Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, died after actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the sets of the movie Rust in New Mexico, Thursday, October 21. Hutchins was accidentally shot when a gun being used as a prop was discharged during the filming. She was airlifted to the University of New Mexico hospital but succumbed to her injuries shortly afterwards.
Born in Ukraine, Halyna Hutchins was raised on a Soviet military base amidst 'reindeer and submarines'. Before moving to Los Angeles, she had spent some time in Europe working on British documentaries. Hutchins was hugely respected for her work as a director of photography and was dubbed as a 'rising star' by her colleagues. "She was somebody who was absolutely dedicated to art and integrity, " Director, Adam Mortimer spoke of Hutchins. "She was Ukrainian and had this incredible European art sensibility so that the more things on our set that would become challenging or difficult the more she would want to figure out how to transcend the limitations and turn it into art."
Who is Halyna Hutchins' husband?
Halyna Hutchins was married to a lawyer, Matthew. The couple has a one-year-old baby boy, Andros, who was lovingly called a 'little man' by her mother. Hutchins picked up work in fashion photography alongside film after moving to LA.
She graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory that offers specialist qualifications in cinematography and directing in 2015. "One thing I learned is that cinematography is not something you do by yourself, " Hutchins spoke of her experience at the university. "It's a group [project]. You need to develop your own vision, but the key to a successful film is communication with your director and your team."
Hutchins first came into the limelight in 2018 when she was named to the inaugural class of the 21st Century Fox DP Lab, a networking cohort designed to expand opportunities for female cinematographers by connecting them with working professionals. In 2019, she was termed as one of the 'rising stars of cinematography' in respected industry publication American Cinematographer.
Halyna Hutchins' recent work includes Blindfire, a racially charged drama written and directed by Mike Nell starring Brian Geraghty and Sharon Leal. Blindfire won the Best Crime Drama at the Houston International Film Festival, 2020.
Hollywood stars paid tribute to Halyna Hutchins
"I'm so sad about losing Halyna. And so infuriated that this could happen on a set. She was a brilliant talent who was absolutely committed to art and to film, " Director Adam Egypt Mortimer, who worked with Hutchins on the 2020 superhero film Archenemy, wrote on Twitter. Archenemy actor Joe Manganiello, called Hutchins "an incredible talent" and "a great person" on his Instagram post, adding that he was lucky to have Hutchins as director of photography on the film.
