- "Rust" script supervisor Mamie Mitchell sued Alec Baldwin and others who worked on the movie set.
- The lawsuit says the movie script never called for Baldwin to fire a gun in the first place.
- Mitchell had called 911 after the bullet fired by Baldwin killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The script supervisor on the set of "Rust" filed a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin on Wednesday, alleging the movie script never required the actor to fire the shot that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
"Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm," the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell was standing four feet away when Baldwin fired the Colt .45 revolver and suffered injuries herself. It names armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, assistant director David Halls, and several other individuals and production companies involved in the movie as co-defendants. The details of the lawsuit were first revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
Baldwin discharged the gun on October 21 while filming the Western movie in New Mexico, killing Hutchins and injuring the movie's director, Joel Souza.
Mitchell called 911 and blamed Halls, who yelled "cold gun" before handing it to Baldwin, an indication that it wasn't loaded with a live round.
"This fucking AD that yelled at me at lunch asking about revisions, this motherfucker," Mitchell said, according to the 911 call transcript, appearing to be in conversation with someone who was not on the call. "He's supposed to check the guns. He's responsible for what happened."
According to Mitchell's lawsuit, the movie script for that scene did not call for Baldwin to fire a gun at all.
"The third [camera shot] would focus on DEFENDANT BALDWIN's torso as he reached his hand down to the holster and removed the gun," the lawsuit says. "There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by DEFENDANT BALDWIN or by any other person."
Mitchell retained Gloria Allred as an attorney to represent her in the suit. Allred said at a press conference Wednesday that Mitchell has not worked since the "Rust" shooting, and that the incident has ruined her 40-year career.
The lawsuit, filed in state court in Los Angeles and viewed by Insider, goes on to say that Baldwin should not have depended on anyone else's word for whether the gun was loaded.
"Alec Baldwin should have assumed that the gun in question was loaded unless and until it was demonstrated to him or checked by him that it was not loaded," the lawsuit says. "He had no right to rely upon some alleged statement by the Assistant Director that it was a 'cold gun.' Mr. Baldwin cannot hide behind the Assistant Director to attempt to excuse the fact that he did not check the gun himself."
Gutierrez-Reed told a member of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office that she checked the gun's chamber earlier in the day, but that it was left in an unsecured location when the crew broke for lunch prior to Baldwin firing the gun, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Jason Bowles, an attorney representing Gutierrez-Reed, has said that his client was the target of "sabotage" on the film set. He didn't immediately respond Wednesday to Insider's request for comment.
An attorney for Halls has said it wasn't his responsibility to check the gun for bullets before handing it to Baldwin. Halls didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the lawsuit.
Baldwin, who is also a producer for the movie, expressed his "shock" about the incident and has said he's cooperating with law enforcement. A representative for Baldwin didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
