‘Rust’ Director Reveals How He Really Feels About Alec Baldwin After Fatal On-Set Accident
Director Joel Souza admitted that it was a "mess" coming back to the film set following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Tinseltown | Shutterstock Three and a half years since the tragic death of Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western drama film, "Rust," the film is finally set to be released in theaters on May 2. Ahead of the film's theatrical release, director Joel Souza opened up about not only the aftermath of Hutchins' death, who had been shot when a gun held by the film's lead actor, Alec Baldwin, was discharged accidentally during rehearsals, but also how Souza now feels about Baldwin.
'Rust' director Souza, who was also injured on the set, admitted that he has complicated feelings about Baldwin.
The 67-year-old actor faced major backlash for filming his family's new TLC reality show, "The Baldwins," amid the trial. Although Baldwin was dismissed of the charges, the emotional wounds from that day are still far from healed.
While speaking with the Guardian, Souza, who had been shot in the shoulder by the prop gun that had been inadvertently loaded with live ammunition, admitted that it had been "bad decision after bad decision," which led to his injury and the fatal shooting of Hutchins. Naturally, Souza has gone over that October 2021 day in his head.
"You think about the chain of events that started that morning. Bad decision after bad decision was made." The film’s writer-director, Souza, was asked if there was anything he wished he could do over. "Talk about the butterfly effect," he told the publication. "I wish I never wrote the movie."
The 'Rust' director explicitly said he is not friends with Alec Baldwin.
When asked about his relationship with Baldwin, Souza admitted that he's not friends with the Baldwin family. "We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship." Alec Baldwin's ill-timed reality show with his family had been called "distasteful" and "unnecessary," but Souza claimed that he didn't watch any of it.
"I think I was too busy hitting myself in the face with a frying pan that night," he said. Considering the nature of what happened on the film's set, it's unsurprising that Souza doesn't speak with Baldwin or have any sort of relationship with him. One of Souza's stipulations for returning to the set of "Rust" was that everyone had to fall in line with his vision.
"It’s not that I’m standing there with my foot on anybody’s neck," he said. "But there were fights I needed not to have. That was the only way I could get through this." Souza ended up finding himself back on set to finish the movie, directing and working with the actor who had shot him in the shoulder.
He candidly noted, "I was a mess going in and a mess coming out. The crew carried me through. My family carried me through. Emotionally, I was all over the map."
The director was determined to finish the film as a way to honor Hutchins and her family.
In an August 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, Souza explained that a day after the Baldwin trial ended abruptly, he mourned Hutchins and decided to finish "Rust" partly in her memory. Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed by a judge about a month prior after finding that the state had withheld evidence on how the live rounds ended up on the film set.
"I knew that the movie being finished would financially benefit Halyna’s family, which is very important to me," Souza said. "And I know this can sound trite for people who aren’t creative, but her last work matters. People seeing her last work matters."
Souza admitted that he knew Hutchins was destined for success in Hollywood. "She should have been doing big studio movies. She should have outgrown a movie the size of ours. She should have been doing $100 million movies, not $7.5 million movies. Anybody who worked with her knew what she had and what she was."
Speaking about the aftermath of the shooting, Souza said he didn't feel especially grateful to be alive. "I remember specifically going to sleep that night and hoping I didn’t wake up the next morning. I hoped I would just bleed out overnight because I didn’t want to be around anymore," he told Vanity Fair. "It was a very difficult moment. I remember just thinking, Maybe I’ll just sort of bleed to death — that would suit me just fine."
Talking about the scene Baldwin had been rehearsing when the gun went off, the director firmly stated that it would never see the light of day. "It vanishes into eternity."
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
