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RNZ News
11 hours ago
- RNZ News
New Mexico judge dismisses Alec Baldwin's 'malicious' prosecution suit in 'Rust' case
By Steve Gorman , Reuters US actor Alec Baldwin sued public officials in January. (File photo) Photo: AFP / ROSS D. FRANKLIN A US Judge has thrown out a misconduct lawsuit filed by actor Alec Baldwin against local prosecutors and sheriff's officials over their pursuit of criminal charges against him for the fatal 2021 shooting on the set of the Western movie "Rust." New Mexico Judge Casey Fitch dismissed Baldwin's complaint for lack of "significant action" in the case over the past 180 days. The one-page order, made public on Wednesday, allows any party in the lawsuit to seek reinstatement within 30 days. In a statement, Luke Nikas, a lawyer for Baldwin, said settlement discussions were underway and the case could be refiled if they were unsuccessful. Baldwin sued special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, Santa Fe County law enforcement investigators and other public officials in January, accusing them of malicious abuse of process, defamation and mishandling of evidence. The lawsuit said the prosecutors and others had conspired to manufacture a criminal case against Baldwin for political and personal gain when they charged him with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The civil suit followed the abrupt dismissal of Baldwin's criminal case in July 2024 during his trial in the New Mexico capital. The trial judge ruled then that the special prosecutor and sheriff's office had deliberately withheld evidence from Baldwin on the source of a live round that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. Hutchins' death, Hollywood's first on-set fatal shooting in nearly 30 years, shocked the movie industry and sparked calls for an overhaul of firearms safety on film productions. Morrissey has said prosecutors had long known the actor would file a retaliatory civil lawsuit. The Ukrainian-born cinematographer died when Baldwin pointed a pistol at her while rehearsing, cocked the weapon and possibly pulled the trigger as they set up a camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe, his lawyers said. The gun, a reproduction 1873 single-action army revolver, fired a live round inadvertently loaded by Hannah Gutierrez, the production's weapons handler. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in jail. Baldwin, also a "Rust" producer, has always said live rounds should not have been allowed on set and he was not responsible for weapons safety. - Reuters

RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Mixing opera and politics
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. Poster for the Wellington Opera production of Verdi's "A Masked Ball". Photo: Wellington Opera Verdi had to jump through a lot of hoops to stage his opera, "A Masked Ball". The idea seemed operatic enough. The intrigue surrounding the assassination of the 18th-century monarch King Gustavo III of Sweden, but the 19th-century censors had other ideas. To have someone shooting a royal just wouldn't do. They forced Verdi to set the opera in Boston in the USA, where there were no kings or queens to assassinate. Next month, Wellington Opera will stage the original uncensored version of "A Masked Ball" with Jared Holt playing King Gustavo and soprano Madeleine Pierard taking on the lead female role, Amelia. Pierard and conductor Brian Castles-Onion spoke to RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump ahead of a three-performance season at the Wellington Opera House starting on 6 August. It's still a rarely staged opera, not because of its politics, but because it's long. Not Wagner long, but still taking three acts with two intervals. Australian conductor, Brian Castles-Onion Photo: Wellington Opera Castles-Onion, however, thinks it's one of Verdi's best. And he thinks Pierard is one of the best-qualified sopranos to take on the lead role of Amelia; a married woman who has fallen for King Gustavo who, unfortunately for her, is not the man she's married to. It's the second year in a row that Pierard and Castles-Onion have featured in Wellington Opera Company productions. Last year Pierard played the title role in Tosca, while Castles-Onion directed Orchestra Wellington in the pit. The company has established a reputation for high-quality productions made without any support from the Government arts funding body, Creative New Zealand. Castles-Onion says he loves the vibe at Wellington Opera. The Australian-based maestro certainly loves conducting opera, with hundreds of performances to his name. He prefers the orchestra pit to the concert hall podium because he loves the human voice. Madeleine Pierard Photo: Robert Cato Pierard prefers the stage to the concert hall because of her love of acting. For her, the challenge as a singer who is a good actor is to keep the body from getting in the way of her singing - given the acting and the music come from the same place. A good singer doesn't have to contort their body to get the message across, she says. Let the voice flow and the music will bring out the drama.

RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Singles are falling out of love with dating apps
life and society 16 minutes ago Singles are falling out of love with online dating apps, meaning a return to real world introductions, and for some younger daters that's a totally new experience. Match group, the US tech company that owns Tinder, Hinge and OK Cupid saw a 5% drop in paid users in the first quarter of this year. Relationship expert Jess Carbino, who was the sociologist for the dating apps Tinder and Bumble said Gen Z is using apps less. She spoke to Lisa Owen.