New documentary on 'Rust' cinematographer Halyna Hutchins shifts focus from her life to be 'more about her death'

Nearly eight months after Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case tied to the shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was dismissed, a documentary purportedly focused on her life screened in West Hollywood, Calif.

Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna, directed by Rachel Mason, a friend of the late cinematographer, was shown on Tuesday to a mostly press and industry audience ahead of its March 11 premiere on Hulu. This comes as Baldwin is facing his own legal battles stemming from his role in Hutchins’s accidental death, as well as the recent debut of his TLC reality show The Baldwins, which features the actor alongside his wife, Hilaria, and their seven children.

The screening was followed by a panel with Mason, coproducer Julee Metz and Rust director Joel Souza, who was injured by the same bullet that killed Hutchins on the Rust set in October 2021. On the panel, Souza voiced his concern about the documentary’s focus.

“One thing I suppose I was a little surprised by was ... I hoped it might have a little more Halyna in it, or been a little more about Halyna,” Souza said.

Last Take, which has been authorized by Hutchins’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, gives viewers a glimpse of Hutchins using a combination of on-set footage, archival video, voice recordings and even text messages sent during the chaotic filming of the indie western starring Baldwin.

However, the film is less about Hutchins’s life as an up-and-coming filmmaker, wife and mother and mostly about her death and the criminal investigation and trials that followed — something Souza, who is interviewed in the film, took issue with.

Recalling past conversations with the documentary filmmakers, Souza said that he “could tell” that they were “under some pressures” to adjust the original intention of the film.

“I think we all know, anyone in this room who is a creative, what it’s like when the suits swoop in and put their hands all over your movie,” he continued, referring to producers and executives who oversee the production of films.

“Whoever the partners were that you took on in the beginning, what was it like? Did they try to protect Rachel’s vision?” he asked. “I’m curious how that went.”

While Souza’s question was arguably unusual for a screening environment, Metz didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Rachel had a very clear vision in the beginning to tell Halyna’s story of her life and her work. And some of her death, of course, because that’s where the story began, basically,” Metz said. “But over time, and as we gained new partners on this project, it became clear that there was a commercial value to the story of Rust, and that needed to be part of the story that we had to tell.”

She added, “So I think it became less about Halyna’s life and more about her death. But that’s what we ended up having to do.”

In addition to Metz, who produced for the production company Story Syndicate, and Mason’s Future Clown, Concordia Studio, Anonymous Content and Hulu have all been involved in the documentary’s production.

Representatives for Concordia Studio, Anonymous Content and Hulu did not immediately respond to Yahoo Entertainment’s requests for comment.

Souza’s response to the documentary comes as Baldwin is navigating both a civil lawsuit from three members of the Rust crew who allege that cost cutting endangered the cast and crew and that Baldwin skipped safety training, as well as a deposition from Hutchins’s parents and sister, who have filed a wrongful death suit against him.

Baldwin settled a civil lawsuit filed by Matthew, who was a plaintiff along with the couple’s young son, Andros, in February 2022. As a result, the lawsuit was dismissed, and Rust could continue filming with Matthew added as an executive producer. Andros would also be compensated for his mother’s death.

Rust began filming again in April 2023, with Bianca Cline (who was at the documentary screening) as the new cinematographer, and premiered in November 2024 at the Camerimage Film Festival in Toruń, Poland.

“This past year was so hard,” Baldwin said in an episode of The Baldwins, which premiered on Feb. 23. The series, which has received scathing reviews, was filmed ahead of his July 2024 trial.

In the series, Hilaria Baldwin mentioned her husband’s “mental health decline” along with PTSD from the shooting accident and a flare-up of his OCD.

That said, she also added, “Watching Alec and his pain in no way is it meant to compare with Halyna’s loss, with her son who has no mom. It breaks my heart.”

During introductory remarks before Last Take was shown, Mason shared personal stories about Hutchins and how they met through their sons’ preschool — some moments that weren’t captured in her own film about her friend.

“Halyna and I became really good friends, and for years when we dropped our kids off, we would go have coffee,” she said. “They were in day care and then they went to elementary school and I would see her pretty much every single day for like five years, and then we worked together and collaborated.”

Metz had a similar story: “My son and Halyna’s son and Rachel’s son all went to preschool together. So I met Halyna as a fellow mom,” Metz explained. “She was a cool mom and her husband was cool. So my husband hung out with her husband. Our kids would play. Our families would hang out a lot.”

Mason also said one story kept coming up among the people she interviewed for the film, something that spoke to Hutchins’s passion for her craft.

“When they would be driving with Halyna, she would tell them to pull over because she saw something that she had to shoot and film. And everyone had the same story of Halyna literally saying, ‘Pull over, pull over, we gotta get that right now,’” she explained.

“When multiple people say the exact same thing,” she added, “that’s when you realize that person had an absolute quality that was so unique.”

Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna premieres March 11 on Hulu.