“She Was My Friend”: Alec Baldwin Reappears After Accidentally Killing Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins | People

“Come on, what do you want to know?” Says Alec Baldwin (New York, 63 years old) as he approaches the reporters who have followed him since he accidentally killed Halyna Hutchins, 42, on a set ten days ago. In the video of almost four minutes, broadcast by the specialized media TMZ, The actor appears accompanied by his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, who is in charge of recording the tense conversation with her mobile. “It is an open investigation and you cannot answer any questions about it”, the interpreter responds to the first question, about what is the current status of the case. “She was my friend,” she continues, “The day I got to the shoot I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well oiled team, shooting a movie together until this horrible event happened. “

Director of photography Halyna Hutchins died on the 22nd in New Mexico while filming the western Rust, after being shot by the actor, with a prop weapon, which was supposed to be loaded with blank cartridges. Also injured was the film’s director, Joel Souza, 48, who was transferred to a hospital in Santa Fe and has already been discharged. The police went to the scene after receiving a call and have opened an investigation for reckless homicide, while the prosecution does not rule out filing charges against Baldwin. The investigations are focused for the moment on the actor himself, who was the one who fired the revolver; the first assistant director, Dave Halls, who handed him the gun, and the manager of the armory, Hannah Gutierrez-Read.

“I talk to the police every day,” acknowledges Baldwin in the video. When one of the reporters asks him if he is also in contact with the Hutchins family, but does not remember the name, his wife intervenes: “Her name is Halyna. If you’re going to spend so much time waiting for us, you should know his name. ” “You don’t know his name, do you really?” Exclaims the actor who admits that he speaks frequently with the director of photography’s widower: “I met with her husband, Matthew, and their son. The man is overwhelmed by pain ”.

“Every now and then there are accidents on set, but nothing like this. This is an episode of one in a billion. It’s a one-in-a-billion event. ” The incident has reopened the debate on the use of firearms in filming in the United States. In Spain, for example, regulations prevent the caliber of blank firearms from matching that of live ammunition, so an accident like Alec Baldwin’s could not occur. “I know that there is an interest in limiting the use of firearms on film sets and it is something in which I am extremely interested,” acknowledges the actor in his speech. “But remember something that I think is important: how many bullets have been fired in movies and series in the last 75 years? This is America. How many bullets have been fired before? Thousands of millions. We find out when something goes wrong and it is horrible and catastrophic. New measures must be taken (suitable weapons, plastic weapons or not), but it is not for me to decide which ones. Please understand that I am not an expert in this field, so whatever path others decide to go, in terms of protecting the safety of people on film sets, I am totally in favor. “

The actor, who acknowledges that he does not see it feasible to resume the recording of Rust, he also asks photographers to stop following him. “My children are in the car crying,” he says, while his wife intervenes, “because you are following them and they know it.” “In deference to you I left [a hablaros]. I am not allowed to comment on the investigation. I speak to the police on a daily basis. I am cooperating with them, of course. What I mean is that I came out to talk to you in deference. Now please can you stop following us and leave us alone? We’ve given you everything we could, ”adds Baldwin as he returns to his vehicle.