Getty/Mega
RustThe failed film production marked by the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is not eligible for any of New Mexico’s film and television tax credits, despite the fact that the film was shot at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
Documents obtained by the AP show that the New Mexico Film Office issued a memo in January approving the film’s eligibility for the incentives. It’s unclear exactly why the application was denied. Those incentives could have been worth up to $1.6 million, the outlet said.
Hutchins was killed and Rust Director Joel Souza was injured on October 21, 2021, after the gun Baldwin pointed at the cameraman discharged a live round during a rehearsal at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. Baldwin, who has repeatedly said he did not pull the trigger, is set to go on trial next week for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the incident. Baldwin is also a producer on the indie film.
In the meantime, Rust still doesn’t have a US distributor.
RELATED: Gunmaker ‘Rust’ Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Death of Halyna Hutchins; ‘You Alone Turned a Safe Weapon Into a Deadly Weapon,’ Judge Says
An attorney representing Rust Movie Productions said the tax incentive was intended to fund a legal settlement between producers and Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, and her son. The elder Hutchins is an EP on the film.
“The denial of the tax deduction disrupted those financial arrangements,” Melina Spadone, an attorney for Rust Movie Productions, told the AP.