Actor and producer Alec Baldwin doubled down on his defense of working conditions on the movie “Rust” by sharing on Tuesday what appeared to be social media posts of a crew member who said complaints on set have been overblown.
Baldwin, who fired the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, shared seven screenshots of comments that appear to have been posted by Terese Magpale Davis, a Georgia-based costume designer who worked on the movie. The context of the comments — to whom Davis was writing, and whether Baldwin was reposting her comments with her knowledge or approval — was unclear.
In the comments, first reported by Deadline, Davis defended the producers of the beleaguered western as well as the two crew members at the center of the investigation, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls.
“Our AD never seemed flippant about safety,” Davis wrote, adding later: “Am I angry with him? Yes. But I won’t jump on the bandwagon and pretend he was uncaring about our safety the whole way through.”
Advertisement
Entertainment & Arts
Everything we know so far about the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ set
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars, was killed on the set of ‘Rust.’ Here’s everything we know so far.
Davis did not immediately respond to The Times’ efforts to verify that the post was hers. Baldwin also was not immediately available for comment.
Baldwin’s reposting of a colleague’s apparent defense of the movie comes after Baldwin publicly fielded questions about the tragedy for the first time this week. Addressing photographers in Vermont, he described the “Rust” team as “a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together” in New Mexico. Assistant director Halls also addressed Hutchins’ death, issuing a statement that said the movie industry needed to “reevaluate its values and practices.”
In response to reports that cost-conscious producers created an unsafe work environment, the posting attributed to Davis said the crew never worked more than 12？ hour days. She said the camera crew, whom The Times reported walked out because of pay, safety and housing issues, were provided hotel rooms. “They just didn’t feel like they were fancy enough,” Davis wrote. After the camera crew walked, non-union replacements were brought in.
The comments attributed to Davis described the producers of the movie, which include Baldwin, as having worked tirelessly alongside the crew. “Maybe before you send those letters telling the Thomasville producers what you think of them for hiring non union you might want to wait and find out what the majority of those of us who worked with them actually feel about them,” she wrote. Among the producers of the movie are the founders of Georgia-based production company Thomasville Pictures, led by “Rust” executive producer Allen Cheney and producer Ryan Smith.
The posting suggested that a union representative told the production “not to give in to the camera crew because they were demanding things the union does not require.”
As for the relative inexperience of the armorer, Gutierrez Reed, Davis said, “I’ll fight to have our armorers have higher standards they must pass to be in that position where they hold all of our lives in their hands. But I’m not okay with using her to be the poster child for better hours.”
Davis said she will never get the sound of the gunshot or the screams of director Joel Souza out of her head.
“Maybe you could just not be one more person with a pitchfork in a mob that has no idea what you’re talking about,” she wrote, “because you weren’t there.”
Julia Wick contributed to this report.
Newsletter
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
Enter email address
Sign Me Up
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.