Will Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Get A U.S Release?

Troubled indie Western Rust was finally unveiled at the Camerimage cinematography festival in Poland late last year with a sombre world premiere.

But two months later, the Alec Baldwin film is yet to secure a domestic partner after its production was overshadowed by on-set tragedy when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed after a gun held by star Baldwin during rehearsals fired a live round.

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While there was internal discussion last year about other potential festival launches, none have been lined up and it would seem unlikely at this stage.

That shift came after the Rust world premiere triggered controversy, with some in the cinematography community criticizing it as insensitive. Hutchins’ mother distanced herself from the launch, claiming “there is still no justice for my daughter.” Others close to the film said the screening was a tribute to Hutchins, who had attended the festival multiple times, and that anything that enhances sales will benefit the family.

The anticipated course for a Hollywood movie that debuts at a respected festival and includes “name” cast is for it to get some sort of domestic distribution. That path remains unclear for Rust, though there is still hope — and expectation — among some of the film’s partners that it will get a U.S. release. We’ve been told by backers that Hutchins’ husband and son gained a financial stake in the movie as part of a settlement reached with Rust‘s producers. That settlement is understood to include profit from domestic distribution. We’ve reached out to family members and their lawyers for comment.

RELATED: ‘Rust’ Movie Photos: First Look At Alec Baldwin Western

Behind the scenes, talks have been taking place for months with potential buyers. The initial hope was for some kind of theatrical play. A split rights license structure remains possible, whereby one company holds theatrical and another takes streaming or online rights. A sales rep is understood to be helping broker the domestic deal.

That rep came aboard ahead of November’s American Film Market, where the film was quietly sold internationally by Capstone.

Capstone is the third international sales company to have taken the project to market. Highland had initially launched the movie for presales back in 2021. CAA Media Finance was aboard for domestic sales at that point. Towards the end of filming, in 2023, the project was taken to market by international sales firm Goodfellas (it remains on the firm’s website).

International deals have been struck on the film, first by Highland, and then more recently by Capstone. We understand territory deals include Latin America, Australia, and parts of Eastern and Western Europe, though specific companies haven’t been revealed in most markets. Eagle Entertainment is the buyer in Australia. Only one buyer is understood to have backed out. Most have been aboard throughout the project’s tumultuous journey and some, we’re told, even upped their commitment as the film’s budget rose with the delays. As often happens, international buyers are waiting for the domestic distributor to come aboard and release the film before they do.

That said, a number of territories remain open on the film. There are hopes of more deals. However, a couple of international buyers we spoke with recently said they couldn’t countenance picking the film up due to the sensitivity around the project.

The project’s domestic distribution prospects became more complicated as it endured a torrid production and months of legal wrangling. Sources close to the movie tell us that Highland’s distribution arm The Avenue was once lined up for domestic distribution but Highland says a deal never made. In any case, that prospect faded away late last year.

Some of the legal cloud over Rust was lifted after the dismissal of Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case in July but the actor-producer is now filing his own lawsuit against special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations, keeping the movie in the headlines.

In a practical sense, distribution sources we spoke with noted that a film like Rust has generated so many headlines that part of the marketing has already been done on the film. But headlines don’t guarantee returns; The Apprentice didn’t fly at the box office late last year after its turbulent journey to screen. A film such as Brandon Lee’s The Crow (1994) endured on-set tragedy and made middling box office. It also went on to become a cult movie.

So far, there has only been one English-language review of Rust, on Vulture. It is part review, part news piece, but describes the film as “compelling and capable … an appropriately unvarnished western tale about guilt, blame, family, law and devotion.” The project doesn’t have a page on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rust sees Baldwin play an infamous outlaw who comes out of hiding to stop his 13-year-old grandson from being hanged for murder. Joel Souza, who teamed with Baldwin on Crown Vic, directs from a story they both conceived. Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, Jake Busey and Josh Hopkins also star.

Highland Film Group, Goodfellas, Capstone, CAA Media Finance and Alec Baldwin declined comment.

Zac Ntim contributed to this report.

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