Rory Kennedy says she pitched Alec Baldwin documentary to him
Rory Kennedy approached Alec Baldwin with the idea for The Trial of Alec Baldwin, not the other way around, the director told Deadline in an interview published 12 October 2026. Kennedy said she had known Baldwin for about 20 years before the tragedy on the set of Rust.
The film states on screen that Baldwin was given no editorial control, provided no financial support and received no compensation, Kennedy said in the same interview. That disclosure opens the film. It is meant to set out the terms on which Baldwin took part.
The documentary is directed by Kennedy and publicised by DOC NYC as a 111-minute Special Presentation, according to DOC NYC. It had its world premiere at DOC NYC and later screened at the Bend Film Festival in Oregon, Kennedy confirmed to Deadline.
The case at its centre began with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in a shooting on the Rust set in 2021, as reported by Reuters. Baldwin and the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the crew member responsible for weapons, were charged in January 2023 with involuntary manslaughter, an unlawful killing without intent to kill. Charges against Baldwin were dropped a few months later, before a grand jury, a citizens’ panel that decides whether a case can proceed, indicted him in January 2024 on felony involuntary manslaughter charges.
That indictment alleged Baldwin caused Hutchins’ death either by negligence or by “total disregard or indifference” for safety, according to the Associated Press. His trial took place in New Mexico. A judge’s ruling then ended the case against Baldwin, the Associated Press reported in July 2024.
Kennedy, an Oscar-nominated director, brought two films to Bend, The Trial of Alec Baldwin and Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing, according to Deadline. For anyone coming to the story fresh, the legal path matters. It ran from the first charges to dismissal, then to a second indictment and a courtroom halt, all within 18 months.
