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The producers of Alec Baldwin’s Western film “Rust” have reportedly hired powerhouse law firm Jenner & Block to interview cast and crew about the accidental, fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
In a letter to cast and crew obtained by NBC News, the “Rust” producers said that federal workplace investigators are probing the workplace death of Hutchins and that the company’s lawyers would be present during questioning “when allowed.”
“As you may know, it is standard practice for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate workplace deaths,” the production company wrote. “OSHA has therefore visited the Rust production set and begun interviewing crew members.”
“In addition to cooperating with authorities, we hired a legal team from Jenner & Block to conduct an investigation of the events” the memo reportedly said. “We have stressed that they will have full discretion about who to interview and any conclusions they draw.”
“We know that reliving this tragedy will be hard, but your participation is important for all of us to be able to fully understand what happened, and we encourage you to share your perspective,” it added.
The letter also reportedly told cast and crew to preserve any information they have that might relate to the accidental shooting, including emails, texts, drives and paper documents.
“If you have any question about whether something should be preserved, please err on the side of preservation,” the memo said.
Hutchins was killed last Thursday by a prop gun fired by Baldwin.
No one has been arrested in the fatal mishap, but the potential for criminal charges “hasn’t been ruled out” and if crew members who were on-set have information, they need to come forward, Juan Rios, the public information officer for the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office, told The Post on Tuesday.
New Mexico deputies have been investigating, and they seized nine shell casings and several boxes of ammo as part of their probe into the deadly accident, documents released on Tuesday revealed.
In the days since the shooting, media reports have surfaced various red flags about the safety of the low-budget production.
A veteran prop master revealed Tuesday that he was offered a job on the set — but turned it down after “massive red flags” left him convinced it was “an accident waiting to happen.”
And the Hollywood armorer, a 24-year-old former model, who tended to the deadly weapon used by Alec Baldwin on the set of “Rust” had expressed doubts about her skills and ability to load prop guns.
“You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready … but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly,” Hannah Reed said last month in the Voices of the West podcast.
Other reports have indicated that in the morning of the day that Baldwin accidentally shot Hutchins, crew members had loaded the gun with live ammo so they could shoot empty cans for fun.
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