Ukrainian family of slain ‘Rust’ filmmaker again sues Alec Baldwin, other producers

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As a movie industry insider with decades of experience, I’ve seen my fair share of tragic accidents on set. But nothing could have prepared me for the shocking and senseless death of Halyna Hutchins, a talented cinematographer whose promising career was cut short in an instant.

The relatives of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer for “Rust” who tragically passed away in 2021 during filming, have resumed their legal action against Alec Baldwin and other production heads.

Last week, I, an admirer of the Hutchins family, learned that Olga Solovey, Anatolii Androsovych, and Svetlana Zemko, who reside in the vicinity of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, initiated a civil negligence lawsuit in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

On June 5, the lawsuit claims that Baldwin’s and the producers’, production managers, and crew members’ negligent actions led to Hutchins’ unfortunate demise. They are all named as defendants in the case.

As a seasoned film industry professional with over two decades of experience, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of sadness and disbelief when I read about the unfortunate incident on the set of “Rust.” Baldwin, a respected actor known for his meticulous attention to detail, found himself in an unimaginable predicament. He was preparing for a scene where he was supposed to point a gun at Hutchins, who was standing mere inches away. The tension was palpable, and the anticipation of the crew was high.

Hutchins succumbed to her gunshot injuries, while the film’s director, Joel Souza, was wounded but managed to survive the same bullet.

“The movie set permitted the presence of live ammunition, carelessly leaving guns and bullets unsecured. Additionally, Baldwin unexpectedly discharged a firearm in this situation. These circumstances made it not a mere possibility for injury or death to occur, but rather an unfortunate likelihood.”

A new legal case against Baldwin is forthcoming, just a month before his scheduled trial for an involuntary manslaughter accusation in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court. The actor was indicted in January and faces this felony charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Recently in New Mexico, a judge declined Baldwin’s lawyers’ efforts to throw out the indictment. Should he be found guilty, the actor risks serving a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.

Gloria Allred, a lawyers advocating for victims’ rights in Los Angeles, recently submitted a new lawsuit. This time, she represented the European relatives of Hutchins in the filing.

Allred’s other “Rust” client, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, joined the Solovey lawsuit as a plaintiff. Mitchell was just four feet away from Baldwin during the rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021.

Baldwin, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.

Attorneys representing Rust Movie Productions were not immediately available on Thursday.

Despite the accident happening close to Santa Fe, Allred had earlier filed the Solovey lawsuit against Baldwin and “Rust” production team in the Los Angeles Superior Court. However, this case was recently withdrawn as part of an attempt to transfer the proceedings to New Mexico’s courts, according to Allred.

A judge in Los Angeles decided that certain defendants in the case didn’t have sufficient ties to California for the lawsuit to proceed there, according to Allred. This meant that it was highly challenging to bring legal action against these defendants in California.

Based on my experience as a legal assistant, I’ve come across many cases where the specifics of exclusions in a potential trial are not immediately clear. In this situation, the attorney didn’t provide details about which defendants would have been excluded if the case had progressed in California. However, they did mention that Baldwin was not among them. Given that Baldwin’s production company, El Dorado Pictures, is based in California, it could be speculated that there might have been other individuals or entities involved in the case from that state. Yet, without further information, it remains uncertain who else could have potentially been implicated.

Halyna Hutchins, son Andros and husband Matthew Hutchins.
(Hutchins Family / Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP)

In the late stages of 2022, a different wrongful death claim filed by Matthew Hutchins, representing his son Andros, against the involved party, was concluded with a settlement.

In the terms of the agreement, Matthew Hutchins assumed the role of an executive producer for the film “Rust,” produced last year in Montana. The exact financial compensation given to him as part of the settlement remains undisclosed.

Alec Baldwin faces a July trial on involuntary manslaughter charges in the 2021 shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

Born in Ukraine, Hutchins relocated to the United States to advance her film industry aspirations, which were gaining momentum prior to the unfortunate incident.

In 2015, she graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory. Two years prior to her passing, she was recognized as an emerging talent by American Cinematographer.

Her European family members have expressed deep sadness over Halyna Hutchins’ passing. According to Solovey, her mother, life has been particularly challenging since they received the devastating news that Halyna had been fatalistically shot on the film set, as shared in an April court hearing.

Several negligence lawsuits have resulted from the tragic incident, involving individuals who were present at the scene, including those who had assembled inside the wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch when the shooting occurred.

Solovey, Androsovych, and Zemko’s civil suit includes Rust Movie Productions LLC, El Dorado Pictures owned by Baldwin, producers Smith, Cheney, and Thomasville Pictures LLC, Anjul Nigam, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Matthew Delpiano, and Emily Salveson as the named defendants.)

Hannah Gutierrez, an armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and David Halls, an assistant producer who entered a plea of no contest for negligently handling a weapon, were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

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2024-07-18 22:18