Rust (2024 film): Difference between revisions

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| budget = $8 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/rust-alec-baldwin-montana.html|title=Alec Baldwin Returns to ‘Rust’, With Fake Guns and Rubber Bullets|first=Julia|last=Jacobs|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 25, 2023|access-date=April 26, 2023|archive-date=April 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425152251/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/rust-alec-baldwin-montana.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

| gross = $26,831<ref name=BOM>{{Cite web|title=Rust|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11001074/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=4 May 2025}}</ref>

}}

””’Rust””’ is a 2024<!– DO NOT CHANGE TO 2025, SEE TALK PAGE –> American [[Western film]] written and directed by [[Joel Souza]]. It stars [[Alec Baldwin]] (who also produced and co-wrote the story with Souza), Patrick Scott McDermott, [[Josh Hopkins]], [[Frances Fisher]], and [[Travis Fimmel]].<ref name=”vanity”>{{cite magazine|magazine=Vanity Fair|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/rust-filmmaker-joel-souza-finally-speaks-about-the-fatal-shooting|date=15 August 2024|access-date=15 August 2024|first=Anthony|title=Rust Filmmaker Joel Souza Finally Speaks About Fatal Shooting on Set: “It Ruined Me”|last=Breznican|archive-date=August 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815124907/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/rust-filmmaker-joel-souza-finally-speaks-about-the-fatal-shooting|url-status=live}}</ref> The film follows an outlaw who flees for Mexico along with his grandson, but must avoid pursuing law enforcers.

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==Plot==

<!– Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films are 400 to 700 words

–Rust is a 2021 American Western film written and directed by Joel Souza, starring Alec Baldwin. Set in 1880s New Mexico, the film follows Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin), a fugitive rancher who is on the run after being wrongly accused of killing a local sheriff. Rust is traveling with his 13-year-old grandson, Lucas (Jaden Martell), who is caught up in the events that lead to the sheriff’s death.

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Production of the film resumed on April 20, 2023.<ref name=”McDermott” /><ref name=”BBC News”/> The same day, it was reported that prosecutors had informed Baldwin that the charges against him were being dropped and the new, updated cast was released.<ref name=”CNN dismissal”>{{Cite web |last=Melas |first=Chloe |date=April 20, 2023 |title=Prosecutors plan to dismiss charges against Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ shooting, Baldwin’s attorney tells CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/entertainment/alec-baldwin-rust-charges/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420205455/https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/entertainment/alec-baldwin-rust-charges/index.html |archive-date=April 20, 2023 |access-date=April 20, 2023 |website=CNN}}</ref> Meanwhile, Patrick Scott McDermott was confirmed to have replaced Noon.<ref name=”Noon”>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/rust-alec-baldwin-resumes-filming-montana-documentary-1235591146/|title=As ‘Rust’ Resumes Filming in Montana, Alec Baldwin Is Working With Rory Kennedy on a Documentary|first=Pat|last=Saperstein|work=Variety|date=April 21, 2023|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=June 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617210440/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/rust-alec-baldwin-resumes-filming-montana-documentary-1235591146/|url-status=live}}</ref> By May 2023, Jensen Ackles left because of scheduling conflicts; a new character is played by [[Josh Hopkins]].<ref name=”AcklesHopkins”>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rust-producer-interview-cannes-market-sales-1235492518/ |title=Cannes: ‘Rust’ Producer Is “Realistic” About Film’s Future Sales |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-date=May 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521095009/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rust-producer-interview-cannes-market-sales-1235492518/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 24, 2023, Baldwin returned to the set to finish filming his scenes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alec-baldwin-rust-montana-1235401011/ |title=Alec Baldwin Back on ‘Rust’ Set As It Resumes Shooting in Montana |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Cho |first=Winston |date=April 24, 2023 |access-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-date=April 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424234830/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alec-baldwin-rust-montana-1235401011/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with the production concluding on May 22, 2023.<ref name=”Wrap”>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/alec-baldwin-western-film-rust-completes-filming-after-fatal-shooting-1234740233/ |title=Alec Baldwin Reaches End of ‘Long and Difficult Road’ as ‘Rust’ Wraps Filming |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |last=Paul |first=Larisha |date=May 23, 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523131623/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/alec-baldwin-western-film-rust-completes-filming-after-fatal-shooting-1234740233/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <!– Details about lawsuits go in article about the incident itself, not this –>

”Rust” is a 2021 American Western film written and directed by Joel Souza, starring Alec Baldwin. Set in 1880s New Mexico, the film follows Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin), a fugitive rancher who is on the run after being wrongly accused of killing a local sheriff. Rust is traveling with his 13-year-old grandson, Lucas (Jaden Martell), who is caught up in the events that lead to the sheriff’s death.

