Alec Baldwin is in the fight of his life.
His livelihood and his freedom are on the line.
And one judge gave Baldwin some news that knocked him off his feet.
Tragic shooting saga continues
Alec Baldwin is set to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the western Rust.
Baldwin, who co-produced and starred in the movie, was holding the gun that fired and fatally struck Hutchins during rehearsal.
Baldwin claimed that he never pulled the trigger and the gun discharged accidentally, however forensic experts have contested his account.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
That does not bode well for Baldwin’s case, but he may have just been given a reprieve by the judge presiding over the case.
Judge throws Alec Baldwin a life raft
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that Baldwin’s role as co-producer on the film was not relevant to the case.
In other words, the judge does not believe that Baldwin can automatically be held criminally responsible for Gutierrez-Reed’s negligence.
Judge Sommer wrote, “I’m having real difficulty with the state’s position that they want to show that as a producer he didn’t follow guidelines and therefore as an actor Mr. Baldwin did all of these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms. Hutchins because as a producer he allowed these things to happen. . .I’m denying evidence of his status as a producer.”
This may lessen the chances of a conviction, but he could still be found guilty because the gun was in his hand.
If he can convince the jury that he never pulled the trigger, he will likely walk.
Baldwin told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never.”
Fellow movie stars George Clooney and Nicolas Cage both said publicly that they take responsibility for gun safety on their film sets, though they did not criticize Baldwin directly.
When asked about Clooney’s and Cage’s comments by Stephanopoulos, Baldwin responded, “Well, there were a lot of people who felt it necessary to contribute some comment to the situation, which really didn’t help the situation. At all. If your protocol is you check the gun every time, well, good for you. I’ve probably handled weapons as much as any other actor in films with an average career. Again, shooting or being shot by someone. . .And in that time, I had a protocol and it never let me down.”
Unfortunately, his protocol did not work in this instance.
Baldwin has tried to keep his career going despite the cloud hanging over him, but most of the work has dried up.
The industry wants the matter resolved before fully welcoming Baldwin back into the club.
During her trial, Gutierrez-Reed read from a statement, “I am saddened by the way the media sensationalized our traumatic tragedy and portrayed me as a complete monster, which has actually been the total opposite of what’s been in my heart. . .When I took on Rust, I was young and I was being naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”
The jury has already been seated for Baldwin’s trial.
