Director of ‘Rust’ skips Alec Baldwin’s reality show to focus on self-inflicted face-palm with a frying pan

The actor from the show “30 Rock” starred in his own Western movie, which gained attention especially after the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

It seems like there might be some tension between Souza and the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member. In an interview with The Guardian before the premiere of the film Rust on May 2, the director mentioned that he did not follow Baldwin’s reality show and had no intention to do so.

“I was probably occupied with other things that night,” Souza, who is 51 years old, stated dismissively about the show’s premiere. The entire first season is available for streaming on Max. There is no information yet on whether “The Baldwins” will make a return for a second season.

During the series’ premiere, Alec Baldwin told his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, that “This has been just surreal” when discussing the “Rust” shooting and the court case that followed.

“I mean, I can’t even believe that we’re going through this, and I always feel more in pain about you than me, because I think to myself, well, you know, I’m going to try to my best to just get through it, and I think what it’s done to you and how much it’s hurt you and everything,” he continued.

During the premiere, Hilaria also noted the difficulty that the shooting had on the couple’s seven children: Carmen Gabriela, 11, María Lucía Victoria, 3, and Ilaria Catalina Irena, 2, as well as four sons Rafael Thomas, 9, Leonardo Ángel Charles, 8, Romeo Alejandro David, 6, and Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 4.

In a confessional, Alec went on to say,

“This past year was just terrible. There were times I’d lay in bed. I’d go, ‘Wow, my kids. I can’t get up.’ That’s not like me. I’m not like that at all, not in any way am I like that. Never.”

Hilaria agreed, saying that his husband’s mental health took a turn for the worse after he was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

“Everyone who is close to Alec has seen his mental health decline,” Hilaria explained, noting that his OCD worsened as well. “He was diagnosed with PTSD, and he says in his darkest moments, ‘If an accident had to have happened this day, why am I still here? Why couldn’t it have been me?’”

When speaking about his movie to Vanity Fair last year, Souza said that it “was tough” resuming production on the film in Montana over a year after the shooting. He also discussed his relationship with Baldwin.

“Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies,” he explained, adding, “There’s no relationship.”

Although he admitted that  “there was a very long period of time where I thought I was just done ever doing this for a living,” he decided to finish making the film for Halyna Hutchins’ family.