Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for September 7
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Rust Movie Productions has denied liability in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hutchins died when a gun held by Alec Baldwin fired while practicing a shot for the film "Rust" on the New Mexico movie set Oct. 21. The group had been rehearsing in a small church on the set.
Rust Movie Productions claimed it wasn't responsible for Hutchins' death because it was not the employer in charge of supervising the set. The company argued it relied on independent contractors, including armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
The company emphasized Gutierrez Reed was "singularly responsible for all tasks associated with the use of firearms and ammunition," according to the filing obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on Oct. 21 after a gun Alec Baldwin was holding fired on the set of "Rust." The actor was practicing a shot for a scene in a small church. (Getty Images)
Gutierrez Reed was also responsible for being sure that "RMP’s express prohibition against the presence of live ammunition was strictly followed, ensuring that only blanks were used when called for by the script, and that only dummy rounds were used," Rust Movie Productions argued.
The appeal comes after a New Mexico safety agency claimed Rust Movie Productions knew about the lack of safety on the set of "Rust." The agency fined the production company $136,793, the highest level of citation possible.
A lawyer for Gutierrez Reed did not respond to Fox News Digital's immediate request for comment.
Baldwin deflected blame from himself in a recent interview. He claimed "every single person" on the set of "Rust" knows who to blame for the tragic death of Hutchins.
"I know that every single person on the set of the film knows what happened, and the people who are talking loudest about what happened or speculating about what happened were not on the set of the film," Baldwin told Chris Cuomo during an appearance on his podcast.
Baldwin called out specific media outlets for harping on the shooting, including the L.A. Times and The Hollywood Reporter.
"They are talking on and on and on about what if this and what if that and have dined out on this and the thing that they have in common is nobody was there."
"Everybody who were there, they know exactly what happened," Baldwin concluded. "They know exactly who's to blame."
Alec Baldwin makes a gun with his fingers while speaking with investigators following the "Rust" movie shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead. (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
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Baldwin also pointed to Gutierrez Reed and assistant director Dave Halls, who both handled the firearm before it fired.
"The man who is the principal safety officer of the set of the film declared the gun was safe when he handed it to me," Baldwin told Cuomo, seemingly referring to Halls.
"The man who was the principal safety officer of the film declared in front of the entire assemblage, ‘This is a cold gun.’ Now, why did he say that if he didn’t know and hadn’t checked? The point is we were told everything was cool and you can relax and we are working with a gun that is safe to rehearse with."
The actor has maintained that he did not know there was a live round in the gun.
The sheriff's office has been waiting on the FBI forensics report and text messages from Baldwin's phone – which were requested by the department in December – before sending their investigative report to the District Attorney's Office.
"The District Attorney’s office has been working with Suffolk County PD, and Baldwin’s lawyer to acquire the phone records," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a recent statement. "Once Suffolk County PD completes its agency assist and sends those records to New Mexico law enforcement, our detectives will need to then thoroughly review those phone records for evidentiary purposes."
The sheriff's office also received the New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) report. The report ruled the "Rust" shooting an accident.
"The critical report is the one from the medical examiner, who concluded that this was a tragic accident," Baldwin attorney Luke Nikas told Fox News Digital. "This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was ‘cold,’ and believed the gun was safe."
Halyna Hutchins is survived by her husband Matthew Hutchins and their son. (Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP)
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Once the phone records are obtained, and the official OMI and forensic reports are reviewed, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's investigative case will be sent to the district attorney for review and ultimately final charging decisions.
Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.
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