The troubled West Rust It was finally unveiled at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland late last year with a bleak world premiere.
But two months later, the Alec Baldwin film has yet to get a local partner after its production was overshadowed by on-set tragedy when program director Halina Hutchins was killed when a gun carried by star Baldwin fired a live round.
While there were internal discussions last year about potentially launching other festivals, none were planned and it seems unlikely at this stage.
And that’s after Rust The world premiere sparked controversy, with some in the film community criticizing it as insensitive. Hutchins’ mother distanced herself from the launch, claiming there was “no justice for my daughter yet.” Others close to the film said the screening was a tribute to Hutchins, who has attended the festival several times, and that anything that boosted sales would benefit the family.
The expected path for a Hollywood film debuting at a respected festival and including a “name” cast is for it to get some sort of domestic distribution. This path is still unclear Rustthough there’s still hope — and expectation — among some of the film’s associates that it will get a US release. Backers have told us that Hutchins’ husband and son received a financial stake in the film as part of a settlement reached with RustProducers. It is understood that this settlement includes profit from local distribution. We have reached out to family members and their attorneys for comment.
Behind-the-scenes talks have been taking place for months with potential buyers. The initial hope was for some sort of theatrical play. A split rights licensing structure remains possible, where one company holds theatrical rights while another gets the streaming or online rights. It is understood that the sales representative helps broker the local deal.
That rep came before the American Film Market in November, where the film was quietly sold internationally by Capstone.
Capstone is the third international sales company to bring the project to market. Highland initially released the film to pre-sales in 2021. CAA Media Finance was close to domestic sales at that point. Towards the end of filming, in 2023, the project was also taken to market by international sales company Goodfellas (it remains on the company’s website).
International deals have been struck for the film, first with Highland and then more recently with Capstone. We understand that deal territories include Latin America, Australia and parts of Eastern and Western Europe, although specific companies in most markets are not disclosed. Eagle Entertainment is the buyer in Australia. It is understood that only one buyer backed out. Most of them have been on board throughout the project’s turbulent journey, and we’re told some of them increased their commitment as the film’s budget rose with the delay. As often happens, international buyers wait for the local distributor to come along and release the film before they do so.
However, there are still a number of areas open for the film. There are hopes for more deals. However, two international buyers we spoke to recently said they couldn’t accept the film’s option due to the sensitivity surrounding the project.
The project’s domestic distribution prospects became more complicated as it endured a heated production and months of legal controversy. Sources close to the film tell us that Highland’s distribution subsidiary The Avenue was ready for domestic distribution, but Highland says a deal was never reached. However, that possibility faded late last year.
Some legal cloud is over Rust It was filed after Baldwin’s manslaughter case was dismissed in September, but the actor and producer is now filing his own lawsuit against Special Prosecutor Carrie Morrissey and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack Altwiss for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations, keeping the film in the canon. Headlines.
In practice, the distribution sources we spoke to indicated that the film is similar Rust It generated so many headlines that part of the marketing was actually done on the film. But headlines don’t guarantee returns. trainee It failed to reach the box office late last year after its turbulent journey to the screen. A movie like Brandon Lee’s movie Crow (1994) suffered tragedy on set and was a moderate success at the box office. It also became a cult film.
To date, there has been only one English-language review of the book Ruston the eagle. It’s part review, part news item, but she describes the film as “compelling and capable…a suitably clear-eyed Western tale of guilt, blame, family, law and fidelity.” The project does not have a Rotten Tomatoes page.
Rust It sees Baldwin playing a notorious outlaw who comes out of hiding to prevent the execution of his 13-year-old grandson for murder. Joel Souza, who collaborated with Baldwin Crown Vicdirects from a story conceived by both of them. Travis Fimmel, Francis Fisher, Jake Busey and Josh Hopkins also star.
Highland Film Group, Goodfellas, Capstone, CAA Media Finance and Alec Baldwin declined to comment.
Zach Ntim contributed to this report.