Joel Souza, the filmmaker struck by the bullet that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust,” slammed actor Alec Baldwin in a rare interview published Monday.
Souza opened up about his decision to move forward with filming after the on-set tragedy and made it clear that he has no ties to Alec Baldwin in a rare interview with The Guardian.
“Talk about the butterfly effect,” he said. “I wish I never wrote the damn movie”.
“You think about the chain of events that started that morning [of the shooting]. Bad decision after bad decision was made,” the filmmaker told the outlet.
Souza went on to separate himself from Baldwin by stating that he refused to watch the actor’s reality television show, “The Baldwins.”
“I think I was busy hitting myself in the face with a frying pan that night [it aired],” Souza said.
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: A still from a video clip featuring Alec Baldwin shown during the involuntary manslaughter trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed at the First Judicial District Courthouse on February 29, 2024 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gutierrez-Reed, who was working as the armorer on the movie “Rust” when a revolver actor Alec Baldwin was holding fired killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. (Photo by Gabriela Campos-Pool/Getty Images)
He told Vanity Fair in August 2024 that he and the famous actor didn’t have a relationship outside of the film. “Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship,” he said at the time.
The director admitted to The Guardian that his decision to return to the set after the shooting was a difficult one. He was wounded by the same bullet that struck and killed Hutchins, and although Baldwin’s charges of involuntary manslaughter were dismissed, the situation was emotional for all involved.
A photo of Serge Svetnoy and Halyna Hutchins is displayed after a press conference with attorney Gary Dordick (not pictured) and Serge Svetnoy, chief lighting technician for the film Rust, about a lawsuit filed after the fatal shooting on the film Rust during a press conference on November 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. – US actor Alec Baldwin is being sued by a “Rust” crew member over the fatal on-set shooting of a cinematographer last month, lawyers said Wednesday. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Souza explained the reason for his return.
“[Hutchins’ family] wanted it completed,” he told The Guardian.
“I’d been repelled by the thought of going back, but now it started to appeal. And I couldn’t live with the idea of someone else doing it,” Souza said.
A US flag flies at the entrance to the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set, where a crew member was fatally shot during production of the western film “Rust”, is seen on October 28, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. – The man who handed Alec Baldwin the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins admitted he didn’t fully check it, documents revealed on October 27, as the sheriff investigating the fatal shooting spoke of “complacency” on the US movie set. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
“I was a mess going in and a mess coming out,” he said.
“The crew carried me through. My family carried me through. Emotionally, I was all over the map.” (RELATED: ‘Correctile Dysfunction’: Alec Baldwin’s Wife Doubles Down On Public Emasculation)
Cinematographer Bianca Cline took over filming where Hutchins left off.
Set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is serving an 18-month prison sentence.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
