“Rust” director Joel Souza speaks for the first time about the tragic shooting

Joel Souza, the Direction of the unfortunate film rustwished for death after he was hit by the bullet that killed camerawoman Halyna Hutchins on set in October 2021. In a detailed Vanity Fair In an interview, the filmmaker explained that the bullet he received in the shoulder had “damaged” his lungs “by The much” and narrowly missed his spine. He learned of Hutchins' death in his emergency room. When asked if he was grateful to be alive, Souza said no.

“I remember going to sleep that night hoping I wouldn't wake up the next morning,” Souza said. “I hoped I would just bleed to death overnight because I didn't want to be here anymore. It was a very difficult moment. I remember thinking, 'Maybe I'll just bleed to death – that would be just right for me.'” When he woke up, he was overcome with grief. The event had ruined him on a personal level, and that went beyond his career.

Souza told the magazine he continued filming after the tragedy – in which Alec Baldwin allegedly fired a prop gun with live ammunition – with cinematographer Bianca Cline replacing Hutchins to honor Hutchins. He wants rustwhich is finished but still needs a distributor to make a profit for Hutchins' family. “I knew that finishing the film would benefit Halyna's family financially, which is very important to me,” he said. “And I know that can sound trite to people who aren't creative, but her last work is important. It's important that people see her last work. That was the deciding factor for me.”

The filmmaker had kind words for Hutchins' husband Matt and his demeanor after filming, when he offered comfort to Souza, Baldwin and other crew members. “Matt got there as quickly as he could and brought his son,” he said. “He came to take care of people. The man just lost his wife. If I lost my wife, I would be a quivering jelly, thrashing around in all sorts of directions. I wouldn't be sane. Matt got there and his job was to make sure people were OK. I've never seen anything like that.”

Hutchins' death and the subsequent legal proceedings cast a long shadow over rust. The production's gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will serve 18 months in prison for manslaughter. Assistant director Dave Halls took a plea deal for negligent use of a deadly weapon. And Baldwin, who said he believed the gun was not loaded, was charged with manslaughter. A judge dismissed Baldwin's case a month ago after learning that prosecutors failed to turn over key evidence to Baldwin's lawyers during the evidentiary hearing.

Souza said Vanity Fair He was ambivalent about the whole controversy. “I don't know what [justice] it's not anymore — I'll be honest with you about that,” he said. “Nobody feels good about someone going to jail. If you feel good about it, take a good look at yourself.” He also didn't want to judge Baldwin. “Does it matter whether I think it's fair or not?” Souza said. “There's an argument that says he's creating a safety risk if he checks it out and starts fiddling with it. And then there's another that says it's common sense, for God's sake. Be careful with that damn thing. So, to be honest, I don't know anymore. The charges were filed. That's what they decided to do. Was he overcharged? I don't know.” The filmmaker described his relationship with Baldwin as nonexistent; they are neither friends nor enemies.

To complete the film, Souza made small changes to the script so that Hutchins' death would not be the focus of moviegoers' attention. The shootout scene, which took place in a chapel, will no longer appear in the film. “I don't want anyone who ever sees the film to wait for that,” Souza said. Instead, he hopes that the impression viewers get of the film will depend on how it looks … and that was Hutchins' responsibility. “As a cinematographer, Halyna should have been out of my reach if this business made any sense, but it doesn't,” he said. “She should have been shooting in big studio movies. She should have outgrown a film the size of our film.”

Souza also offered advice to other filmmakers about using firearms on set. “My recommendation is: There should never be firearms allowed,” he said. “Nothing real that you can fire something from. Everything from now until eternity should be fake. And there should still be gun masters, even if it's fake, because without gun masters they're still not safe.”

In May 2023, Baldwin posted on social media that filming for rustHe called the completion “nothing short of a miracle.”