US Judge Denies Alec Baldwin Bid to Dismiss 'Rust' Charge

FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home in New York, US, January 31, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home in New York, US, January 31, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado//File Photo
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US Judge Denies Alec Baldwin Bid to Dismiss 'Rust' Charge

FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home in New York, US, January 31, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home in New York, US, January 31, 2023. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado//File Photo

A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected Alec Baldwin's bid to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge for the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, opening the way for an unprecedented trial of a Hollywood actor for an on-set death.
Baldwin's lawyers argued at a May 17 hearing that a grand jury indictment of the actor was "a sham" as prosecutors failed to tell jurors they could question defense witnesses and stopped them hearing evidence helpful to the actor's case.
Among her arguments in a court filing, district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she did not find prosecutorial bad faith in the grand jury, nor error in jury instructions and prosecutors adequately advised jurors regarding a letter from Baldwin's legal team listing defense jurors they could call.
"The court finds no error in the actions taken by the prosecutor vis-a-vi the reading of the evidence letter," Marlowe Sommer, appointed by Democratic New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in 2010, said in the filing.
The actor now faces a July 10 trial, Reuters reported.
Hutchins was shot with a live round after Baldwin pointed a gun at her as she set up a camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The "30 Rock" actor maintains he did not pull the trigger, an assertion that has become central to the case.
Much of the differences between prosecution and defense positions are factual disputes and that is the type of case juries are meant to decide, said business and entertainment trial litigator Tre Lovell.
He is among attorneys who expect Baldwin to escape conviction, arguing he was an actor and not responsible for firearms safety, a position supported by Hollywood’s SAG-AFTRA performers union.
“The real secret is educating a jury about a film set,” said Lovell.
At trial, Baldwin’s legal team must convince Santa Fe jurors there was a cascading failure in set firearms safety before the weapon was put in Baldwin’s hand.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey has argued in court filings that Baldwin broke firearm safety rules by pointing the gun at Hutchins, cocking it and pulling the trigger.
Sommer sentenced "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez to 18 months prison in April after a Santa Fe jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter for loading the live round into the reproduction Colt Single Action Army revolver Baldwin was using.
Morrissey accuses Baldwin of contributing to the collapse in firearm safety protocols by being an on-set bully. At Gutierrez’s trial she showed video of him pointing his revolver at people, firing it when not supposed to, swearing at himself and others, and telling Gutierrez what to do.
"Rust" director Joel Souza and first assistant director Dave Halls have defended Baldwin's on-set behavior, characterizing it as related to the adrenaline of an "A-list" actor.
Testing of Baldwin’s revolver by the FBI and an independent firearms specialist hired by the prosecution found it would not fire without the trigger pulled.
The defense argues the hammer and trigger of the revolver were modified to make it easier to fire, allowing an accidental discharge.
Observer and attorney Rachel Fiset sees this as a risky strategy.
“What is unusual in Baldwin’s case is that the alleged malfunction was directly in line with him appearing to “intentionally” act as if he was going to shoot the gun,” adding that if the jury does not believe the modification argument, it may be devastating to Baldwin’s credibility.



An Emotional Win for Theaters, Hollywood: ‘Inside Out 2’ Scores Massive $155 Million Opening

 This image released by Disney/Pixar shows, from left, Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira, Fear, voiced by Tony Hale and Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, in a scene from "Inside Out 2." (Disney/Pixar via AP)
This image released by Disney/Pixar shows, from left, Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira, Fear, voiced by Tony Hale and Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, in a scene from "Inside Out 2." (Disney/Pixar via AP)
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An Emotional Win for Theaters, Hollywood: ‘Inside Out 2’ Scores Massive $155 Million Opening

 This image released by Disney/Pixar shows, from left, Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira, Fear, voiced by Tony Hale and Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, in a scene from "Inside Out 2." (Disney/Pixar via AP)
This image released by Disney/Pixar shows, from left, Sadness, voiced by Phyllis Smith, Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler, Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira, Fear, voiced by Tony Hale and Anger, voiced by Lewis Black, in a scene from "Inside Out 2." (Disney/Pixar via AP)

Hollywood’s summer movie anxieties gave way to joy this weekend with the massive debut of Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” The animated sequel earned $155 million in ticket sales from 4,440 theaters in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Not only is it the second-highest opening weekend in Pixar’s nearly 29 years of making films and the second-biggest animated opening ever (behind only the $182.7 million launch of “Incredibles 2” in 2018). It’s also the biggest of 2024, which had not had any films debut over $100 million. With an estimated $140 million from international showings, “Inside Out 2” had a staggering, and record-breaking, $295 million global debut.

The success is significant for Pixar, marking a much-needed return to form for a studio that has had a string of underwhelming launches including “Elemental,” which did eventually become a success, and “Lightyear,” which didn’t. It’s also vitally important for the greater Hollywood ecosystem and the health of theatrical exhibition, which had been running at a 26% deficit before this weekend. “Inside Out 2” marks the biggest opening since “Barbie” launched to $162 million last July.

"This is a monumental weekend for movie theaters," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

Kelsey Mann directed “Inside Out 2,” which picks up with Riley as she turns 13. That means the arrival of new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) to the mix. Amy Poehler once again lent her voice to Joy in a cast that also includes Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith as Sadness.

It got glowing reviews from critics (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) and polled audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore, suggesting that this won’t be a first-weekend wonder either. With kids out of school and an open market until “Despicable Me 4” enters the ring over the Fourth of July, “Inside Out 2” is just getting started.

“Inside Out 2” is estimated to have cost around $200 million to produce, which does not account for the millions spent on marketing. Going into the weekend, it was tracking for a debut in the $90 million range, which would have been in line with “Inside Out’s” first weekend in June 2019. Even that would have been considered a terrific achievement, and enough to claim the biggest opening of the year — finally unseating March releases like “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla x Kong.”

It got off to a huge start with $13 million from Thursday preview showings, which started at 3 p.m. As the only major release of the weekend, its theatrical footprint was equally impressive playing on 400 IMAX screens, over 900 “premium large format” screens and over 2,500 3D screens.

“The family audience still loves going to the movies,” Dergarabedian said. “As an outside of the home experience, it’s still a relative bargain.”

This recommitment to theatrical comes after Disney sent several Pixar films straight to its streaming service, Disney+, over the pandemic including “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red.” Last month, the New York Times reported that Pixar had decided to return its focus to feature films (and not producing shows for Disney+) and that it had laid off 14% of its workforce (about 175 employees).

“As important as this weekend is for the industry at large, for Pixar this is huge. They’ve been trying to get their groove back since the pandemic,” Dergarabedian said. “Pixar had for decades one of the most impressive box office track records ever. They’ve really come back big.”

Second place went to Sony's “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” now in its second weekend with $33 million, down only 42% from its opening. In just 12 days, it's already earned over $112 million domestically and $214 million globally. As of Friday, the four-film franchise had crossed the $1 billion mark.

“Bad Boys'” success last weekend was the start of a higher-earning turnaround for the lagging summer movie season. For Hollywood, the summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, usually represents about 40% of the yearly box office. The deficit is still significant, with ticket sales down 28% for the summer and 24% for the year (and this is still before “Barbenheimer”) but it's progress in a more promising direction nonetheless.

“We're not going to get there overnight,” Dergarabedian said. “But it’s good news for theaters. And we have some big movies on the way.”