Alec Baldwin has described the fatal "Rust" shooting and his subsequent manslaughter trial as "me at my worst" in the trailer for an upcoming documentary titled "The Trial of Alec Baldwin." The film, directed by Rory Kennedy, features the actor reflecting on the aftermath of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death in 2021 on the set of the Western film.
"When they told me she died, I was in shock. I was in disbelief," Baldwin, 68, says in the trailer. His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, is shown reacting to the intense media scrutiny surrounding the case, with one scene showing her telling him, "The paparazzi are already coming. You need to take the kids out of town."
The trailer also includes audio from someone on the street shouting at Baldwin, "You killed someone by accident. How do you feel?" Following footage related to his charging in Hutchins’ death, Baldwin states, "If you said to me, ‘Hike up Mount Everest and she’ll come back,’ I’d be packed and ready to go. Whatever I could do. But there’s nothing you could do."
Baldwin, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins' death and pleaded not guilty, expressed a desire for acquittal so he could move on with his life. "I want to be acquitted so I can walk out the door and everybody just leave me alone," he says. "I never dreamed of my life that this would come down to this."
At the end of the trailer, Baldwin remarks, "people who watch this will see so much of me at my worst." According to Variety, Kennedy began filming Baldwin in 2023 and had full access to his life throughout the trial.
Kennedy, sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told Variety that while she has "enormous empathy for Halyna and her family," she believes "there should be room to see how there can be more than one victim." She added, "There can be a spectrum of victims in different situations, and it’s important to have space for that."
Hutchins was killed on October 21, 2021, when a prop gun Baldwin was holding discharged on the "Rust" set in New Mexico. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident. Baldwin's manslaughter case was dismissed by a judge three days into his trial in July 2024.
Baldwin previously told The Hollywood Reporter in April that the shooting and trial had impacted him "in every way — financially, career-wise, my wife, my kids, my health," and that he had contemplated retiring from acting. "The Trial of Alec Baldwin" is scheduled to be released in theaters on October 16.