Alec Baldwin’s film “Rust” is expected to resume filming this spring, relocating to Big Sky Country.
Filming of the western was halted after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set in October 2021 at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin, who acts in the film and is a producer, faces a recently reduced criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter in New Mexico.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also faces a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death.
According to the Livingston Enterprise, filming of “Rust” will take place at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Pray, Montana, which is near Livingston.
The Western-style film ranch, which opened two years ago, features nearly 30 structures and buildings, such as a saloon, bank, church, livery, jail and tobacco shop, the Enterprise reported.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Hutchins, Halyna Hutchins’ widower, is an executive producer on “Rust” in addition to a documentary on his late wife’s life.
Several westerns have filmed at Yellowstone Film Ranch, including “Murder at Yellowstone City” and “The Old Way,” starring Nicolas Cage, it reported. The set was built after Montana passed tax incentives offering sizable tax credits to productions in the state.
According to the Montana Film Office, the state extends a 20% transferable income tax credit on production expenditures in the state with additional amounts that can increase the credit up to 35%.
Earlier this week, criminal charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were downgraded to a single count each of involuntary manslaughter, a fourth-degree felony that carries a possible sentence of 18 months in prison, according to an NPR report.
Prosecutors dropped a firearm enhancement, which extends prison sentences when firearms are involved in the commission of a crime.
Baldwin was allegedly holding a Colt .45-caliber pistol that fired a live round, killing Hutchins during a rehearsal. He has maintained that Hutchins’ death was a tragic accident, saying he didn’t intentionally fire the weapon and he was unaware that it held live ammunition, NPR reported.