"We're not friends" — When Rust director Joel Souza opened up about his 'no-relationship' status with actor Alec Baldwin
After a long wait, the Western film Rust is scheduled to be released in theatres and on-demand video on May 2, 2025. The movie is helmed by Joel Souza and stars Alec Baldwin. Josh Hopkins, Patrick Scott McDermott, Frances Fisher, and Travis Fimmel also appear in the film in crucial roles.
In October 2021, the set of Rust was shaken by the untimely shooting incident that led to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins's death. The event was followed by an elaborate probe, accompanied by arrest warrants and sentences.
The ordeal naturally halted Rust's filming process. However, after a considerable delay, Joel Souza and some of the other cast and crew members were able to return to film the rest of the movie.
In an article published by Vanity Fair on August 15, 2024, Joel Souza spoke about filming Rust, the incident that changed everything, and its aftermath. He also briefly spoke about his relationship with Alec Baldwin, which he said does not exist. He mentioned:
"Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship."
Joel Souza reminisces about his early days in the industry and getting to know Alec Baldwin
During the Vanity Fair interview, Rust director Joel Souza spoke about his relationship with Alec Baldwin, which had been developing for years. While he maintains that the two do not share a relationship at present, as previously highlighted, he mentions that they did share one before.
Talking about their past dynamic, Souza said:
"I’ve known him since maybe 2015. You see what you see in the press, you hear stories. We had a very good relationship. When anybody’s famous for a long time—I don’t know that you can ever have an actual, true give-and-take friendship with somebody like that. Not that we should have. We’re very different people in very different parts of life."
He also mentioned that Baldwin was always good to him and was very "deferential" to his creative instincts. Referring to him as "supportive", Souza said that Baldwin supported him "creatively." He also highlighted that it them a considerable period to get to know each other.
Rust director Joel Souza wanted to finish the film to honor Halyna Hutchins's work
During his interview with Vanity Fair, Joel Souza revealed that he had no intention of returning to film Rust after all that had happened. However, after thinking about it, he realized he wanted the world to see Halyna Hutchins's last work as a cinematographer. He would also want to be the person who gets to "honor" her final work.
On being asked what changed his mind after he was unwilling to return to film, Souza said:
"....I knew that the movie being finished would financially benefit Halyna’s family, which is very important to me. And I know this can sound trite for people who aren’t creative, but her last work matters. People seeing her last work matters. That was the tipping point for me in the decision."
On being asked if he believed that he was the person who was capable of representing Hutchin's work in the best way, Souza said:
"The idea that they would go forward without me and have a stranger try to honor her final work was something I don’t think I could live with. I didn’t want to [return], really, and I can’t say that it was a good experience for me doing it, but I did. And I’m glad I did. I’m extremely proud of the movie that we ended up with."
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