(NewsNation) — The movie “Rust” is scheduled to resume production this week, 16 months after a cinematographer was fatally shot on set by actor Alec Baldwin.
The film is scheduled to resume principal photography Thursday at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana.
“The production will continue to utilize union crew members and will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition,” Melina Spadone an attorney for Rust Movie Productions, said in a statement. “Live ammunition is — and always was — prohibited on set.”
Production has been halted since October 2021 when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza were shot during a rehearsal in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin was holding the gun at the time and maintains he never pulled the trigger on the Colt .45-caliber revolver.
The gun, which was not required to be fired in the scene, had been loaded with live ammunition. Hutchins died from her injuries, while Souza survived.
Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, have been charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors in a probable cause affidavit detailed a lack of training along with failure to follow industry-standard safety procedures on set.
That included Baldwin’s failure to attend mandatory firearms training, guns being left unattended on set and a failure by crew members to perform two safety checks that would prove a gun was unloaded before using it on set.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and a judge ruled he can continue working on the film but must have limited contact with potential witnesses.
The involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin, a lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” and Gutierrez-Reed are punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.
NewsNation writer Stephanie Whiteside and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
