EXCLUSIVE: Deadline hears that Jake Busey has boarded Joel Souza’s recently restored production of Rust in Montana at the Yellowstone Film Ranch.
In the film produced and starring Alec Baldwin, Busey will play the role of Drum Parker.
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The logline for Rust, written by Souza, based on a story developed by the director and Baldwin: A 13-year-old boy, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s Kansas, is taken on a violent, harrowing journey to old Mexico by his long estranged grandfather after he’s sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
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Patrick Scott McDermott (Chicago Med, South Side) is playing the role of Lucas Hollister in the film. Frances Fisher also stars.
The film restarted production last week following the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after a prop gun held by Baldwin discharged during rehearsal on location in Santa Fe, NM. Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter along with Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Baldwin’s charges were recently dropped.
Rust‘s new crew counts safety officers Gary Jensen and Paul Jordan (Tenet Production Safety). Rust Movie Productions’ attorney, Melina Spadone, previously said in a statement that “The production will continue to utilize union crew members and will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition. Live ammunition is — and always was — prohibited on set. Each and every one of us is wholeheartedly dedicated to realizing Halyna’s vision and paying tribute to her artistry.”
As Deadline first told you, Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, is an EP on the revived feature as well as on a documentary about her life. Cinematographer Bianca Cline (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) is completing Rust where Hutchins began, saying she he will donate her salary to charity in her honor. Grant Hill is also producing Rust.
Busey starred in Season 3 of Stranger Things as Bruce, a journalist for the Hawkins Post with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor.
He also starred in 2018’s The Predator opposite Thomas Jane and Sterling K. Brown, playing the son of Peter Keyes, the character that his father, Gary Busey, played in Predator 2. Other features include Twister, Contact, Enemy of the State, The Frightners, Identity, Home Fries and Starship Troopers.
Busey also had a recurring role as Tony Caine in ABC’s/Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Other series include Justified and From Dusk Till Dawn, Texas Rising. He also had a starring role on the Hulu series Freakish and Showtime’s Ray Donovan.
Busey is represented by Artists & Representatives and Hummel Entertainment.