Relatives of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer tragically killed on the Albuquerque set of Western Rust, have come out in support of the film, encouraging movie lovers to see it.
Olga Solovey, the DP’s mother, said, “I watched my daughter’s stunning film twice. I was so happy for the success of my daughter because it was filmed so beautifully. I would want everybody to watch it because it was the dream of my daughter and she would want people to see it.”
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Solovey continued, “I would want people to see the talent, the beauty, the success, and I’m just so immensely proud of [Halyna]. She had a very specific style of cinematography and she saw the world differently. She could see and capture how the sun sets and how animals behaved. She saw the beauty of it all. She could capture it. She could capture nature. I like the film. I want many people to watch it, and I would want more people to remember her for as long as they can.”
Also expressing her support of the project in a statement released on Friday was Hutchins’ sister, Svetlana Zemko, who said, “The film is amazing, very beautiful and colorful, the shots are just amazing, the composition, the light, even the weather in the frame transfers through the screen.”
Finding the film “brilliant,” Zemko said that “everyone should see Gala’s work; this is high professionalism and high-level artistry. The film is strong. I would want Gala to be remembered not for the tragedy but for her talent and hard work.”
(Gala, we’re told, is a common diminutive for the name Galina, which is the Ukrainian transliteration of the name Halyna.)
Hutchins’ death on the New Mexico set of Rust, an indie starring Alec Baldwin, took place on October 21, 2021. When Baldwin discharged a prop revolver during a rehearsal, not realizing it contained a live round, the bullet struck and fatally wounded Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
The legal fallout was extensive. Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, though those charges were dropped last year due to concerns about how the prosecution handled the case. Pic’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Meanwhile, assistant director David Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin and declared it “cold,” got probation after accepting a plea deal for negligent use of a deadly weapon. Amidst all of this, the loss of Hutchins was met with a renewed dialogue on gun safety, which included calls for banning real firearms on set.
Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death suit in civil court, which was settled in October 2022, part of the arrangement being that the DP’s husband Matthew Hutchins would be credited as an executive producer on Rust, with payments made to the Hutchins estate. Production on the picture was eventually completed in 2023, in spite of the controversy surrounding it, with Bianca Cline taking on the role of cinematographer.
Set in 1880s Wyoming, Rust follows the recently orphaned Lucas Hollister (Patrick Scott McDermott), who accidentally kills a rancher and is sentenced to hang. In a twist of fate, his estranged grandfather, the notorious outlaw Harland Rust (Baldwin), breaks him out of jail and takes him on the run toward Mexico. As they flee across the unforgiving wilderness, the fugitive pair must outrun the determined U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and a ruthless bounty hunter named Preacher (Travis Fimmel). The film premiered at Camerimage last November and was released in theaters and on VOD on Friday, with a dedication to Hutchins. Falling Forward Films is handling the theatrical release, with Ascending Media Group handling on demand.
As reported by NPR, the film’s original producers will not gain financially from the movie, though per the terms of the settlement, Matthew Hutchins and son Andros are expected to do so.
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