The footage shows Baldwin firing a gun and talking to crew on the set. Photo: Twitter/NBC
Footage has emerged of Hollywood star Alec Baldwin handling a prop gun during filming of the movie Rust, only days before a crew member was shot dead.
The videos, obtained by the US’s NBC News, appear to be raw footage from set of the Western where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in 2021.
It shows Baldwin firing a gun as he comes out of a shack and runs through a mountainous area surrounded by brush on the New Mexico set.
In another clip, the actor is shown interacting with the film crew, discussing his character’s movements, how the scene will be shot, and how he will act through it.
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In another scene, he is on his back, with a rifle next to him, speaking to the film crew.
“Now wait a second, if I am going to shoot right, do you want to go to the other side of the camera? I don’t want to shoot towards you,” Baldwin says.
The 30 Rock actor was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter in January for Hutchins’ death. The movie’s chief weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez faces the same charge and will be tried in 2024.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges against Baldwin in April after evidence emerged that the gun he used may have been modified, allowing it to fire without the trigger being pulled.
However, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey has since said she intends to recharge Baldwin following the results of independent testing that said he had to have pulled the trigger of the revolver he was rehearsing with for it to fire the live round that killed Hutchins.
The finding was the same as a previous FBI test on the firearm.
Morrissey said last month Baldwin’s case would be brought before a grand jury.
“After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza,” Morrissey and another prosecutor, Jason Lewis, said.
“We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
Baldwin has said he is not responsible for Hutchins’ death and he did not pull the trigger.
“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court,” Luke Nikas, a lawyer for Baldwin, said in a statement.
NBC said the videos that emerged on Thursday (US time) were among dozens that special prosecutors requested from Rust Movie Productions LLC several months ago.
The footage could be presented to the grand jury as evidence in the case.
Part of the police investigation focuses on how a live round of ammunition may have made it onto the movie set.
Neither Baldwin’s lawyers nor the special prosecutors have commented on the footage.
-with AAP