Halyna Hutchins, cinematographer killed on Alec Baldwin movie, remembered as a 'brilliant talent'

Tributes are pouring in for Halyna Hutchins, the "brilliant" cinematographer killed in an accident on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust.

The Santa Fe sheriff's office said Thursday Baldwin fired a prop firearm on the movie set in New Mexico, and Hutchins, the director of photography, was struck by a projectile. She was airlifted to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was 42. The film's director, Joel Souza, was also injured.

Hutchins was originally from Ukraine and grew up on a Soviet military base, and she was named one of the rising stars of 2019 by American Cinematographer, per her website. Prior to Rust, she worked on films including Archenemy, the 2020 superhero movie starring Joe Manganiello.

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Manganiello was among those to pay tribute, remembering Hutchins as an "absolutely incredible talent and a great person," who "was the kind of cinematographer that you wanted to see succeed because you wanted to see what she could pull off next." She was a "brilliant talent who was absolutely committed to art and to film," Archenemy director Adam Egypt Mortimer wrote, adding he's "infuriated that this could happen on a set."

Doctor Strange screenwriter C. Robert Cargill described Hutchins' death as a "tragic loss for cinema" and for everyone who worked with her, while cinematographer Elle Schneider, remembering Hutchins as a "rockstar," called for answers about the "horrific" tragedy. Elijah Wood, James Gunn, and other stars also sent condolences to Hutchins' family.

Earlier this week, Hutchins shared a video of herself riding a horse on her day off while working on Rust, describing this as "one of the perks of shooting a western." The Instagram video was flooded with tribute comments after the tragedy, with director James Cullen Bressack writing, "I will miss you my friend ... This is devastating." Bressack also vowed to "never use anything but airsoft and rubber guns on my movies ever again."