Halyna Hutchins, 42, died Thursday of an accidental shooting by actor Alec Baldwin with a prop gun while filming the movie
Rust
in New Mexico.
She was a cinematographer little known to the general public but with a promising future in Hollywood and a lot of talent, according to her colleagues.
His works include
independent films
, such as
Archenemy
(2020),
Blindfire
(2020) and
The Mad Hatter
(2021).
Hutchins agents highlighted her "immense talent" in an email sent to NBC News: "Everyone in her orbit knew what was coming: a star cinematographer."
Filmmaker Adam Egypt Mortimer, who directed
Archenemy
, praised his potential and said it augured a bright future for him in Hollywood.
[What are prop weapons, why are they so dangerous, and what could have gone wrong for Alec Baldwin to fire one fatally]
"I think he was going to be a very famous person," he told the Los Angeles Times.
"After doing
Archenemy
, people would call me saying, 'She did a good job. We're thinking of proposing her for something.' She was building a reputation.
She was showing people what she could do,
" he explained.
Hutchins was born in 1979 in Ukraine and
grew up on a Soviet Union base in the Arctic
, according to various media outlets.
Before moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of his dream of cinema, he worked as an investigative journalist on British documentaries, according to the aforementioned newspaper.
In 2015 she graduated from the American Film Institute and in 2019 was selected as a rising star by the American Cinematographers Association.
Baldwin said he was "heartbroken" for Hutchins' husband and son, to whom he has offered his support in coping with his loss.
The death of the cinematographer brought to mind the death of Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, at the age of 28 during the 1993 filming of
The Raven
after being
hit by a .44 caliber bullet
.
The weapon was not supposed to fire any projectile, but the autopsy found a bullet lodged near his spine.
"Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all those involved in the
Rust
incident
. No one should be killed by a gun on a film set," said Shannon Lee, Bruce's daughter on Twitter. Read.
The film industry, in shock
The production company in charge of the film, Rust Movie Productions LLC, confirmed that
filming has been suspended indefinitely
and that the entire team is "devastated."
"The entire cast and crew have been absolutely devastated by today's tragedy and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna's family and loved ones," the company said in a statement.
"We will offer
psychological help
to all people related to the film as we work to digest this horrible event," he added.
Santa Fe County authorities respond to the scene of an accidental fatal shooting on a film set in Bonanza Creek Ranch, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021.Luis Sanchez-Saturno / AP
The cinematographers union, to which Hutchins belonged, said the details of the accident "were not clear" yet.
"But we are working to find out more and we
support a full investigation
of this tragic event. It is a terrible loss and we regret the death of a family member of our union," he said.
Actor Joe Manganiello said he felt lucky to have been able to work with Hutchins on
Archenemy.
"
I can't believe this can happen these days. Can a prop pistol shoot kill a team member?" He asked on Twitter.
Filming for
Rust
was scheduled until early November
, according to a statement from the New Mexico film office, which in October reported that the film's team consisted of 22 actors, 75 technicians and more than 230 extras.
During the days of filming
Rust he
shared several photographs on Instagram, one of them with a letter that said: "One of the best parts of recording
westerns
is having mornings like this."