Weeks after the tragic shooting on the set of Rust, that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin has broken his silence giving an on-camera interview about the incident earlier today. Baldwin, while out driving with his family in Vermont, deliberately stopped his vehicle as he drove by a group of photographers and approached them.
The conversation lasted no more than four minutes, during which Baldwin said that Hutchins “was my friend” and talked about the horrible incident. Baldwin said:
A woman died. She was my friend. She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.
Baldwin went on to say that he had been instructed by the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office to not comment on the ongoing investigation, adding that he was “eagerly awaiting for the sheriff’s department to release their findings.” Noting that he is in daily communication with the Sheriff’s Department.
Baldwin calls the on-set shooting a “one in a trillion” incident, while also calling out for different measures to be had to ensure set safety. He went on to say, “How many bullets have been fired in films and TV shows in the last 75 years? This is America. Probably billions. And nearly all of them without incident.”
This tragedy comes at a time when union workers are beginning to demand safer sets and better treatment while working. The union IATSE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) recently took a vote to walk out due to improper working conditions. While the walk-out was prevented at the 11th-hour, as the union reps made a deal with the studios, however that agreement has yet to be ratified. There have been various reports since the incident of unsafe working conditions on the set of Rust, that have been refuted by the production company.
The investigation is still ongoing.