The mother of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins will not attend the world premiere of Rust as she claims it is an attempt for Hollywood star Alec Baldwin to “unjustly profit” from her daughter’s death.
Rust will debut at the Camerimage Festival in Poland on Wednesday, an event focusing on achievements in cinematography, three years after the prop gun US actor Baldwin was holding went off and fatally injured Ms Hutchins on the set of the western in New Mexico.
It comes months after a judge threw out the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin.
Ms Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey, who filed an ongoing lawsuit against Baldwin, said in a statement issued by her lawyer Gloria Allred given to the PA news agency: “It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen.
“Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter.
“Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death.
“Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter.
“That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion of Rust, especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter.”
Ms Allred confirmed to PA that Baldwin filed a motion on Tuesday to pause the civil lawsuit against him and others.
“We will be opposing their motion to stay our case,” she said.
In a separate statement, Ms Allred said Ms Solovey will not be attending the world premiere of Rust because Baldwin had “disrespected” her family.
“Even though Mr Baldwin discharged the gun that killed Halyna, he has never called them to apologise,” she said.
“Even worse, he argued, through his attorneys, that Halyna was emotionally distant from her family in Ukraine. That is false, hurtful and insulting.
“Further, the decision not to even call the family to say he is sorry is cruel and dishonours Halyna and her memory,
“Now, a decision has been made to promote Rust to buyers in order to make a profit for Alec Baldwin and others that had a role in Halyna’s death.”
Rust director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, was expected to introduce the film at the premiere, along with Bianca Cline, the cinematographer who completed the film.
The film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is serving an 18-month prison sentence after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter following the shooting of 42-year-old Ms Hutchins in October 2021, at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Rust is billed as the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after being sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
The Polish festival’s ticketing website reportedly crashed on Tuesday morning due to high demand for tickets to the world premiere.
