Alec Baldwin looks back on the aftermath of Halyna Hutchins' death in a new documentary, "The Trial of Alec Baldwin," directed by Rory Kennedy. The first footage from the film was released publicly, showing the actor discussing what he went through after the cinematographer was killed on the set of the Western film Rust in New Mexico on October 21, 2021, when a gun he was holding discharged.
Baldwin, 68, was later tried for involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins' death, though the charges against him were ultimately dropped. In the documentary he said that when he was told she had died, he was in shock and could not believe it.
His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, also appears in the footage trying to manage the intense media attention surrounding the case. She is shown telling him the paparazzi were already on their way and that he needed to take their children and leave town. In another scene, someone is heard shouting at Baldwin on the street, asking how it felt to have killed someone by accident.
Baldwin on wanting Hutchins back
Following scenes covering the charges filed against him over Hutchins' death, Baldwin said that if someone had told him to climb Mount Everest and she would come back, he would have already packed his things and been ready to go. He added that he would have done anything he could, but that there was nothing that could be done.
The actor also revisited his 2024 trial, which ended in his favor. He said in the documentary that he wanted to be acquitted so he could walk out the door and have everyone leave him alone, adding that he never imagined in his life that things would end up where they did. Toward the end of the trailer, Baldwin said that people who watch the documentary will see many moments of him at his worst.
Director's full access during the trial
According to Variety, Rory Kennedy began filming Baldwin in 2023 and had full access to the actor's life throughout the course of the trial. Kennedy, a documentary filmmaker, said the story was a difficult one to tell because Hutchins was the victim at its center, and that she felt enormous empathy for Hutchins and her family, drawing on her own experiences as well.
She added that she believed there needed to be room to recognize that a story like this can involve more than one victim, saying there can be a spectrum of victims in different situations and that it was important to make space for that too.
Background to the Rust shooting
Baldwin is an Emmy-winning actor best known for his role on "30 Rock" and his recurring impression of Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live." Hutchins was the director of photography on Rust, a low-budget Western that was filming in New Mexico when she was fatally shot after a revolver Baldwin was rehearsing with, which was supposed to contain no live rounds, discharged. Her death led to a lengthy legal process involving Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and the film's production, before the manslaughter case against Baldwin was dismissed in 2024.
