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US actor Alec Baldwin faces involuntary manslaughter charges carrying prison time for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the 2021 filming of the Rust movie in New Mexico.

Santa Fe's top prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwies said on Thursday that the film's armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, would also be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Hutchins' family welcomed the announcement while Baldwin lawyer Luke Nikas said "this decision distorts Halyna Hutchins' tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice".

The charging decision followed more than a year of investigation after a pistol was fired in October 2021 as Baldwin, 64, was rehearsing with it on the set of his movie Rust outside Santa Fe.

The movie's director, Joel Souza, was hit and wounded by the same .45-calibre bullet that killed Hutchins.

According to a police report, David Halls, the assistant director who handed the gun to Baldwin, told the actor it was "cold," an industry term meaning it did not contain live rounds.

Halls signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, Carmack-Altwies said in her statement.

Gutierrez-Reed had handled the gun before Halls.

Prosecutors told the New York Times it was part of industry standards for actors to check that guns they used were safe to handle and they should never point them at anyone.

Baldwin has pushed back at that idea, saying firearm safety was the responsibility of the armourer, first director and others.

"You should not point a gun at someone that you're not willing to shoot," Carmack-Altwies said in an interview with the New York Times on Thursday.

Charges will be filed by the end of January, she said.

But prosecutors could face long odds securing a conviction, according to legal experts, who said that if Baldwin was told the gun did not contain live ammunition by on-set professionals, he would not be obligated to inspect it himself.

"It's a very aggressive charging decision, and the defence has a strong case," said personal injury attorney and former prosecutor Neama Rahmani, who was not involved in the Rust case.

"Accidents like this are not enough for criminal liability."

Prosecutors must prove on-set firearm safety began with Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of weapons; applied to Halls, who handed Baldwin the gun, then extended to the actor, who also was a producer on the film.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will be charged "in the alternative" with two counts of manslaughter, meaning a jury will decide not only if they were guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter, the prosecutor said.

Simple involuntary manslaughter for negligence is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $US5000 ($A7265) fine.

Should prosecutors prove there was more than simple negligence involved in the use of a firearm, they could face a mandatory five-year jail term.

Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins' death and said live rounds should never have been allowed onto the set of the low-budget movie.

He has said he was following directions to point the gun at Hutchins when it went off, and that he did not pull the trigger of the replica Pietta .45-calibre long Colt revolver.

It remains unclear how live ammunition got on the set.

"Mr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun - or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win," his lawyer Nikas said.

In a statement released on behalf of the Hutchins family, lawyer Brian Panish said their own investigation found charges were warranted.

The family sued Baldwin in 2021, alleging the Emmy-winning 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live actor had a responsibility to check the gun did not contain live rounds, not point it at the cinematographer and not cock the weapon and pull the trigger.

The family subsequently reached a settlement in which Matt Hutchins became an executive producer of Rust.

Production is set to resume early in 2023 outside New Mexico.

An FBI forensic test of the revolver found it "functioned normally" and would not fire without the trigger being pulled.

New Mexico's worker safety agency in April fined the film's production company $US137,000, the maximum amount possible, for what it described as "wilful" safety lapses leading to Hutchins' death.

Lawyer Duncan Levin said the case revolved around film industry firearm safety standards that were ill-defined and more a question of civil law than a criminal case.

"Prosecutors have a lot of work ahead of them to demonstrate that putting Alec Baldwin in prison for this is the right outcome," said Levin, who has represented actors and entertainment personalities.

with PA

© RAW 2023

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Former world No.1 Andy Murray has shown Thanasi Kokkinakis who's boss, grinding out a gob-smacking five-set comeback victory to earn a spot in the Australian Open third round.

Winning the opening two sets and leading 5-2 in the third, Kokkinakis looked on track to complete a rare daily treble by Australian men, with Alexei Popyrin and Alex de Minaur earlier banking rousing second-round wins.

But instead the South Australian was left heart-broken with the Scot spoiling the party with a 4-6 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5 defeat which lasted five hours 45 minutes - the second longest in Australian Open history.

Starting at 10.22pm and ending at 4.05am, the match threatened the record for the latest grand slam finish which was a 4.34am epic in 2008 at Melbourne Park when Lleyton Hewitt trumped Marcos Baghdatis.

With his early career ravaged by injury, Kokkinakis had never previously gone past the Open second round, only once before reaching the third round at a grand slam with that high coming back in 2015 at the French Open.

It looked like his fortunes would change but never-say-die Murray refused to stay on script.

"It's unbelievable that I managed to turn that around," said the 35-year-old, with the match the longest of his stellar career.

"Thanasi was serving unbelievably well, hitting his forehand huge and I don't know how I managed to get through it.

"I did start playing better as the match went on and I have a big heart.

"It's amazing to win the match but now I want to go to bed."

"Everyone, including me, I think we should all get off to bed now."

Visibly shattered as he left the court, Kokkinakis wasn't available to media as he underwent treatment for an undisclosed condition.

Kokkinakis struggled to close out the first three sets, blowing five set points in the second before taking it in a tiebreak, and in the third he led 5-2.

