SANTE FE COUNTY, NM. (THECOUNT) — In August, actor Nicolas Cage became enraged and stormed off the set of a movie where “Rust,” Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of weapons.
Cage chastised the rookie armorer for firing a gun without warning.
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“Make an announcement, you just blew my f—ing eardrums out!” Cage yelled before walking off in a rage, Brumbaugh recalled.
The 24-year-old “Rust” armorer — in charge of guns when Alec Baldwin shot dead cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last Thursday — was repeatedly accused by crew members of breaking basic safety protocols on the Montana set of Cage’s “The Old Way” in August, reports NYP.
Cage even walked off set screaming at Gutierrez-Reed after she fired a gun without warning for the second time in three days, the movie’s key grip, Stu Brumbaugh, told the outlet.
Brumbaugh even told the assistant director of the armorer, “She needs to be let go,” he recalled.
“After the second round, I was pissed off. We were moving too fast. She’s a rookie,” he said, saying that it was only after complaining that he found out it was the key crew member’s first movie in charge of weapons.
Brumbaugh detailed a series of complaints that were made about Gutierrez-Reed, including that she walked onto the set with live rounds or blanks without announcing it to the cast and crew.
She also walked around with pistols tucked under her armpits such that they were pointing back at people, and allowed firearms to be aimed at people, Brumbaugh told the Wrap.
Another crew member — who spoke on the condition of anonymity — confirmed the concerns.
Gutierrez-Reed “put the cast and crew in several unnecessary and dangerous situations,” the unidentified crew member told the Wrap.
Before the fatal shooting on “Rust,” Gutierrez-Reed — the daughter of Hollywood weapons expert Thell Reed — had admitted not feeling ready for taking on the responsibility when offered “The Old Way” job.
“It was also my first time being head armorer … I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready,” she admitted on a podcast last month.
Sheriff’s investigators on Wednesday recovered the “lead projectile” that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins — As well as 500 other rounds from the set of the movie “Rust,” NBCNEWS reported Wednesday.
The investigation is ongoing and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it’s too early to determine if there’s enough evidence for criminal charges stemming from the deadly incident.
The rounds recovered from the set include blanks, dummy rounds and what investigators suspect are “live” rounds.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office confirmed that actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon on the set of “Rust,” a western being filmed near Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Hutchins was shot dead during the incident that occurred Thursday afternoon. The director of the movie, Joel Souza, was wounded in the shooting and remains hospitalized.
We are now learning that shortly before Baldwin fatally shot Hutchins, a half-dozen camera crew workers, including Hutchins, walked off the set to protest working conditions.
The camera operators and their assistants were frustrated by the conditions surrounding the low-budget film, including complaints of long hours and pay, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
The camera crew showed up for work as expected at 6:30 a.m. Thursday and began gathering up their gear and personal belongings to leave, one knowledgeable crew member told the Los Angeles Times.
Labor trouble had been brewing for days on the dusty set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, reports LATimes.
According to reports, Baldwin, 63, confirmed there was an accident involving the misfire of a prop gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks. The shooting occurred at the Bonanza Creek Ranch around 2 p.m. Thursday.
The ranch is located at, Bonanza Creek Ln in Santa Fe.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s spokesman Juan Rios said detectives were investigating what type of projectile was discharged and how.
No charges have yet been filed.
Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel of gunshot injuries.
Souza, 48, was transported to an area hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
Bonanza Creek Ranch has been used in dozens of films, including the recent Tom Hanks Western “News of the World.”
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Geo quick facts: Santa Fe County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico’s third-most populous county, after Bernalillo County and Doña Ana County. Its county seat is Santa Fe, the state capital – Wikipedia.