The China Mail - Baldwin clan shun media scrum as 'Rust' trial commences

Alec Baldwin shot a glare back at his interrogator before marching wordlessly on.

Baldwin, who is on trial for involuntary manslaughter, does not appear to be relishing the global media attention descending on his case.

In 2021, the actor was holding the gun that fatally fired a live round at a "Rust" crew member.

Baldwin says he did not know the gun was loaded, and did not pull the trigger.

If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.

The path to the trial has been long and complex. Charges against Baldwin were filed, dropped, and then re-filed by prosecutors.

Several attempts by Baldwin's lawyers to have the case dismissed were thrown out by a no-nonsense judge.

But with the trial finally arriving, Baldwin unexpectedly attended a pre-trial session at the Santa Fe courthouse in person on Monday, where he cut a relaxed figure.

He took notes on a yellow pad, carried in a Barnes & Noble bookshop tote bag, and spent a break in between court sessions watching videos on his smartphone in a courthouse corridor.

When he returned to the court on Tuesday, Baldwin was this time accompanied by his wife Hilaria, and one of their seven young children.

Around 15 minutes later, Stephen Baldwin -- another member of the Hollywood acting dynasty -- arrived in support of his brother.

The scenes appeared to be cut straight from the fly-on-the-wall reality TV show the Baldwins are taping for the US network TLC.

That show promises to bring viewers "the ups and downs; the good, the bad, the wild and the crazy" of life with the Baldwin clan, whose seven children range from 20 months to 10 years.

But at least for Tuesday, the Baldwins remained tight-lipped.

Arriving in separate black Chevrolet SUVs, accompanied by a nanny and a phalanx of lawyers, Alec and Hilaria refused to answer any questions from the dozens of journalists outside the Santa Fe courthouse.

The only comment came from their young baby, who wailed in the background as the family patriarch entered the courthouse where his fate will be decided.

C.Smith--ThChM