The 26-year-old temporarily lost the plot when leading 2-0 in the third when he received a time violation on his serve after restarting his action when a fan called out.

A furious Kokkinakis stormed toward the chair umpire, remonstrating and saying it was payback because the umpire "felt bad" about giving Murray an earlier one.

Kokkinakis then lost the game as he failed to put away four overheads after Murray scrambled madly, with the Australian smashing his racquet into the court and earning a code violation.

Three-time major winner Murray, ranked 66, then used the chaos to consolidate, levelling at 2-2.

Kokkinakis managed to regroup, with his firepower giving him the chance to serve for the match at 5-4. However, another wobble allowed the wily Scot back in and the home hope surrendered the tiebreak with a wild volley.

Despite competing with a metal hip, Murray showed no signs of slowing down and dominated the fourth to put the match on level terms.

The pair went toe-to-toe in the fifth set, at 3-3 Kokkinakis saving four break points to stay on serve to the delight of the large Margaret Court Arena crowd who stayed until the death.

He then saved another four at 5-5, but Murray fired a forehand winner to conjure the break, allowing him to serve out the match.

Murray saved a serve for tournament officials for allowing the match to go ahead so late and was the latest player to criticise the Open balls.

"I don't know who it's beneficial for," he said of the late finish.

"Rather than the discussion being about an epic Murray-Kokkinakis match it ends in a bit of a farce.

"If I had a ball kid who is coming home at 5am I'm snapping at that; it's not beneficial for them, the umpires, the officials, I don't think it's amazing for the fans or good for players."

© AAP 2023

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Alex de Minaur has clawed his way past evergreen Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to join countryman Alexei Popyrin in the Australian Open third round.

The only seeded home hope in the tournament after the injury-forced withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios, de Minaur prevailed 7-6 (6-3) 4-6 6-4 6-1 in a battle lasting three hours and 29 minutes on Thursday night.

After going down a break in the fifth game of the match, the 23-year-old was able to rebound and break Mannarino straight back on John Cain Arena.

It proved a turning point with the 22nd seed then using the momentum to storm ahead to lead two sets to one.

It took the wind out of the 34-year-old's Mannarino's sails with his frustration growing alongside his unforced error count.

A buoyant De Minaur took full advantage, playing almost flawless tennis as he broke his opponent and then consolidated for a commanding 4-1 lead.

Another break gave the Aussie a chance to serve out the match, which he did without dropping a point.

He said he had to "dig deep" to overcome the dogged left-hander.

"It was a battle and I found a level I didn't know I had," de Minaur said.

"I was on cloud nine for a whole set and a half and that's down to you (the crowd) so let's keep it going."

De Minaur said he was inspired by the performance of Popyrin, who earlier shocked fifth seed Taylor Fritz on the same court.

"We've grown up together and he played a hell of a match," de Minaur said.

"He inspired me and I was glad I was able to pull through."

He faces another French player in the third round after Benjamin Bonzi upset Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in five sets, winning the match in a championship tiebreak.

De Minaur's best result thus far at the Open came last year when he reached the fourth round.

He arrived at Melbourne Park this year with rocketing confidence after claiming the scalp of top seed Rafael Nadal at the season-opening United Cup and taking down two-time Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev at the Paris Masters in November.

© AAP 2023

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Kimberly Birrell is already planning a bigger and better 2023 after falling to Czech teenage sensation Linda Fruhvirtova in the Australian Open second round.

The Queenslander had high hopes after eliminating No.31 seed Kaia Kanepi in the opening round but Fruhvirtova had her number from the get-go, winning 6-3 6-2 on Thursday.

Birrell was the last remaining Australian woman in the singles draw after the round-two loss of youngster Olivia Gadecki and the withdrawal of the top-ranked Ajla Tomljanovic with a knee injury two days before the Open.

"Obviously I'm a little bit sad that I didn't win today. I would love to play it again, but overall I'm really stoked with the way that I'm playing," Birrell said.

"I showed some of my best tennis in my first-round match and it's hard to be too upset with all the support I've been given in the last few days and weeks."

After a run of serious injuries threatened her career, the 24-year-old's win over Kanepi was her first at a grand slam.

Birrell had no luck against 17-year-old Fruhvirtova, who won her first WTA title in Chennai last year to move inside the top 100.

Fruhvirtova broke Birrell on her opening serve and raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and while the 24-year-old steadied, the Czech broke her again for a 5-3 scoreline before serving for the set.

The second set followed in similar fashion with the world No.87, who ousted another Australian wildcard Jaimee Fourlis in round one, again getting the early break.

Birrell pocketed $US110,000 ($A158,500) for advancing to the second round, which she said would make a huge difference to her year and her quest to climb from 167 to a spot in the top 100.

"It's really changed my year, not only the confidence that I've gained from my first-round win against Kanepi," she said.

"She's an amazing player, so I've got that under my belt now and I know I can compete against the best in the world, as well as the prize money.

"It hasn't exactly sunk in but I am going have chat with my family and team and make a really strong plan for the next few months.

"There's heaps of positives to take the last few days and I'm really excited to use the money I've won here to invest in myself."

© AAP 2023