Alec Baldwin is seen firing a prop gun and speaking to crew members about safety precautions in behind-the-scenes “Rust” footage filmed days before the shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021, NBC News reported on Wednesday.
One of the videos obtained by NBC News shows Baldwin filming a scene: He comes out of a building, fires a prop gun several times and shouts “One more, one more!” and “Let’s reload.” Another video shows the actor lying on the ground with a prop gun as he directs someone behind a camera.
“Now wait a second, I’m going to shoot right ― do you want to go on the other side of the camera? I don’t want to shoot toward you,” he tells someone out of frame. When the take begins, Baldwin gets up, fires and runs away.
Other clips show Baldwin asking if a crew member is all right after they take a fall, and instructing someone off screen to watch where they walk on the uneven desert ground or they might break their “fucking neck.”
The footage, among videos that special prosecutors reportedly requested earlier this year, was released a day before a grand jury in New Mexico is set to meet to weigh recharging Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors dismissed the initial charges against Baldwin in April, but announced their intent to recharge him last month. Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
NBC News noted that it “isn’t clear” how much of the footage prosecutors reviewed.
On Oct. 21, 2021, a prop firearm held by Baldwin fired a live round, killing Hutchins and injuring “Rust” director Joel Souza.
The actor has maintained that he didn’t pull the trigger, while a forensic report released in August found “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
David Halls, the film’s assistant director, pleaded no contest in March to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation.
The trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges earlier this year, is set to start in February.