Halyna Hutchins’ Mother Urges People to See Controversial Movie ‘Rust,’ Calls Daughter’s Final Film ‘Stunning’
The mother of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is urging people to see her daughter’s “stunning” final film, Rust. The movie, which features Alec Baldwin and Travis Fimmel, was released in theaters and on video-on-demand on Friday, May 2.
“I watched my daughter’s stunning film twice,” Olga Solovey said in an emailed statement. “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. I would want people to see the talent, the beauty, the success, and I’m just so immensely proud of her.”
Halyna Hutchins’ was shot by Alec Baldwin on set of ‘Rust’ in 2021
Hutchins was killed in October 2021 in a tragic accident on the set of Rust. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene involving a prop gun when the firearm discharged, fatally striking Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter following the incident, but the charges were later dropped. Rust’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty last year of involuntary manslaughter and is serving 18 months in prison.
Hutchins “had a very specific style of cinematography and she saw the world differently,” her mother shared. “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.”
The late cinematographer’s sister also praised the Western drama, which follows Baldwin’s aging outlaw character as he goes on the run with his estranged, orphaned grandson, who has been sentenced to hang after accidentally killing a rancher.
“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. The film is brilliant. Everyone should see Gala’s work; this is high professionalism and high-level artistry,” Svetlana Zemko said, using the common diminutive for the name Galina, the Ukrainian transliteration of the name Halyna. “The film is strong. I would want Gala to be remembered not for the tragedy but for her talent and hard work.”
Why ‘Rust’ director Joel Souza agreed to finish the controversial Western
Hutchins’ family reached an out-of-court settlement with Baldwin and Rust’s producers following her death. Meanwhile, the film’s director recently told The Guardian that he wishes he “never wrote the damn movie.” However, he returned to finish the project as part of a tribute to Hutchins.
“The family wanted it completed,” Souza said. “I’d been repelled by the thought of going back, but now it started to appeal. And I couldn’t live with the idea of someone else doing it.”
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