Jeff Most, who produced 1994’s The Crow – in which Brandon Lee was shot and killed while filming – has defended Alec Baldwin against his renewed Rust shooting charges.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer of Rust, was pointing a prop gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal in October 2021 when the gun went off, discharging a real bullet that killed her and wounded director Joel Souza.
Hutchins’s death is eerily reminiscent of the tragic accident that claimed the life of Lee – the only son of Bruce Lee – 30 years ago.
Lee was 28 years old when he died after his co-star Michael Massee shot him with a prop gun that malfunctioned while filming a scene for Alex Proyas’s action fantasy.
Speaking to The Guardian in an interview marking 30 years since the release of The Crow, Most said of Hutchins’s death: “To see that in the almost 30 years between the movies we hadn’t improved upon that was certainly devastating.
“I will say that I find it tragic and beyond belief that Alec Baldwin has been held any bit responsible for this.
“As a producer with more than 30 years’ experience and numerous action films under his belt, I can assure you that there is no place in the world in which an actor is responsible for the weapon they’re handling.”
He added: “There’s no place for anything but absolute safety on a set and it all brought back memories of the terrible tragedy with the loss of Brandon. It should not have been repeated and I hope it won’t ever be again.”
Last year, Baldwin, 66, was dismissed of initial involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his forthcoming Western.
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In January, however, prosecutors renewed the involuntary manslaughter charges against him, citing new evidence. The actor has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In March, Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over Hutchin’s death. Reed, 26, was handed the maximum prison sentence of 18 months.
Baldwin, meanwhile, maintains his innocence, claiming that he pulled back the hammer – but not the trigger – and the gun fired.
He currently remains free pending trial under conditions that include not possessing firearms, consuming alcohol or leaving the country.
Should Baldwin also be found guilty, he could potentially be sentenced to 18 months in prison in addition to being fined $5,000.
Source Agencies
