend to appeal”.

Since the beginning of the investigation, Alec Baldwin provides that he does not know where these live ammunition come from and that at no time, he didn’t pull the trigger. “I have the feeling that someone is responsible for what happened, and I don’t know who it is. But it’s not me”he declared in front of the cameras of ABC last December. For now, a criminal investigation is still ongoing.