A lawsuit has been filed against ‘Rust’ star Alec Baldwin and the film’s producers over the fatal shooting, which took place on the sets, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
As per Variety, the script supervisor on ‘Rust’ filed the lawsuit against Baldwin and the film’s producers on Wednesday, saying she suffered both “physical and emotional” injuries when Baldwin accidentally shot the film’s cinematographer while preparing for a scene. Mamie Mitchell filed the suit in the Los Angeles Superior Court and is represented by attorney Gloria Allred. In the complaint, she stated that she was standing just four feet from Baldwin when the gun went off.
“Plaintiff was terrified and feared for her life. The gunshot caused Plaintiff to experience pain in her ears and head and, shortly thereafter, Plaintiff began to hear loud ringing in her ears. Soon after, Plaintiff witnessed the horror of what had occurred,” the suit stated.
The lawsuit also alleged that Baldwin should have checked the gun to make sure it was unloaded and also accused the producers of cost-cutting measures that led to the incident.
The suit also cited a text message from the film’s camera operator, in which he complained of two accidental discharges on the set prior to the October 21 shooting. Mitchell was the first to call 911 after the incident.
“I’ll never forget what happened on the set of ‘Rust’ that day. This violent tragedy has taken away the joy of my life… I never want what happened on our set to ever happen to anyone else,” Mitchell said at a press conference.
The lawsuit is the second to be filed in the ‘Rust’ tragedy. Serge Svetnoy, the film’s gaffer, filed a separate claim last week, stating that he, too, was in close proximity to Baldwin when the shot was fired and also suffered physical and emotional harm.
Mitchell’s suit stated claims of assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and deliberate infliction of harm.
In addition to Baldwin and the film’s producers, the suit also names several crew members as defendants, including armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and first assistant director Dave Halls.
The producers and executive producers named in the suit are Ryan Donnell Smith, Allen Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Matt DelPiano, Anjul Nigam, Emily Salveson, Jennifer Lamb and Chris M.B. Sharp.
Filming on ‘Rust’ has been halted and an investigation into the October 21 incident is ongoing. No charges have been filed yet.
