'Rust' Director Joel Souza Admits He Has 'No Relationship' With Alec Baldwin After Fatal Shooting
"Rust" director Joel Souza is setting the record straight on his relationship with Alec Baldwin, who was the star of his Western film.
On October 21, 2021, a gun that the "30 Rock" actor was holding on set went off, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Souza, who was standing directly behind Hutchins, was also shot and hospitalized as a result of the incident.
Still, he was able to go on to finish filming "Rust" in the spring of 2023 after moving operations from New Mexico to Montana. However, the fatal shooting seems to have changed his relationship with Alec Baldwin, as he now insists that the two have "no relationship."
Joel Souza Recalls What It Felt Like To Be Shot On The 'Rust' Set
While rehearsing a scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, a gun that Alec Baldwin was holding went off. The bullet struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and led to Joel Souza's hospitalization. When speaking about the shooting to Vanity Fair, Souza said "It's bizarre to have been shot," adding, “And then, who was holding the gun? That’s bizarre. I had this weird thought, like, ‘God, I remember watching 'The Hunt for Red October’ in the movie theater when I was a kid. It’s like your older self whispers to your younger self, ‘Hey, that guy…someday…’”
He also went on to describe how the gunshot “felt like a horse kicked me in the shoulder or someone hit me with a bat.”
“The whole right side of my body went numb, completely numb, but it also hurt excruciatingly at the same time, if that makes sense,” he continued. “It’s just like everything went tingly and numb but hurt like hell all at once. And I staggered back and was either on my knees or on my ass — and just…yelling. I don’t even know what the hell I was yelling.”
'Rust' Director Says He Did Not Feel Grateful To Be Alive Following Fatal Shooting
Even though he survived the shooting, Joel Souza revealed that the bullet “missed my lung by this much. It stopped about that far away from my spine, fortunately. It was bulging out into the skin, so it created a big bump.” However, when interviewer Anthony Breznican said that he must be grateful to be alive, Souza responded, “No, I wasn’t.”
“I remember specifically going to sleep that night and hoping I didn’t wake up the next morning,” he explained. “I hoped I would just bleed out overnight because I didn’t want to be around anymore. It was a very difficult moment. I remember just thinking, 'Maybe I’ll just sort of bleed to death — that would suit me just fine.'”
The shooting led to first assistant director Dave Halls pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, which resulted in his probation. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter 18 months behind bars in March. In July, Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed after Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that the prosecution had worked with law enforcement officials to conceal evidence.
Joel Souza Does Not Think Justice Was Served
When asked if he thought "justice was served" for Halyna Hutchins, Souza replied, “I don’t know, and I don’t know what that even is anymore — I’ll be very honest with you about that,” adding, “No one feels good about someone going to jail. If you feel good about that, take a hard look in the mirror.”
The director also made it clear that he does not have an opinion as to whether or not the prosecution was right to press charges against Alec Baldwin.
“Does it matter if I think it’s fair or not? There is an argument that says, if he checks it and starts fiddling around with it, he’s creating a safety issue. And then there is another thing that says, it’s common sense, Jesus Christ. Be careful with this godd-mn thing,” he said. “So I don’t know anymore, to be honest with you. The charges got filed. That’s what they decided to do. Was he overcharged? I don’t know.”
Joel Souza Decided To Finish The Film For Halyna Hutchins' Family
Even though he did return to complete the film, Souza admitted that “there was a very long period of time where I thought I was just done ever doing this for a living.” However, he made the decision to return to benefit Halyna Hutchins' family.
“I knew that the movie being finished would financially benefit Halyna’s family, which is very important to me,” he explained. “And I know this can sound trite for people who aren’t creative, but her last work matters. People seeing her last work matters. That was the tipping point for me in the decision.”
Cinematographer Bianca Cline took over for the late Hutchins and the scene inside the church where she died was cut from the film.
“Everything needed to be entirely reconceived there,” Souza said. “There were a few things that came before that now wouldn’t make story sense. So we just sort of eliminated it and came up with something entirely different."
"I don’t want anyone who ever does see this to be waiting for that," he added. "No one ever pushed to keep anything like that.”
'Rust' Director Talks Relationship With Alec Baldwin Now: 'We're Not Friends. We're Not Enemies'
After the fatal shooting in New Mexico, production moved to Montana in the spring of 2023. When asked about his relationship with Alec Baldwin in Montana, Souza confessed, “Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship.”
Although the movie has been finished, Souza admits that it has yet to be shopped to distributors contrary to some reports. But when the movie does get released, he hopes that audiences will remember the talent she provided instead of the tragedy that took her life.
“As a cinematographer, Halyna should have been out of my reach if this business made any sense, but it doesn’t,” Souza said. “She should have been doing big studio movies. She should have outgrown a movie the size of ours. She should have been doing $100 million movies, not $7.5 million movies. Anybody who worked with her knew what she had and what she was.”