Alec Baldwin will be charged with manslaughter in July after the fatal shooting that claimed the life of the cameraman on his western “Rust,” an American judge ruled Monday.
• Also read: Fatal shooting in the film “Rust”: The trial against the gunsmith begins
• Also read: Fatal shooting on film set: Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty
According to reports, the trial of the actor, who is both the star and producer of this film, is scheduled to last a little less than two weeks between July 9th and 19th in a court in New Mexico (Southwest). He faces up to 18 months in prison.
The filming of “Rust” in October 2021 on a ranch in New Mexico, in the southwest of the USA, became a drama. Alec Baldwin had aimed a gun that was supposed to contain only empty bullets, but a very real projectile had killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
This rare news shocked Hollywood and provoked calls for a ban on firearms on sets.
The 65-year-old actor denies pulling the trigger and has always maintained that he was assured his weapon was harmless.
The gunsmith in the film “Hannah Gutierrez-Reed,” who was also charged with manslaughter, is currently being tried separately. The public prosecutor's office accuses her of negligence, which may have led to her bringing live ammunition to the filming location.
According to the prosecution, the gunsmith consumed cocaine, cannabis and alcohol outside of working hours and was probably hungover on the day of the tragedy.
His defense replies that no toxicology analysis was carried out and points to the responsibility of Alec Baldwin, who allegedly took safety rules on set lightly and was part of a tight-budget production at the time. The smell of amateurism is evident.
However, at the end of an investigation marked by numerous twists and turns, the actor is being prosecuted as an actor and not for his role as a producer.
The involuntary manslaughter charges against him were first dropped last April after new investigative elements supported the theory of an accidental shooting.
But in January he was charged again. Because according to Variety magazine, a new assessment of the weapon in question conducted this summer concluded that it could only be fired by pulling the trigger.
Another person involved in the shooting has already been convicted in this case.
The film's first assistant director, Dave Halls, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence last March after agreeing to plead guilty. He had handed Mr Balwin the weapon at the center of the drama and assured him that it was not dangerous.