Cinematographer Bianca Cline explains why the film had to be finished.
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Still, after careful consideration, she felt it was the right thing to do.
Beyond sharing an agent and several friends with Hutchins, she had interviewed for theRustcinematographer role herself.
On the contrary, she said, I hope people can sit with these two opposing things.
How did theRustteam approach you to help complete the film?Its funny, they actually didnt approach me.
I was kind of taken aback.
Did you agree with that sentiment?Not at that moment.
I was kind of shocked that they were going to finish it.
I didnt quite know why, and I had a lot of questions.
Why would I do this?
Should I do it?
What are the reasons?
It didnt make it easy, but I realized this is the right thing for me to do.
What appealed to you about the project itself?
Ironically, its about an accidental shooting and the aftermath.
I really learned her style.
Did you sign that letter or support its message?I definitely support that idea.
I didnt sign it at the time because I was mostly just still in shock.
I would sign it today for sure if it still is going around.
I think its absolutely ridiculous that we use real guns on set ever.
It didnt really have anything to do with us finishing the film.
On one hand, yes, its tragic.
The producers really screwed up and a bunch of other people, crew members to result in Halynas death.
Those two dont need to be mutually exclusive.
Joel Souza has said he was hesitant to finishRustuntil he learned that Halynas family wanted to see itfinished.
Its a passion, what she loved to do.
Were here for Halyna.
Were here for Andros.
Were here for Olga, Halynas mother.
And he was like, Yes, its a great idea.
Were going to make money anyway.
And its not true.
What was your first day on set like?The first day was very solemn in a way.
But I think he really inspired the crew, inspired everyone.
After a little while, everybody got a bit used to it.
Its just we also had a job to do.
Making any movie is difficult, and this one was especially difficult.
The first day was also the first day I met Alec, and we had a good discussion.
We were like, Were gonna make a movie for Halyna.
It was just extremely emotional.
I felt like I was failing Halyna.
I felt like I wasnt doing enough.
No matter what I did with the photography, Im like,Thats not as good as hers.
He was going through something much harder than I was.
Did the production have an established road map for finishing?
This is what she wants.
This is how were going to do it.
He rewrote that portion so none of that footage is in it.
Theres still an ending, but its changed somewhat and definitely in a different location.
That was the only really big change.
We changed some of the locations, but other than that, its pretty much as it was.
What was your hardest day on set?
Some of the scenes, we would do inserts to replicate certain things.
There were scenes Halyna had filmed, and we would just do close-ups of our new boy.
Having to re-create exactly what she was doing always got to me.
My very hardest day was actually day 12 because it was the day she died.
Were doing something constructive and trying to finish a film for our friend.
Youve mentioned your initial conversation with Alec on set that first day.
He was accused of being personally responsible for Halynas death, though the manslaughter charges were later dropped.
For a while, its like, We want to do nothing.
We just wanted the film to be all about Halyna.
And then we realized, Well, unfortunately, were the ones who have to tell that story.
But I will tell you, I think Alec was great to work with for me.
He was very gracious and helpful to me.
What stood out to you about your last day of filming?
Was there a sense of closure?
How did it emotionally resonate?When we wrapped the last day, I noticed something very distinct.
The cast and crew that had been in New Mexico were all hugging and crying.
All the new crew and cast were celebrating.
I kind of felt in between those two.
Im like,Okay, I wasnt there on set, but also its very emotionally heavy for me.
And we got to the end, and I was like,But I didnt do enough for Halyna.
I havent fixed anything.
It was really overwhelming.
Hopefully this will change that a bit.
I dont think Ill ever do another film as difficult as this one.
I believe you were interviewed for that.
What story is that film hoping to tell?So Rachel is the friend I was talking about earlier.
She called me and said, You have to finish this film.
Her whole life has been a series of difficulties, and she overcame them.
She wants to show that process and why people were doing it why anybody would want to do this.
I think from a distance, the finishing of the film seems crazy.
Its a bad idea.
I hope Rachels film is a companion piece toRust.
