Olga Solovey, the grief-stricken mother of the late Halyna Hutchins, has announced her heart-wrenching decision to forego the Polish premiere of Rust scheduled for Wednesday, citing Alec Baldwin's handling of her daughter's tragic demise as an unrelenting "aggravation to my sorrow." In an emotional statement conveyed to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Solovey revealed, "It had always been my cherished dream to accompany my daughter to Poland, to witness her talent breathe life onto the silver screen. Yet, that dream was cruelly shattered when Alec Baldwin, in a fateful act, discharged his firearm, taking my beloved daughter's life."
Rust is poised to make its initial bow at Poland's Camerimage International Film Festival on Wednesday, marking over three years since a bullet from a revolver wielded by Baldwin—both the film's star and producer—claimed the life of Hutchins, the talented cinematographer.
"Alec Baldwin persists in amplifying my pain by declining to offer me an apology or to acknowledge his accountability for her death," Solovey's statement resonated with deep-seated grief. "Instead, he seeks unjust enrichment from the very act that took my daughter's life. This is the fundamental reason behind my refusal to attend the festival to promote Rust, especially amidst a lingering lack of justice for my cherished Halyna."
Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial concluded in July with the dismissal of charges following a contentious last-minute hearing that scrutinized the handling of evidence by police and prosecutors. Meanwhile, Rust's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is currently serving an 18-month prison term, convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a Santa Fe jury on March 6.
In a poignant statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Gloria Allred, the attorney for Hutchins' family, conveyed a heartfelt grievance, stating, "Despite the undeniable fact that Mr. Baldwin discharged the firearm that led to Halyna's tragic demise, he has never deigned to pick up the phone and offer even a token of apology to her loved ones." She further lamented that Baldwin's behavior extended beyond mere neglect, asserting that he had "displayed a lack of respect towards Halyna's mother, father, and sister." Adding insult to injury, "through his legal representatives, he gallantly argued that Halyna was emotionally estranged from her family in Ukraine—a claim that is not only untrue but also deeply hurtful and insulting." Ms. Allred's statement crescendoed with a poignant conclusion: "The conscious choice to refrain from even a phone call expressing remorse is not only cruel but also dishonors Halyna's memory. Moreover, it has come to our attention that there is a plan to market 'Rust' to potential buyers, exploiting Halyna's death for profit, a move which Alec Baldwin and others involved in her untimely passing endorse. Her family, however, cannot condone this insensitive exploitation."
As tickets for the 'Rust' premiere at Camerimage went up for grabs early Tuesday morning, the official website buckled under an unprecedented surge of eager ticket-seekers, momentarily crashing. A month prior to the premiere's announcement, some cinematographers took to social media to voice their discomfort, arguing that it was insensitive to promote the film given the circumstances of its creation—a creation that cost one of their peers their life. The festival organizers, however, emphasized that the premiere aimed solely to honor Hutchins' work and wishes. Hutchins, a former Camerimage attendee, had privately expressed her aspiration to see her work screened at the festival. The director of Camerimage, Kazimierz Suwala, revealed in an interview before the festival that Baldwin was deliberately excluded from the invite list, fearing that his presence might detract from the solemn occasion. He also mentioned that "Halyna's Ukrainian mother plans to attend the screening if she manages to travel amid the ongoing war, which poses considerable challenges."
The Hollywood Reporter sought a comment from Camerimage regarding the statements made by Solovey and Allred but did not receive an immediate response. Additionally, THR reached out to the publicist representing the producers of 'Rust' for a statement on the matter.
