All those named in the lawsuit have denied any guilt. (File)
Los Angeles:
American actor Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against four people involved in the Western movie “Rest” for neglecting to give him a gun that went off and killed the film’s cameraman.
The death on October 21, 2021 of Halyna Hutchins sent shockwaves through Hollywood and sparked a series of civil lawsuits.
Baldwin, 64, is suing Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s gun master and props assistant; assistant director David Halls; props master Sarah Zachry; and Seth Kenney, who supplied guns and ammunition to the film set, according to a filing Friday in a Los Angeles court.
Baldwin’s complaint follows a lawsuit filed against him and others on set last year by script supervisor Mamie Mitchell over their alleged role in the shooting that caused her major emotional problems.
In his suit, Baldwin accuses Gutierrez-Reed of failing to verify that a Colt revolver he used during rehearsal was safe. The suit also states that Halls did not check the weapon before declaring it safe and handing it over to Baldwin, and that Zachry did not ensure that the weapons used on the set in New Mexico were safe.
All those named in the lawsuit have denied any guilt.
The gun Baldwin was holding during rehearsal — intended to be loaded with blanks only — instead fired a live round, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin reached a civil settlement with Hutchins’ family last month, details of which have not been disclosed. A judge has not yet approved the settlement.
Baldwin, who was both a producer and the star of “Rest,” has previously said he didn’t pull the trigger, although an FBI report showed the gun couldn’t have gone off otherwise.
Production on the film will resume in January, filmmakers said, with Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins taking on the role of executive producer.
“I have no interest in accusations or attributing blame,” Hutchins said in an earlier statement. “We all believe that Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.”
Investigators in New Mexico have not filed criminal charges, but are not ruling them out.
In August, Baldwin said he did not believe he would be charged.
While there was never any doubt that the gun was in Baldwin’s hands when it went off, it remains unclear how it was loaded with a live round.
Gutierrez-Reed has sued the film’s ammunition supplier, accusing him of leaving real bullets among the fake cartridges.
The incident sparked calls in Hollywood to permanently ban guns from sets.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
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