Accusé d'homicide involontaire, Alec Baldwin a plaidé non coupable de manière formelle mercredi devant la justice américaine, plus de deux ans après le tir mortel qui a entraîné la mort de la directrice de la photographie de son film western, "Rust".
L'acteur de 65 ans était attendu devant un tribunal jeudi pour une audience préliminaire, mais sa défense a renoncé à son droit de comparaître et a envoyé un document indiquant qu'il plaide non coupable.
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L'acteur de 65 ans était attendu devant un tribunal jeudi pour une audience préliminaire, mais sa défense a renoncé à son droit de comparaître et a envoyé un document indiquant qu'il plaide non coupable.
-
L'info en continu https://buzzplus.fr/
Infos, news & actualités - L'information internationale en direct.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Alleged of involuntary homicide, Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty formally on Wednesday in front of the US justice system,
00:06 more than two years after the deadly shot that led to the death of the director of photography of his western film, Rust.
00:12 The 65-year-old actor was expected in front of a court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing,
00:18 but his defense refused to appear and sent a document indicating that he pleaded not guilty.
00:23 The actor, who risks up to 18 months in prison, did not press the trigger and always maintained that he had been assured that his weapon was harmless.
00:32 The case dates back to October 2021.
00:35 The shooting of Rust had turned the drama into a New Mexico ranch, southwest of the United States,
00:40 when Alec Baldwin had pointed a gun that was supposed to contain only blank bullets,
00:44 but whose very real projectile had killed the director of photography Alina Hutchin and injured director Joel Souza.
00:50 This rare event had shocked Hollywood and caused calls to ban firearms on sets.
00:56 But it also caused suspicion of amateurism around this low-budget production,
01:01 some Hollywood actors have thus recalled that the management of firearms on a shoot was already the subject of strict rules.
01:07 Rust's star, Alec Baldwin, also served as producer on the film.
01:12 But he was only pursued as an actor.
01:15 His defense calls for a quick trial to minimize the risks of suspicion and slander against him,
01:21 in this case marked by multiple ups and downs on the side of the accusation.
01:25 The parquet had abandoned the pursuits against the actor in April, invoking new elements of investigation.
01:31 The Los Angeles Times had explained this turnaround by revealing that the gun had been modified before its delivery to the shooting team,
01:38 thus increasing the chances that a sudden shot occurs.
01:42 Judicial ups and downs
01:44 But prosecutors had warned that the investigation was ongoing and that the actor was not yet exonerated.
01:50 He was again inculpated in mid-January after a new turnaround.
01:54 According to Variety magazine, a new expertise on the firearm in question, carried out this summer,
01:59 concluded that it could only have triggered by pressure on the trigger.
02:03 Broken during tests carried out by the FBI during the initial investigation,
02:07 this replica of a gun of the time is at the center of all the questions, all the question is whether it could have triggered on its own.
02:14 The Sagaftra Actors' Union has recently criticized the pursuits against Mr. Baldwin,
02:19 who considers them based on an incorrect assessment of the real functions of an actor.
02:23 "The job of an actor is not to be an expert in weapons or firearms," the organization recalled in a statement.
02:30 "Firearms are provided to be used on the set under the direction of several professional experts directly responsible for the use of and precise of this firearm."
02:39 The film's armorer, Anna Gutierrez-Reed, is also accused of involuntary homicide in this case and her trial is due to begin on February 21.
02:47 During the initial investigation, the police concluded that she had put the ammunition in the weapon used by Alec Baldwin instead of a factitious bullet.
02:55 The investigation has never determined how real ammunition could have ended up on the set, where only blank bullets are allowed.
03:03 In March, the film's first assistant director, Dave Hall, was sentenced to six months in prison with a hangover after accepting a plea of the guilty.
03:12 He had extended the gun to Mr. Baldwin's heart of the drama, assuring him that he was not dangerous.
03:18 The film's shooting has since resumed and has been completed in Montana, with the widow of Alina Hutschin, Matthew, as executive producer.
03:26 At the end of 2022, he had abandoned the chases he had engaged in against Alec Baldwin in the course of an agreement whose amount had not been disclosed.
03:34 At the time, he had attributed his wife's death to a terrible accident.