Stakes in ‘Rust’ case stay put
Prosecutors dropped the possibility of a sentence enhancement that could have carried a mandatory five-year sentence against Alec Baldwin ina fatal film-set shooting, according to new court filings made public Monday.
The actor-producer’s attorneys had earlier objected to the enhancement, saying it was unconstitutional because it was added after the October 2021 shooting.
“The prosecutors committed a basic legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statue that did not exist on the date of the accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys said in an earlier court filing.
Baldwin’s attorney declined to comment.
Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the film “Rust,” were charged last month with felony involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Authorities said Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Hutchins’ parents and sister have filed a lawsuit over the shooting after a similar suit filed by her husband and son was settled.
Production is expected to resume this spring on “Rust” after it was halted following the shooting. Rust Movie Productions said Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, will be the film’s new executive producer with Blanca Cline as the new cinematographer.
Rust Movie Productions said last week a related documentary will detail the completion of the film and the life of Halyna
Hutchins.
Souza will return as director when production resumes.
— Associated Press
Award for ‘Daniels’ directing duo
The Directors Guild of America gave its top prize for feature-film directing Saturday night to Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan for their sci-fi hit, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” starring Michelle Yeoh as the unlikely savior of an embattled multiverse. It is only the third time in DGA history that a duo has won the best-director prize.
“What the hell?” Kwan said while accepting their prize at the ceremony, held in Beverly Hills.
Scheinert, who said months ago that he had never expected their unusual film to become a major awards contender, was similarly stunned.
“Everything Everywhere” is the second film co-directed by Scheinert and Kwan.
Scheinert and Kwan triumphed over stiff competition, including Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”), who is the most honored filmmaker in
DGA history, with 13 nominations and three wins. The other nominees were Todd Field (“Tár”), Martin Mcdonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”).
Although no women were nominated in the feature-directing race, the DGA award for documentary filmmaking went to Sara Dosa for “Fire of Love,” about volcanoobsessed scientists. And the DGA prize for the best first-time filmmaker went to Charlotte Wells for the father-daughter drama “Aftersun,” which received an Oscar nomination for lead actor Paul Mescal.
Lemon comment has repercussions
Amid ongoing criticism over his comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Don Lemon was absent Monday from “CNN This Morning.” Co-host Poppy Harlow told viewers that “Don has the day off.”
Lemon has not been on the air since Thursday, when during a discussion on “CNN This Morning ” about the ages of politicians he said that the
51-year-old Haley was not “in her prime.”
A woman, he said, was considered in her prime “in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”
Lemon has since apologized, but he has been widely condemned, including by CNN CEO Chris Licht.
Ski accident leads to royal surgery
Princess Beatrix,
the 85-year-old former Dutch queen, has undergone surgery after breaking her wrist in a skiing accident, the Royal House announced Monday.
The accident happened last Friday and the princess “has undergone surgery for the break and returned to the Netherlands,” the Royal House said in a statement, adding that she is “otherwise in good health and will recover at home.”
Beatrix reigned for 33 years until abdicating in favor of her son, Willemalexander, in 2013.