After the accidental killing of Sheriff Caleb Dunne, Rust becomes a wanted man, with bounty hunters and lawmen chasing him across the dangerous wilderness. Sheriff Krantz (Nicholas Hoult), the brother of the deceased sheriff, leads the pursuit, driven by personal vengeance and a desire for justice.

To protect Lucas, Rust forms an uneasy alliance with Katherine (Hannah Rose May), a former outlaw turned bounty hunter who has her own reasons for tracking him. As the two navigate treacherous terrain and confront dangerous enemies, Rust is forced to confront his past sins while trying to keep his grandson safe.

As the story unfolds, Rust and Lucas must survive the harsh landscape and growing threats, with their relationship tested by the challenges they face. The film builds to a tense standoff where Rust must choose between saving himself or securing a chance at redemption

==Release==

Film by Joel Souza

Rust
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joel Souza
Screenplay by	Joel Souza
Story by
Produced by	Melina Spadone Ryan Winterstern Nathan Klingher Alec Baldwin Matt DelPiano Ryan Donnell Smith Anjul Nigam Grant Hill
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by	David Andalman
Music by	James Jackson Lilie Bytheway-Hoy
Production companies	El Dorado Pictures Short Porch Pictures Thomasville Pictures April Productions In Association With Bondit Media Capital 120DB Films
Distributed by	Falling Forward Films
Release dates	November 20, 2024 (2024-11-20) (Camerimage) May 2, 2025 (2025-05-02) (United States)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$8 million^[1]
Box office	$26,831^[2]

Rust is a 2024 American Western film written and directed by Joel Souza. It stars Alec Baldwin (who also produced and co-wrote the story with Souza), Patrick Scott McDermott, Josh Hopkins, Frances Fisher, and Travis Fimmel.^[3] The film follows an outlaw who flees for Mexico along with his grandson, but must avoid pursuing law enforcers.

Three years before its release, the film was massively overshadowed by a fatal shooting accident in which Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were shot after a live round was discharged from a prop revolver fired between takes by Baldwin. Hutchins died shortly after, while Souza was injured. An initial set of charges against Baldwin were dropped in 2023 and another set dismissed in 2024. Producers, including Baldwin, eventually decided to resume filming, with Souza since expressing regret in having begun production on the film at all, stating that “I wish I never wrote the damn movie”.^[4]

The completed project premiered at the Polish film festival Camerimage on November 20, 2024. Rust was released theatrically in the United States on May 2, 2025 to mixed reviews. The film grossed only $26,831 against a budget of $8 million, which was generally credited to the notoriety from the shooting.^[5]

Rust is a 2021 American Western film written and directed by Joel Souza, starring Alec Baldwin. Set in 1880s New Mexico, the film follows Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin), a fugitive rancher who is on the run after being wrongly accused of killing a local sheriff. Rust is traveling with his 13-year-old grandson, Lucas (Jaden Martell), who is caught up in the events that lead to the sheriff’s death.

Rust held its world premiere at Camerimage on November 20, 2024, in Toruń, Poland.^[6] The film was released theatrically and on video-on-demand (VOD) on May 2, 2025, by Falling Forward Films.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10] The film was released on 150 screens, while Decal Releasing will handle the home release.

It was estimated that the film made $25,000 at 115 theaters on its opening day.^[11]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of 46 critics’ reviews are positive. The website’s consensus reads: “A middling drama overshadowed by tragic circumstances, Rust boasts a handsome look but doesn’t bring much distinctive flavor to the Western genre.”^[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating “mixed or average” reviews.^[13]

Variety wrote in its review, “It’s a handsome and watchable indie art Western, set in 1882, that turns into a sentimental cross-generational buddy film. Yet I can’t say that the movie, in the end, is especially good.”^[14]

The New York Times called the film “a derivative, hyperviolent, finally sentimental drama set in the 19th century about an orphan (Patrick Scott McDermott) and his outlaw grandfather (Baldwin) that’s filled with mayhem and carnage.”^[15]

The cinematography by Hutchins and co-cinematographer Bianca Cline was praised. David Ehrlich, writing for IndieWire, said that “the film’s digital gloss dovetails with the rustic elementalism of its genre, whereas so many other recent Westerns have forced those two aesthetics into direct confrontation with each other”, while Jesse Hassenger, writing for The Guardian, described Hutchins as “the movie’s saving grace”.^[16]^[17]