Rust Movie Productions, LLC, the company behind the troubled western where a cinematographer was killed, has reached a settlement with New Mexico's Health and Safety Bureau.
As part of the deal, the New Mexico Environment Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau agreed to downgrade its citation of the production from "willful-serious" to "serious" and reduce the penalty it levied from its maximum of $136,793 to $100,000, Rust Movie Productions said Friday.
"Our top priority has always been resuming production and completing this film so we can honor the life and work of Halyna Hutchins," said Melina Spadone, Senior Counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Attorney for Rust Movie Productions, LLC. "Settling this case rather than litigating is how we can best move forward to achieve that goal."
The settlement brings to an end a battle with the government agency after it said the film's managers "demonstrated plain indifference" to employee safety after actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal in Oct. 2021, according to authorities. Director Joel Souza also was injured.
The agency said procedures were not being followed on set and management failed to review work practices and take corrective action.
Rust Productions had denied the allegations of wrongdoing. The production is planning to resume filming of the western this spring in Montana.
On Thursday, Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges in New Mexico.
