Alec Baldwin’s Western “Rust” had its world premiere at a film festival in Poland Wednesday, but the actor wasn’t present because he wasn’t invited.
Baldwin’s presence would have been too “distracting,” said Kazimierz Suwała, the director of the international EnergaCamerimage film festival in the city of Torun.
“We didn’t invite Alec Baldwin, and we never considered doing so,” Suwała told The Hollywood Reporter. “That would be too distracting. What this is about is honoring Halyna’s dreams for her work.”
Suwała is referring to Halyna Hutchins, the Ukrainian-born cinematographer for “Rust.” Hutchins, an up-and-coming talent in the industry, was killed in October 2021, after Baldwin pointed a gun at her during a rehearsal on the film’s set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Alec Baldwin, center, and director Joel Souza confer before a scene on the set of “Rust” at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Pray, Mont., on April 21, 2023. “Rust” resumed filming here with no real firearms present, 18 months after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged on set in New Mexico, fatally wounding cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin’s stunt double, Blake Teixeira, is at far right. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
The gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired. Though the veteran film and TV star called Hutchins’ death a tragic accident, he was charged with manslaughter. However, the case was ultimately dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to turn over evidence.
It’s not known whether Baldwin would have gone to the festival if he were invited, said TMZ, which reported that he was spotted in New York City Monday, pushing a stroller.
While Baldwin didn’t travel to Poland to walk the red carpet or to promote “Rust” at the screening, organizers held a moment of silence for Hutchins, the Associated Press reported. The festival is a popular industry event that is devoted to cinematography.
PARK CITY, UT – JANUARY 28: Halyna Hutchins attends the SAGindie Sundance Filmmakers Reception at Cafe Terigo on January 28, 2019 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)
Souza, a Palo Alto-based filmmaker and Fremont native, then introduced the film. Souza told the audience that he initially couldn’t imagine trying to finish the film after Hutchins’ death. “It just hurt too much,” he said.
But Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, wanted the film to be finished, and came on board as executive producer. Baldwin also wanted to finish the film and returned to the set, which had moved to Montana.
But like Baldwin, Matthew Hutchins didn’t attend the premiere. Moreover, Hutchins’ other family members also boycotted the event.
“It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen,” Olga Solovey, Hutchins’ mother, who lives in Ukraine, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter.”
“Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death,” the statement from Solovey continued. “Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter. That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion of ‘Rust,’ especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter.”
It’s questionable whether anyone involved in the making of “Rust” will see much profit from it. It could be released sometime in the United States, but it’s not clear when or if it will been screened in movie theaters or go direct to streaming.
NBC News reported that the audience response at the premiere was “polite.” “Rust” follows the story of a 13-year-old boy who is sentenced to be hanged after he fatally shoots a rancher by accident. He goes on the run with his estranged grandfather, played by Baldwin.
The audience clapped through the film’s closing credits, strengthening their applause when a dedication to Hutchins appeared, NBC News reported.
But a fair number of moviegoers left the theater before the credits ended and prior to a Q&A with Souza and with cinematographer Bianca Cline, who completed the movie on Hutchins’ behalf.
New York-based film industry expert Rob Rosenberg said “Rust” could get “butts in seats” because of the public’s curiosity.
“It’ll be interesting to see if there is a group of people who choose to stay away from the film entirely due to Halyna Hutchin’s death,” Rosenberg, founder of Telluride Legal Strategies, said in an email statement. “People may also choose to see the movie because they might be curious about how they finished the film after the tragic shooting.”
Meanwhile, organizers of the EnergaCamerimage festival defended giving the film its world premiere.
“Yes, I know it has become divisive,” Suwala told The Hollywood Reporter. “Some felt we were doing it for promotional reasons and that it was inappropriate to screen a film that resulted in a death. But for us, the motivation was very simple. Halyna had a strong connection to this festival. She attended several times. And we were contacted by her friends, who told us that before shooting even began on ‘Rust,’ she told them that the film was very important to her and it was her dream to screen it at Camerimage.”
One of those friends, cinematographer Rachel Mason, made an emotional speech at the premiere to defend the film.
“I feel strongly that I need to make a statement about a very misunderstood film and the people who made it, who I believe are heroic people,” said Mason, who worked on a documentary about completing the film after Hutchins’ death.
Mason said that everyone involved wanted to help Hutchins’ family by completing the film. “When they learned that this film ‘Rust’ might help Halyna’s family, they thought of one thing: the fact that she has a son, and that son doesn’t get to have a mother anymore,” Mason said. “And if they could do something for that little boy, then why would they not be there?”