Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Trial Live: Jury Selection Underway

In an exclusive interview with NewsNation guest host Brian Entin on Banfield | NewsNation this week, Hollywood prop master Neal Zoromski said he was open to working on the Alec Baldwin film “Rust,” but backed out after noticing some budgetary red flags.

On the set, Baldwin ended up firing a toy gun loaded with real bullets, killing the film’s cinematographer.

Nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the set of the film “Rust” in New Mexico, Alec Baldwin is on trial in her death.

Jury selection begins today and opening arguments are expected to begin Wednesday.

Here are the essential things to know:

Before the horrific 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” cast doubt on Alec Baldwin’s career, he embraced and critiqued a wide range of variations on masculinity.

He went from hero to scoundrel to thug to do-gooder to family man to office alpha male to “Boss Baby.” He went from leading man to supporting actor to scene stealer, sometimes going years without a major role in a hit movie or TV show.

But he remained a household name for nearly 35 years, thanks in large part to his real-life persona: as an outspoken liberal, occasional hothead, talk-show guest, podcast host, game-show host and king of all “Saturday Night Live” hosts.

Here’s a look at Baldwin’s career inside and outside Hollywood:

Baldwin, 66, became a major movie star in the late 1980s and early 1990s with films like “Beetlejuice” and “The Hunt for Red October,” and has remained a household name ever since.

He went on to play memorable supporting roles in films such as 2003’s “The Cooler,” which earned him an Oscar nomination. Comedy dominated his later career, as he won two Emmy Awards for his role as Jack Donaghy, a television executive, on six seasons of “30 Rock,” and a third for his role as Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”

He has also played the role of an outlier public figure, as a popular talk-show guest, as a sought-after liberal, and at times as a man unable to control his temper tantrums, which have earned him public embarrassment and previous brushes with the law far more minor than his current ones.

Baldwin is the eldest of six children – five of whom are actors – from Massapequa, New York, who has lived in New York City for most of his adult life.

He has one adult daughter, Ireland Baldwin, with his first wife Kim Basinger, and seven grandchildren with his second wife, Hilaria Baldwin.

A New Mexico jury will decide whether the actor is guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

The charge of involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony.

If convicted, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Jury selection can take several weeks in high-profile trials as attorneys try to find impartial jurors.

But according to local media outlet KCCI, that might not be the case.

In New Mexico, where the trial is taking place, residents selected to serve on the jury are sent an online questionnaire that lists all the cases a juror could serve on, KCCI reported.

On Tuesday, 78 potential jurors were questioned collectively. Only 12 jurors, plus alternates, will be selected.

They are expected to be selected before opening statements begin on Tuesday.

Movie gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been sentenced to the maximum 18-month prison term for involuntary manslaughter in the killing of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of a Western film.

A New Mexico judge found that Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense, while noting little indication of sincere remorse from the defendant since her conviction in March.

Prosecutors accuse Gutierrez-Reed of unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and of failing to follow basic firearm safety protocols.

Attention now turns to the trial of Baldwin, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins at a movie ranch outside Santa Fe.

Watch live today’s trial of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust.