Alec Baldwin has shared an open letter by members of the cast and crew of the film he was producing when he accidentally shot and killed a colleague, denying that the production was a “chaotic, dangerous and exploitative workplace”.
The actor was rehearsing for Rust, a western, in New Mexico on October 21 when a prop gun he was holding fired a live round, fatally injuring Halyna Hutchins, 42, a cinematographer, and wounding Joel Souza, 48, the director.
Baldwin, 63, shared the letter with the comment: “From some of the crew of Rust.” Signed by more than 20 individuals, the letter claims that the public narrative — that the production was mismanaged — is “inadequate” and distracts from Hutchins herself.
The letter featured signatures from members of the casting, camera, props, special effects, grips, hair, make-up, location and medical teams on the film, which had a budget of between $6 million and $7 million. It read: “We believe the public narrative surrounding our workplace tragedy to be inadequate and wish to express a more accurate account of our experience.”
The letter said “it is common to work on unprofessional or hectic productions” but that the western was not one of those. “Rust was professional,” it added. “We do acknowledge that no set is perfect, and like any production, Rust had areas of brilliance and areas that were more challenging. While we stand firmly with our unions and strongly support the fight for better working conditions across our industry, we do not feel that this set was a representation of the kind of conditions our unions are fighting against. We do support any and all efforts to make film sets safer to work on for all cast, crew and working animals.
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“The descriptions of Rust as a chaotic, dangerous and exploitative workplace are false and distract from what matters the most: the memory of Halyna Hutchins, and the need to find modern alternatives to outdated industry firearm and safety practices.”
Shortly before the shooting several staff left in protest against the working conditions. The letter said: “While it is true that a few crew members quit prior to the accident, the vast majority of us remained, never feeling the need to protest or quit. We were enjoying our workplace. Those disgruntled few do not represent the views of all of us.”
They described the working hours and wages as “fair and consistent with expectations”. Referring to the producers, they said: “They availed themselves during safety meetings to discuss any and all safety or other concerns.”
Production on Rust has been halted indefinitely while the police investigate how live rounds came to be on the set and to be loaded into the prop gun.
