Alec Baldwin's brother Billy defends the release of Rust three years after fatal tragedy

Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin has spoken out in support of his brother Alec Baldwin ahead of the premiere of the controversial film Rust which claimed the life of a cast member

Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin has defended the upcoming premiere of the film Rust, three years after his brother Alec Baldwin was involved in the shooting of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

The controversial film, is set to debut at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in Poland during November, comes three years after Halyna's tragic death. At the time, production of the western based film was placed on hold in 2021 when a prop gun, that was held by actor Alec went off, killing Halyna and injuring director Joel Souza.

The film will now appear in its first screening at the 2024 festival. In support of his older brother, who is the lead in Rust, he said at the premiere of Americans With No Address, he told TMZ: "I think it's great, because my understanding is, it was the wishes of the family that they could go because they wanted the public to see her last work."

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He added: "They wanted to honor her by having her work finished and having her work seen." The movie ended filming in May last year and it has been reported by Deadline, that the Ukrainian born cinematographer was keen to have the film at the film festival, before her tragic death.

It remains unknown if Alec himself will appear at the event but Billy has already revealed that he is unable to attend due to work commitments. Alec's trial of involuntary manslaughter was thrown out of court after a judge ruled that evidence had been mishandled. He reportedly asked the court to deny the prosecution's request to re-evaluate the dismissal of the case as the prosecution had not revealed any new evidence.

Festival director Marek Zydowicz said in a released statement: "During the festival, we honored Halyna's memory with a moment of silence and a panel of cinematographers discussed safety on set. Now, once again, together with cinematographers and film enthusiasts, we will have this special opportunity to remember her."

At the time, Alec repeatedly said that he didn't pull the trigger or know why it had contained live ammunition. Alec previously said: "There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now. To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family." On completion of the film last year, Alec shared with fans: "It's been a long and difficult road. But we reach the end of the trail today." Camerimage runs from November 16-23."

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