Halyna Hutchins: The Forgotten Heroine of Rust

A tense Q&A session took place during a screening of a new documentary about the late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The event highlighted the significant changes in the film's direction and content from the original plan. Hutchins, a Ukraine-born cinematographer, has been overshadowed by the ongoing investigation into her accidental shooting death on the 2021 set of the indie Western, Rust. The high-profile trials of Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have dominated the news coverage, pushing Hutchins into the background. The documentary, Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna Hutchins, is set to premiere on Hulu March 11. The film is directed by Rachel Mason and produced by Julee Metz, with Matthew Hutchins serving as executive producer. Mason and Metz had unprecedented access to footage from the original Rust set in Santa Fe and were allowed to shoot on the Montana set when production resumed in 2023. The film includes interviews with key cast and crew members, such as director Joel Souza, camera assistant Lane Luper, costume designer Terese Davis, and the film’s new cinematographer Bianca Cline. The Q&A session after the screening at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood took an unexpected turn. Moderator Steve Chiotakis of KCRW asked Souza about his experience watching the documentary. Souza described the film as "very moving" but expressed surprise at its focus. "I hoped it might have a little more Halyna in it or been a little more about Halyna, " Souza said. He noted that the original intention was to highlight Hutchins' life and work, but the film's direction shifted over time. Souza then pressed his co-panelists to discuss why the movie changed course and the role of their backers, including production companies Story Syndicate, Concordia Studio, and Anonymous Content, as well as Hulu. "I think we all know, anyone in this room who is a creative, what it’s like when the suits are swooping in to put their hands all over your movie, " Souza said. He questioned whether the partners tried to protect Mason's vision. Metz responded that the documentary initially aimed to tell Hutchins' life story but evolved to focus more on her death due to commercial pressures. "Rachel had a very clear vision in the beginning to tell Halyna’s story of her life and her work and some of her death, of course, because that’s where the story began, " Metz explained. "But over time, and as we gained new partners on this project, it became clear that there was a commercial value to the story of Rust. And that needed to be part of the story that we had to tell. So it became less about Halyna’s life and more about her death, but that’s what we ended up having to do. " Hutchins' death occurred when a live round was discharged from a prop revolver Baldwin was holding during a rehearsal on the Rust set. A criminal case against Baldwin was dismissed in July 2024, but armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is still serving an 18-month sentence for her involuntary manslaughter conviction. Baldwin and the other producers still face multiple civil suits. The documentary's release coincides with TLC airing The Baldwins, a reality show about Alec and Hilaria Baldwin and their seven children. The show began shooting just as Baldwin’s manslaughter trial was about to begin in Santa Fe last summer. Another documentary about Baldwin, directed by Rory Kennedy, is also in the works. Mason's project was unique in its focus on Hutchins herself. In 2024, Mason, who met Hutchins when their sons were in preschool together, shared that her motivation for making the film was "to preserve someone I lost. " The evening started on a shaky note when a speaker in the theater malfunctioned, causing three false starts. The filmmakers had to screen from the Hulu press site. Mason, wearing Hutchins' signature wide-brimmed hat, took the stage to engage with the audience. When asked about the challenges of making the film, Mason redirected the conversation. "Maybe if anyone out here knew Halyna and would have anything to say, it would just be awesome to hear a story about Halyna. "