Alec Baldwin wanted to finish filming Rust after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, reports say.
Court documents obtained by The New York Times state that the Oscar nominated actor attempted to encourage the rest of the cast and crew to finish the film to honour the memory of Hutchins, who died after Baldwin discharged a gun on set.
According to the report, Baldwin’s plan was to support Hutchins’ child and widower through profits from the film and also an insurance payout.
As a result of the incident, filming on Rust was postponed indefinitely.
Hutchins’ widower, Matthew, sued Baldwin last month for the wrongful death of his wife. Numerous other lawsuits have been filed by various crew members, all alleging safety concerns during the making of the movie.
Matthew Hutchins’ own claim states that Baldwin “and the other Defendants in this case failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences.”
In return, Baldwin has argued that he is not financially liable for the death of Hutchins in his capacity as producer and actor.
Baldwin’s legal filing states that he had a degree of creative control but no power over the hiring and firing of individuals on the film.
Since the incident Baldwin has repeatedly denied that he pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Hutchins. He has also maintained that he did not know the gun contained live ammunition.
In a controversial interview with ABC News, Baldwin said that he did not feel responsible for the death of Hutchins.
