Who Was Halyna Hutchins? The Late ‘Rust’ Cinematographer’s Family, Life and Career

Death of cinematographer Halyne Hutchin on set rust in October 2021 shook the film industry.

Halyna died on October 21, 2021, after actor Alec Baldwin mistakenly fired a prop gun containing a “battle bullet” while filming a western at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. She was 42 years old.

After the fatal shooting on set, Halyn’s husband, Matthew, told Insider, “I don’t think there are words to describe the situation.” He continued, “I won’t be able to comment on the facts or the process we’re going through right now, but I appreciate that everyone has been very sympathetic. I think it’s going to take a while before we can really summarize her life in a way that’s easy to communicate.”

Baldwin also said at the time, “There are no words to express my shock and sadness at the tragic accident that took the life of Halyne Hutchins, our deeply cherished wife, mother and colleague.”

In the days following the incident, which also injured the film’s director, Joel Souza, a rust a crew member told PEOPLE how unsafe the filming environment was. They added that there were “many red flags” with gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (who is responsible for the supervision of the weapons) and noted that she did not keep the weapons “secure” and “locked up”.

In February 2022, Matthew sued Baldwin for wrongful death. The lawsuit was settled in October 2022.

On January 19, 2023, it was announced that Baldwin would face involuntary manslaughter charges for Halyna’s death.

“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the State of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and the other members rust film crew,” Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. “In my place, no one is above the law and everyone deserves justice.”

Baldwin was previously indicted on January 31, 2023. The film’s gunman, Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with two counts of manslaughter.

In February 2023, Halyn’s parents and sister filed their own lawsuit against Baldwin, alleging damages, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of consortium. Baldwin’s attorneys responded to the lawsuit, calling it “false” in court documents.

On April 20, 2023, criminal charges against Baldwin filed in January were officially dismissed.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” the actor’s lawyers said in a statement.

In June 2023, a New Mexico court approved a settlement agreement in Hutchins’ wrongful-death lawsuit. The approval means Hutchins’ son, Andros Hutchins, will receive compensation for his mother’s death.

A New Mexico grand jury indicted Alec again for manslaughter in January 2024. And a few months later, Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of the same charge. She faces up to 18 months in prison.

From her film career to her family of three, here’s everything you need to know about the late Halyna Hutchins.

She was from Ukraine

Fred Hayes/Getty

Halyna was born in Ukraine and grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle “surrounded by reindeer and nuclear submarines,” according to a biography on her website.

While Halyna eventually left for Los Angeles, her family remained in Ukraine. Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Halyn’s husband Matthew tweeted that her parents were “trapped” in Kiev.

“Halyn’s family is trapped in Kiev due to travel hazards,” Matthew wrote. “Her mother continues to work at the hospital where she has been a nurse for over a decade because her country needs her, but also because they cannot safely leave.”

At the time, Matthew’s lawyers confirmed to PEOPLE that Halyn’s sister and three-year-old niece had made it to the Romanian border and were trying to evacuate.

She was previously an investigative journalist

Halyna studied international journalism at Kyiv National University in Ukraine, where she graduated. She then worked with British documentary productions in Europe as an investigative journalist.

She graduated from the AFI Conservatory in 2015

Halyna Hutchins. James Gourley/Shutterstock

In 2015, Halyna graduated from the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles. Three years later, she became part of the “starting class” of the Fox DP Lab program, a partnership between 21st Century Fox and the American Film Institute. Halyna was one of the eight videographers who participated in the program.

The following year, Halyna was selected as one of America’s 2019 Rising Stars.

After her death in 2021, a representative of the American Film Institute chirped“As is the profound truth in the art of cinema, words alone cannot describe the loss of someone so dear to the AFI community. At AFI, we promise that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in well-told stories.”

She worked on several films

Joe Manganiello Instagram

During her career, Halyna worked on many films, including dear’ (2019), Blind fire (2020) and The Mad Hatter (2021). She also worked as cinematographer for the 2020 independent superhero film The greatest enemywhich starred Joe Manganiello.

The actor said he was “so happy” to have Halyna as his director of photography for the film. “She was an absolutely incredible talent and a great person. She had such an eye and visual style, she was the kind of cinematographer that you wanted to see succeed because you wanted to see what she could pull off next. She was a fantastic person. There was no pressure she didn’t deal with. could wear. She was a great collaborator and ally to anyone in front of her camera. Everyone who knew her was rooting for her,” he wrote on Instagram in October 2021.

She was a wife and a mother

Halyna Hutchins with her husband Matthew Hutchins and their son Andros. Matthew Hutchins/Instagram

Halyna and her husband, Matthew, first met while he was in college in South Carolina around 2005. She was in the United States on a student visa at the time and their paths crossed after class one spring day.

“I saw her and I was like, ‘Whoa, how do I talk to this girl?’ Matthew recalled during a February 2022 interview with Hod Kotb for Today. He asked for her phone number, but Halyna said she didn’t have one, so he told her where she worked instead. Halyna then visited Matthew at work and the pair began dating after that.

By January, they were married.

A friend of Halyn’s told PEOPLE in 2021 that the couple had “a beautiful partnership. . . .” [They] supported each other’s dreams.”

The couple later welcomed their first and only child together, Andros, who was 9 at the time of Halyna’s death. “She was a very joyful mother,” Matthew told Kotb of his late wife’s relationship with Andros.

Matthew also talked about how she would call Andros from almost every night rust movie set. “They would make a video, and she would do everything you as a mom could do to calm him down,” he said. “Just kiss him… I think it helped him sleep every night knowing she was thinking of him.”

Her husband described her as “incredibly ambitious”

Halyna Hutchins and family. Matthew Hutchins/Instagram

While speaking with Kotba, Matthew called his late wife “incredibly ambitious.”

“As soon as I met her, I saw her ambition and I felt like if I could have that ambition in my life, what could I achieve?” He said.

Later in the interview, Matthew said that Halyna was “very excited” to work on it rust. “We talked a lot about her career and when rust when she came, she knew it would be a springboard for her career,” he explained, adding, “She wanted to do a western. She made horror films and wanted to expand her repertoire.”

Halyna took to Instagram to share moments from her time filming the western, including pictures of the New Mexico sky as well as a cast photo. “One of the perks of shooting westerns is that you get to ride horses on your day off,” she captioned a clip of herself riding just two days before the fatal shooting.

AFI established a scholarship fund in her name

On October 22, 2021, Halyn’s alma mater established a memorial scholarship fund in her name to support female filmmakers. AFI said in a statement, according to Deadline, “We are committed to ensuring that Halyna Hutchins lives on in the spirit of all who pursue their dreams in well-told stories.”

The scholarship donation page reads: “As is the profound truth in the art of cinema, words alone cannot describe the loss of someone so dear to the AFI community. AFI, we promise that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in well-told stories.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education