Days after wrapping Rust, Alec Baldwin is being slammed on Twitter after lining up a new movie role.
Baldwin recently wrapped production on Rust, 18 months after he accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set in October 2021.
Sharing a selfie on Instagram, Baldwin wrote: “God, it felt good to shave off that beard…” - and many of his fans congratulated him for making it through an incredibly tough year and a half.
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The Glengarry Glen Ross actor had been holding a gun on the film set which accidentally discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin was slapped with two involuntary manslaughter charges and accused of ‘many instances of extremely reckless acts’ by authorities - but last month all criminal charges against the actor were dropped.
Rust resumed filming back in April, with Hutchins’ widow Matthew acting as an executive producer - and now the film is looking for a buyer at the Cannes Film Festival, having yet to secure a North American distribution deal.
Though Baldwin has reached a deal with Matthew Hutchins, he is still facing a civil lawsuit from Halyna’s family, who insist he ‘cannot escape responsibility’ for her death despite the criminal charges being dropped.
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Rust’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is also still facing a criminal involuntary manslaughter charge, and her lawyer has indicated that she intends to plead not guilty.
Baldwin is now presumably looking to put the horrific incident behind him, but he’s been facing intense backlash after news of his upcoming film broke.
Kent State, which is currently in pre-production, centres on a brutal incident on May 4, 1970 where four students were shot by the National Guard during a campus protest against the Vietnam War.
Jeffrey Miller, Allison Krause, William Schroeder and Sandra Scheuer were all fatally shot, while nine more students were injured.
The tragedy triggered nationwide student strikes, with hundreds of colleges and universities forced to close.
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The film will be the directorial debut of Karen Slade, who also wrote the screenplay.
And many cinephiles couldn’t help but draw parallels between the film’s subject matter and Hutchins’ death.
One wrote: “This casting is just in appallingly bad taste.”
Another said: “Tone deaf.”
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A third added: “Well we found the movie makers who have been living under a rock for the last two years.”
A fourth said: “Hey Alec, how about a safe comedy.”
Only time will tell if moviegoers will overlook the parallels with Hutchins’ death when the film eventually hits theatres.
UNILAD has contacted a representative for Alec Baldwin for comment.
Topics: Alec Baldwin, Film and TV, Celebrity