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How do you plan the rollout of a film that became notorious for an on-set tragedy?<\/p>\n
The ill-fated western \u201cRust\u201d has been trying to figure that out. The movie is finally being released on Friday, three and a half years after its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed by a real bullet fired from an old-fashioned revolver that its star, Alec Baldwin, was rehearsing with on a set in New Mexico.<\/p>\n
Now that the film is finally coming out after years of lawsuits, investigations and two criminal trials, its rollout has been decidedly muted. Unable to find traction at better-known film festivals, \u201cRust\u201d premiered last fall at a small cinematography festival in Poland<\/a>. Now, as it is being released in a limited number of theaters (with none so far in New York City) and on demand, it is forgoing the traditional red-carpet premiere, and Mr. Baldwin has not sat for any splashy interviews.<\/p>\n The filmmakers said that their overriding goal in finishing the film and pushing for its release was to showcase the final work of Ms. Hutchins, who was a 42-year-old up-and-coming cinematographer when she was killed. And a legal settlement calls for some of the film\u2019s earnings to go to her husband and son.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was to make a direct plea to someone about seeing the movie,\u201d said the film\u2019s director, Joel Souza, \u201cI\u2019d say that a lot of really good people worked really hard on finishing this movie to honor her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Souza was injured in the shooting by the bullet that killed Ms. Hutchins, which passed through her and lodged in his shoulder. He said that at first he doubted he would ever want to return to the movie business. But eventually a plan came together to finish \u201cRust,\u201d with Mr. Souza back in the director\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n The plan not only had the blessing of Ms. Hutchins\u2019s husband, Matthew Hutchins, but it was at the heart of a settlement agreement<\/a> he reached with the movie\u2019s producers, including Mr. Baldwin, after he filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Brian Panish, a lawyer for Mr. Hutchins, said in an email this week that the \u201cRust\u201d producers have still not paid the full settlement owed to the family, which was due in 2023. The production company has said that part of the settlement is tied to the film\u2019s earnings, which will go toward paying Mr. Hutchins, who is now an executive producer on the film, and his son, Andros, who was 9 when his mother died. The film\u2019s original producers will not benefit financially from the movie\u2019s release, said Melina Spadone, a representative for Rust Movie Productions.<\/p>\n So bringing out the movie entails a delicate balance: both earning money for the Hutchins family, while taking care to market the film with the sobriety required for a movie synonymous with real-life tragedy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After Mr. Hutchins reached the settlement with producers, the movie finished filming in Montana in 2023 with a new cinematographer, Bianca Cline. The filmmakers decided to use only fake weapons<\/a> that were incapable of firing.<\/p>\n Ms. Cline and Mr. Souza\u2019s main priority was to salvage as much original footage by Ms. Hutchins as possible, which meant putting together a puzzle of old and new footage by employing editing tricks and, in a few instances, special effects.<\/p>\n As the film was being completed, the legal drama surrounding the fatal shooting only intensified.<\/p>\n Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer who loaded a live bullet into the gun that day in 2021, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter<\/a> and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Facing his own criminal case, Mr. Baldwin went on trial in Santa Fe on an involuntary manslaughter charge, but a judge dismissed the case after finding that the state had withheld evidence from the defense. (Mr. Baldwin is now suing prosecutors<\/a> over what he says was a \u201cmalicious prosecution.\u201d)<\/p>\n Previous films marked by tragedy saw a wider release. After the actor Brandon Lee died during the filming<\/a> of \u201cThe Crow,\u201d the movie was released in more than 2,000 theaters in 1994 and grossed more than $50 million. (It had a bigger budget than \u201cRust,\u201d which resumed production with a budget of about $8 million.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cRust\u201d will have a much smaller initial theatrical run this weekend, on about 115 screens across the country. It is being released simultaneously on demand on services including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Fandango at Home. Representatives for the movie said the distribution plan was made with the intention of maximizing profits for the Hutchins family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some critics have questioned the decision to release the film, including several cinematographers who pushed back on the plan<\/a> to premiere the movie in Poland.<\/p>\n But people involved in it said that they wanted to honor her memory. \u201cIn the long arc of time, I believe it\u2019s better that at the end of all this there\u2019s a finished movie, rather than just a tragedy and then nothing,\u201d said Devon Werkheiser, an actor in the film, in a video<\/a> posted to his Instagram this week.<\/p>\n