Halyna Hutchins laid to rest; Alec Baldwin speaks out about final shot that left ‘Rust’ cinematographer dead

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Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was laid to rest at a private funeral in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Friday. The service was attended by crew members of the film Rust, on which she was accidentally and fatally shot by star Alec Baldwin.

Investigators say a live round had been chambered in the weapon, and went unnoticed by the crew.

The U.K. Mirror reports Baldwin himself was in attendance at the service, as was Halyna’s family, including husband Matthew, and their nine-year-old son Andros.

There was also a candlelight vigil for Hutchins in Albuquerque over the weekend, attended by friends and fellow members of her showbiz union.

On Sunday, paparazzi caught up with Baldwin in Vermont, where he, along with his wife Hilaria, stopped to address them. To their surprise, Baldwin made his first on-air comments about the incident, which left Hutchins dead and wounded director Joel Souza

“She was my friend!” Baldwin pleaded with the reporters, recording their interaction with a cellphone, as was his wife.

About the incident, Baldwin insisted, “I’ve been ordered by the sheriff’s department in Santa Fe. I can’t answer any questions about the investigation. I can’t.”

Calling the incident “a one in a trillion episode,” Baldwin insisted that contrary to reports, the Rust crew was “a very well-oiled machine.” 

The incident prompted a push for non-lethal weapons to be used as props on film sets.

“I’m not an expert in this field,” the actor admitted, “So whatever other people decide is the best way to go, in terms of protecting people’s safety on film sets, I’m all in favor of and I will cooperate with that in any way that I can.”

When asked if he thought Rust would move forward, Baldwin said, “I doubt it.”

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