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‘Rust’ movie production will not return to New Mexico after deadly shooting

Filming for the Alec Baldwin movie “Rust,” which was stopped after a deadly shooting in 2021, will not be done in New Mexico when production resumes.

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“The production of Rust will not return to New Mexico,” Rust Movie Productions’ attorney, Melina Spadone, told Reuters. “The production is considering other locations, including in California, but no decisions have been made.”

The movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was fatally shot on set in October 2021 when actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that contained a live round of ammunition, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Earlier this month, Hutchins’ family reached a settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit they had filed against the movie’s producers, including Baldwin. Under the terms of the settlement, production will be allowed to resume after a 15-month hiatus.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau fined the film’s producers nearly $137,000 after inspectors found that producers on the set knew that firearm safety protocols were not being followed but failed to intervene, The Wall Street Journal reported. The movie’s production company has contested the fine.

Spadone told Reuters that when production on the movie resumes, there will be a safety officer on set and the production will be covered by agreements with industry labor unions, as was the case in the previous location.

The film’s director, Joel Souza, is expected to return to the film. In a statement to CNN he said, “Those of us who were lucky enough to have spent time with Halyna knew her to be exceedingly talented, kind, creative, and a source of incredible positive energy. I only wish the world had gotten to know her under different circumstances, as it surely would have through her amazing work. In my own attempts to heal, any decision to return to finish directing the film could only make sense for me if it was done with the involvement of Matt and the Hutchins family. Though certainly bittersweet, I am pleased that together, we will now complete what Halyna and I started. My every effort on this film will be devoted to honoring Halyna’s legacy and making her proud. It is a privilege to see this through on her behalf.”