By now, you’ve probably heard the news about Alec Baldwin’s charge on 2 counts of involuntary
manslaughter.
This has come after months of investigating an incident that occurred on the set of his
upcoming film Rust.
He fired a prop gun that was loaded with actual bullets.
He shot and killed the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
There are conflicting opinions on whether he should be punished.
Some are of the opinion that he shouldn’t be held responsible since he didn’t load
the gun while others feel that it was his duty to always check – as is standard with
basic gun safety.
His wife, Hilaria Baldwin has spoken out about how these events have affected their lives.
The story that led up to the events are also a fascinating tale to tell…
Alec Baldwin’s Wife Speaks Out Amid His Manslaughter Charges.
Join FactsVerse to learn more about what’s yet to come…
ALEC AND HILARIA
Alec Baldwin was first married to actress Kim Basinger from 1993 until their divorce
in 2002.
It seemed for some time, that he wouldn’t get married again.
However, in 2011, he began dating Hilaria Thomas who worked as a Yoga instructor in
Manhattan.
Almost one year later, they were married and they have 7 children together.
She had her kids through surrogacy which itself brought her unwanted publicity – but being
the forthright person that she is, she stood her ground and defended her decision.
They’ve both had their fair share of controversies but have stuck with each other and have been
a support to each other.
Whether it was the 2011 incident when Alec Baldwin apparently got upset with a flight
attendant who told him to put his phone away or Hilaria Baldwin being accused of impersonating
a Spaniard when she all of a sudden switched to a Spanish accent in an interview, they’ve
not left each other’s side just because of a little bad publicity.
Alec Baldwin, despite his many controversies, has remained one of our most successful actors.
He has had the lead and supporting roles in many great films such as Beetlejuice, Married
to the Mob, Working Girl, Talk Radio, Great Balls of Fire, The Hunt for Red October, Miami
Blues, Alice, Glengarry Glen Ross, Ghosts of Mississippi, Notting Hill, The Cooler,
Black Kkklansman, Chick Fight, and now, the upcoming Western, Rust.
He also has had great roles in television, most notably, in the hit sitcom 30 Rock.
He’s considered to be one of the most versatile actors of his generation and is arguably the
best known of all the Baldwin Brothers.
Hilaria Baldwin has focused mainly on being a yoga instructor and has also dedicated her
time to her family.
She does have 2 acting experiences – one in which she plays a yoga instructor in a
film called Blind, which starred her husband.
She also played herself in one episode of the TV show Nightcap.
Due to Alec Baldwin’s continuous success as an actor, he’s worked consistently, barely
taking any breaks in his career.
According to IMDB, he has 8 other upcoming projects in addition to the film Rust.
He’s won 3 Primetime Emmy Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards, and 8 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
As one can see, he’s had a busy career and one would expect this to continue….but we
don’t know what’s going to happen if he’s convicted of the recent involuntary manslaughter
charges.
But before we get to that, let’s learn a bit more about the victim, Halyna Hutchins…
HALYNA HUTCHINS
Halyna Anatoliivna Androsovych was born on April 10, 1979, in a small village called
Horodets, in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.
Though born in Ukraine, she grew up in Murmansk, a port city in northwest Russia.
She grew up on a Soviet Military base as her father served in the Navy.
While growing up on the army base, she must have watched a lot of films and fallen in
love with the medium – knowing that she wanted to be a part of the film industry one
day.
She graduated with a degree in International Journalism from the Kyiv National University
in Ukraine and began her career as an investigative journalist throughout Eastern Europe.
She mostly worked in documentary films and this was her initial experience working in
the medium of cinema.
This training as a journalist would eventually lead to her career as a cinematographer in
America.
While working in the USA, she met Matthew Hutchins, and the two of them eventually married
and had one son – Andros.
She settled in the United States though she kept her Ukrainian citizenship and would visit
her native country often.
She and her family settled in Los Angeles where she worked to make it in the American
film industry.
She had a variety of roles working mostly in production until she began her career as
a cinematographer.
At the time of her death, she has 32 credits to her name including the upcoming film Rust
and 2 other upcoming projects.
