One of Nicolas Cage’s Montana Films Has Surprising Connection to Deadly Alec Baldwin Shooting

By now, you've probably heard about the horrible tragedy that occurred on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that wounded the film's director and killed its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. Details about what exactly happened there have continued to emerge in the days since the incident, and they've reignited a cultural conversation about gun safety on film sets.

Now, word is coming out about the film's armorer, Hannah Guttierez-Reed, and how she may be facing legal action in the near future. We're also finding out that this isn't the first time her presence on a film set was a concern - it turns out she was yelled at by a major movie star just a few weeks ago while filming a movie in Montana.

Hannah Guttierez-Reed's First Movie Job Was "The Old Way" With Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage has been in Montana for the last couple of months filming two westerns back-to-back, called The Old Way and Butcher's Crossing. Recent sightings seem to indicate the filming on the second one is well under way, but Guttierez-Reed's first official job as an armorer on film was working on The Old Way... and it sounds like things didn't exactly go smoothly.

Stu Brumbaugh, a key grip on the film, recently spoke to The Wrap about Guttierez-Reed's inexperience, and how she failed to follow basic gun safety protocols while on set. After one incident where she fired a gun near the cast and crew without warning, Nicolas Cage supposedly screamed at her and stormed off set.

The Wrap details a few more similar incidents involving Guttierez-Reed on that film, and notes that some were actually calling for her to be fired. Brumbaugh lays much of the blame on the film's producers for not hiring more experienced people because they don't want to pay their rates, saying that Guttierez-Reed should have at least had help in her position.

The death of Halyna Hutchins is a tragedy, and hopefully it can spark some real change in how weapons and other paraphernalia are handled on a film set. If you'd like to help in some small way, there is a GoFundMe set up for Hutchins' family.