A series of videos obtained exclusively by NBC News provide an unprecedented look at Alec Baldwin handling at least one prop gun and interacting with crew members during filming for “Rust.” The footage was shot days before Baldwin’s prop gun fired live ammunition on set, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The five videos show Baldwin preparing for scenes, firing the weapons and acting out his role. In two cases, he attempted to reassign crew members after raising concerns about their safety. The five videos have a total of about seven minutes of footage, and the team filmed for two weeks before halting production.
Special prosecutors in New Mexico were scheduled to convene a grand jury Thursday to consider re-indicting Baldwin on involuntary manslaughter charges. However, the judge rescheduled the date during a conference call Wednesday, a source familiar with the case said.
The videos are among dozens that special prosecutors requested from Rust Movie Productions LLC in the spring and received as recently as October, according to a source familiar with the matter. NBC News has not reviewed most of the videos. On October 17, prosecutors announced their intention to re-charge Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter.
For more on this story, watch NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.
It’s not clear how much of the footage prosecutors reviewed or whether they reviewed any of the five videos. NBC News asked Kari Morrissey – one of two lead special prosecutors in the Jason Lewis case – what footage her team reviewed and whether any of it was involved in the charging decisions. She declined to comment, citing the pending grand jury proceedings.
The source familiar with the case said the five videos could be presented to the grand jury.
Last month, Morrissey said in a statement: “We believe that based on our lengthy and detailed investigation, it is appropriate for a grand jury in New Mexico to decide whether the case should proceed.”
This is the most powerful footage yet of Baldwin’s acting scenes and prop gun firing on the set of Rust. It also shows him interacting with crew members in footage. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office previously released video evidence, including rehearsal clips in which Baldwin, in character, practices a quick-draw maneuver with a weapon. The April 2022 release also included bodycam footage from investigators who interviewed Baldwin in the hours after the shooting. In February, cell phone video obtained by Albuquerque NBC affiliate KOB was released showing Baldwin firing prop guns on set.
In the first video obtained by NBC News, Baldwin can be seen lying on the floor with a prop gun, preparing to film a scene, and telling someone to move to the “other side of the camera.” , because “I don’t want to shoot you.” ”
In a second video, he can be seen off-camera asking for a blanket to be placed next to him. During the scene where he throws his gun aside, he uses the ceiling as a landing pad.
The third video shows Baldwin in character repeatedly firing a prop gun before running out of dummy cartridges. “One more, one more, one more,” he says. “Right now, let’s reload,” he then says, apparently trying to keep the scene moving. The clip ends with him saying, “We should have had two guns and reloaded both.”
In the fourth and fifth videos, Baldwin pauses filming to check on the safety of the crew. In one, he expresses concern about the steepness of a trail and says they need to use a safer part of the trail, and in the other, a cameraman falls and Baldwin repeatedly asks, “Are you OK?” before filming resumes.
Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement in October after special prosecutors announced they would convene a grand jury, Nikas and Spiro said: “It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy led to this misguided prosecution.” We will answer all charges in court. “
At the time, NBC News learned from two sources that Baldwin and special counsel had discussed his wanting to take a plea deal, but it was rescinded in the days before their announcement.
One of the sources had also said at the time that prosecutors no longer believed that the gun Baldwin used on set had been modified and that they had found new evidence that they believed had linked Baldwin to recklessness when it came to safety standards Set connected.
The charge could carry up to 18 months in prison if Baldwin is convicted.
Prosecutors have not publicly said what new evidence they obtained during their months-long investigation. But a source familiar with the case said the special prosecutors had conversations in which they hoped the trial would “humiliate” Baldwin, citing in particular his run-ins with paparazzi and public comments that were not about the case. The source added that it was meant to be a “teaching moment” for Baldwin.
The move to pursue possible grand jury charges comes after a U-turn by the same prosecutors in New Mexico who dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April.
Baldwin has claimed in interviews with ABC News and CNN that he did not pull the trigger and that assistant director Dave Halls declared the gun to be “cold” and without live ammunition. Halls pleaded no contest in March to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and must serve six months of unsupervised probation.
“I feel like someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who it is, but I know it’s not me,” Baldwin said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in December 2021.
The film’s master-at-arms, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in January. Her trial is scheduled to begin on February 21st. She has pleaded not guilty.