Entertainment
'Rust' movie armorer's alleged drug use to be included at trial
A New Mexico judge ruled Wednesday that alleged drug use by “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed during off-hours could be introduced as evidence during her upcoming trial on involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of the film’s cinematographer.
Special prosecutors plan to tell jurors that Gutierrez-Reed, 26, used cocaine, marijuana and alcohol when she was not working and that she was probably hungover on Oct. 21, 2021, when she loaded a live bullet into actor into Alec Baldwin’s revolver. That day, during an rehearsal in an old wooden church, Baldwin allegedly fired the shot that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza.
In a key hearing one week before Gutierrez-Reed’s trial on involuntary manslaughter charges is scheduled to begin in Santa Fe, N.M., attorneys wrangled over the relevance of certain evidence, including Gutierrez-Reed’s text messages. In the texts, she alluded to drug use during her off-hours while the movie was in production outside Santa Fe — including the night before the fatal shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys
objected to plans by Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey to introduce text messages about drug use during the trial and a photo that allegedly depicts live ammunition in Gutierrez-Reed’s hotel room when she was smoking marijuana.
Prosecutors also plan to call a witness to try to corroborate the alleged drug use: an acquaintance who says Gutierrez-Reed gave her a small bag of a white substance for safekeeping a few hours after Gutierrez-Reed was questioned by sheriff’s deputies following the shooting.
Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies, in their investigation, didn’t recover evidence of drugs. Film crew members were not tested for drug or alcohol on site, or when they arrived at the sheriff’s station near Santa Fe later that afternoon for questioning, attorneys have said.
Instead, the prosecutors have tried to piece together a picture of alleged drug use through Gutierrez-Reed’s text messages, which were voluntarily provided to the deputies more than two years ago to assist in the investigation.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Todd Bullion, argued Wednesday the state had no evidence to show that Gutierrez-Reed was impaired on the set. He said disclosures about drug use could be prejudicial to the jury and was an overreach by prosecutors.
“They want the jury to assume that at some point prior to going to work on Oct. 21, 2021, that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed ingested cocaine,” Bullion told the judge. “They have no evidence whether that actually happened … They have no evidence as to how much cocaine would have been consumed or how it would have affected Ms. Gutierrez-Reed or her mental perception or acuity.”
First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that a few of the text messages, including one with photo of the live ammunition in the hotel room, could be introduced to the jury.
However, the judge did express some doubt that the state had enough evidence to connect alleged drug use to any impairment on set.
Wednesday’s hearing was conducted to sort out issues with witnesses and evidence before the Arizona armorer’s upcoming trial in Santa Fe, which begins with jury selection Feb. 21.
Defense attorneys also tried to introduce a new witness — an East Coast armorer who was prepared to testify that Gutierrez-Reed didn’t have adequate training required for union members who work as weapons experts in movies.
But the judge ruled the proposed addition of the new witness came to close to the trial.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges as well as a separate felony charge of alleged evidence tampering. That charge was related to allegedly passing the bag with the white substance to the acquaintance.
If convicted of the involuntary manslaughter charges, she faces an 18-month prison sentence.
Last month, a New Mexico grand jury charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter for his role in Hutchins’ tragic death. If convicted of the charge, a fourth-degree felony, Baldwin also could serve up to 18 months in prison, according to New Mexico law.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty. “We look forward to our day in court,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said last month in a statement. A trial date for the actor has not been set.
For their part, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys plan to argue that Hutchins’ death was the result of a series of missteps, brought on due to extreme pressure from production managers to finish the movie — involving heavy weaponry — within 21 days and under the initial $7 million budget. Filmmakers finished filming the movie last spring in Montana.
Gutierrez-Reed had asked for additional days to provide Baldwin with weapons training, but that request was rejected by the production manager. Gutierrez-Reed had said that Baldwin was distracted with his phone, talking to his family back in New York, during his one and only gun training day.
Days before the tragedy, a production manager also scolded Gutierrez-Reed for spending too much time dealing with weapons and not enough on her secondary role as assistant prop master.
Morrissey fought to exclude from the trial the findings by New Mexico’s occupational safety division, which concluded that producers were also to blame for Hutchins’ death by allowing a work set that was rife with safety violations.
The judge said Wednesday that the OSHA investigation findings could be mentioned during the trial.
Before Rust, Gutierrez-Reed worked on about seven films, including during her years as a university student in Arizona. “Rust” was just her second film as head armorer. The first was “The Old Way,” which was shot in Montana and starred Nicolas Cage.
She is the daughter of legendary Hollywood sharpshooter, Thell Reed.
Entertainment
Jesús Ortiz Paz and Jimmy Humilde took their legal dispute to Instagram. Here’s the breakdown
What started off as a trailblazing music partnership between música mexicana band Fuerza Regida and L.A. label Rancho Humilde has now fizzled into a sticky online drama.