She worked as a cinematographer on several short films as well as the feature films Darlin’,
Archenemy, Blindfire, The Mad Hatter, and the TV mini series, A Luv Tale.
She served as a cinematographer for the scenes shot in Ireland for the upcoming film Al’
Brand.
She was also the cinematographer for the upcoming film Notes.
It’s expected that Rust will be the final film of hers to get released.
She’s remembered as one of the most respected cinematographers of her generation and she
managed to start her career as soon as he moved to Los Angeles and worked relentlessly
to rack up credits and master her craft.
ON THE SET OF RUST
Rust is an upcoming film that began filming in 2021 and which has a pending completion
and release date.
It’s written and directed by Joel Souza and follows the story of a teenage boy who
has to look after himself in Kansas in the late 1800s.
This Western film has an ensemble cast that also includes Alec Baldwin, who plays Harland
Rust – which is where the film gets its title.
Audiences, film critics, and industry colleagues alike were eager for the film to get completed
and to see how it would turn out.
Writer and Director Joel Souza has had a successful career making feature films and his previous
film was Crown Vic, which was, interestingly, produced by Alec Baldwin.
Now, with Rust, Joel Souza was able to film Alec Baldwin in one of his most anticipated
roles.
Alec Baldwin also produced this film and co-wrote the screenplay with Joel Souza.
The news about the film was that production was underway in 2021 and that we’d hopefully
see a release perhaps in 2022 or 2023.
It was another project among the many films made in America each year.
But then, in October 2021, Rust arguably became the most famous film that was still in production.
In one scene, Alec Baldwin’s character, Hardland Rust, is required to fire a gun.
While shooting the scene, Alec Baldwin took out a prop gun from a holster and aimed it
at the camera – as per the film’s screenplay.
He fired the prop gun.
And then, a projectile came out of the prop gun and hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
– eventually killing her.
This was on October 21, 2021.
The gunshot injured her as well as Joel Souza.
She was taken to the hospital but died later the day.
Production halted and an investigation was underway as to why this prop gun had a bullet
in it.
Since the event, it was revealed that many safety precautions weren’t taken on set
and crew members even complained about the lack of gun safety.
Alec Baldwin and some other crew members were sued by Halyna Hutchin’s family.
In January 2023, Alec Baldwin was charged on two counts of involuntary manslaughter
along with Hannah Guttierez-Reed – the weapons specialist on the set.
First assistant director David Halls has pleaded guilty and has been convicted.
ALEC BALDWIN’S WIFE SPEAKS OUT AMID HIS MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES
Since the incident, Alec Baldwin has once again fallen into controversy but this one
is, naturally, lasting much longer than any of his previous ones.
The paparrazi has harassed him and his family, eager to sell stories of the incident.
There have been conflicting opinions on whether Alec Baldwin should be held responsible for
the gunshot or not.
He intends to fight the case and he has stated that he didn’t know the gun was loaded.
His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, has finally spoken out amid his manslaughter charges.
She recently appeared on a podcast “Witches Anonymous” in which she thanked everyone
who has stood by Alec Baldwin and has offered their support to the family.
She stated that “It’s been an emotional time for my family and I do so want to express
to you how grateful I am for your support and your kindness and your reason,”
She’s also asked the media to respect the family’s privacy during this trying time.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyer has stated that he had no idea and wouldn’t have known that
the gun was loaded and that it wasn’t his responsibility.
So far, a court date hasn’t yet been announced so we have to see whether Alec Baldwin will
face criminal charges.
In the meantime, production on Rust continues and perhaps the film will be released later
in 2023.
There’s also a documentary film about Halyna Hutchins’ life and career in the works…
So for now, we wait and see what will play out and what fate has in store for everyone
involved….
Are you a fan of Alec Baldwin?
Now that he’s been charged with involuntary manslaughter, we have to see whether he’ll
serve time in prison or whether his career will continue as normal.
And with that being said, here’s the controversial question we want your opinion on:
Do you think that an actor should be held responsible for checking a prop gun?
Or is this solely the responsibility of the prop master at all times?