‘Rust’ Prosecutors Investigating Whether Alec Baldwin Undermined Set Safety

The legal battle involving the tragedy that unfolded on the set of the film Rust continues.

The production entity for the film must now turn over records that could indicate whether Alec Baldwin downplayed set safety. In other words, prosecutors want to know his financial stake to see if it could’ve motivated him to deny additional firearm training requested by the film’s armorer.

A judge ruled on Tuesday that the production has to produce documents to prosecutors, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Prosecutors are seeking documents between Rust Movie Productions, Alec Baldwin, and Baldwin’s production company El Dorado Pictures to examine the possibility that the actor stood to profit if he cut corners on set safety related to the use of guns.

If the production of documents discloses a budget cut was indeed taken, it could be a good thing for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged.

Gutierrez-Reed argued that she could not adequately perform her job due to the movie’s producers, who she says denied requests for additional firearm training for financial reasons.

In a statement, Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, said that Rust Movie Productions “needs to stop trying to hide the ball and needs to be transparent and forthcoming with information.”

“It begs the question, what are they hiding and why?” Bowles added.

Charges against Baldwin were dropped in April, but prosecutors previously said they could be refiled depending on the results of an investigation into whether the gun that discharged was modified.

A forensic expert issued a report in September that contradicted Baldwin’s account of the incident. He has vehemently denied pulling the trigger on the gun, the outlet reported.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey has focused on Baldwin’s role in Rust as a producer, saying he was intimately “involved in the development of the script and other aspects of the film.” She has also argued that his motives with respect to the production of the movie are relevant to the criminal case against Gutierrez-Reed because there may have been financial considerations that may have influenced some of his decisions on set safety, like denying additional firearm training.

“For example, Mr. Baldwin’s agreements likely require that he receive a certain amount of compensation for each day filming or for each day performing tasks related to filming, such as firearm training,” Morrissey wrote in a filing. “The State and Ms. Gutierrez should be permitted to explore whether Ms. Gutierrez’s requests were denied due to financial considerations and not due to safety or other reasonable considerations.”

According to prosecutors, Baldwin’s contracts may have provided that he receives a percentage of profits from Rust, “again demonstrating that financial gain may have impacted Ms. Gutierrez’s ability to perform her job as an armorer.”