On Saturday, Fuerza Regida frontman Jesús Ortiz Paz, better known as JOP, took to his personal Instagram account to post a statement addressing the band’s ongoing legal battle with the independent label led by music mogul Jimmy Humilde, who signed the band in 2018.
“To everyone who supports Fuerza Regida, you deserve to hear our music,” Ortiz Paz wrote in a public statement. “You deserve to see us perform at the World Cup. You deserve to listen to us on the MLB [Major League Baseball] album.”
This statement, which has since disappeared from JOP’s Instagram post, alleged that music created by the música mexicana group “keeps disappearing.”
Among the songs that have been taken down from streaming platforms by Rancho Humilde are “Triston,” “Todos nos Shipean” and “67,” according to the band’s publicist.
In September 2025, Rancho Humilde filed a lawsuit against Fuerza Regida, alleging breaches of contract for unilaterally collaborating with artists outside the label — such as Chino Pacas and Drake — and signing exclusive live performance deals with Apple Music and Live Nation.
Fuerza Regida countersued, alleging that Rancho Humilde withheld millions in royalties and attempted to “sabotage” the band’s success, including by neglecting to submit its music for consideration ahead of the 2024 Latin Grammys.
The case is still making its way through the courts.
“Everyone knows [what’s] going on[.] [You see] it [in the] media, [that’s] why I’m going to let justice do its job, everyone is going to know who you really are,” the post by JOP continued in both English and Spanish. “[He who has nothing to hide has nothing to fear], go let [Jimmy Humilde] & [Rancho Humilde] know how you feel, make your voice heard. Our story isn’t over I promise.”
Humilde responded to the artist in the comment section shortly after the post was made public.
“You asked me for a bigger [deal], I got it done. You asked me for your [masters], I fought to make it happen. You wanted to become one of the biggest artists in the [world], I have everything I had to help build that dream,” wrote Humilde.
“When you needed help, I didn’t just bring business. I brought my lawyers, my doctors, my relationships, my time, and my heart. I stood by you when it mattered the most,” Humilde continued. “You walked away with the biggest check of your [life,] over $50 million. I never complained. I was happy to see you win because your success was our success.”
“What hurts is seeing everything we’ve built together reduced to a public narrative that doesn’t tell the whole story. If you believe people deserve the truth, then honor the agreement we made. Complete the contract the same way I honored every commitment I made to you. I never stopped looking out for you. I only ask that you do the same. [He who has nothing to hide has nothing to fear].”
In a separate comment — which Humilde uploaded to his own Instagram account with Fuerza Regida’s own song “El Dinero Los Cambio” (which describes how money can change someone) — the label head pushed back on allegations of robbery: “I robbed you? Robbed you of what, fool. You didn’t even have a dollar for me to rob.”
The music mogul also accused JOP — who founded his own label Street Mob Records in 2018 — of sabotaging his own bandmates. “Let’s talk about [how] your own band members went from partners to being employees. They didn’t have much of a choice.”
“And let’s not forget I helped you land a $15 million deal for your label. After that, how you choose to take care of your artists is on you. [Let’s] ask Chinito [Pacas], Calle [24] and Armenta!!” added Humilde, including the names of artists signed to Street Mob Records.
JOP of Fuerza Regida performs at South By Southwest on March 13 in Austin, Texas.
(Cat Cardenas / For De Los)
In an email to De Los, Humilde’s lawyer, Mike Trauben, pushed back on claims that Rancho Humilde is trying to stop Fuerza Regida from making music and obtaining other opportunities.
They cite two recent deals that were approved by Rancho Humilde, including Fuerza Regida’s appearance on “Grand Theft Auto” and in the online video game “Fortnite,” which aligns with the contractual framework both parties had negotiated.
With regards to the proposed MLB and FIFA collaborations, Humilde’s council said that Fuerza Regida sought to prevent Rancho Humilde from exercising its claimed contractual rights, which was ultimately denied by a federal court.
The reason certain songs were removed from streaming platforms is because Fuerza Regida chose to release music outside the agreed Rancho/Sony distribution structure and without the approvals required under the parties’ agreements, per Humilde’s lawyers.
“Ultimately, this case is not about stopping an artist from succeeding,” wrote Trauben to The Times. “It is about whether sophisticated parties are required to honor the agreements they voluntarily negotiated after success had already arrived.”
According to Trauben, Rancho Humilde and Fuerza Regida, both parties entered a completely new agreement in 2022 that fundamentally restructured their entire business relationship, fully terminating the initial 2018 contract in place. As a result, Fuerza Regida received a flat million-dollar bonus, Rancho Humilde converted its ownership of existing masters into a 50/50 structure and the two entered into a new agreement, which Humilde’s lawyers claim favors Fuerza Regida.
“This case is not about whether artists should have rights. They absolutely should. Nor is it about preventing Fuerza Regida from making music,” wrote Trauben. “Rather, this case asks a much broader question that affects the entire music industry: Do contracts still matter after artist success arrives?”
The Times reached out to Fuerza Regida’s attorney but did not hear back as of this publication.
NEW YORK (OSV News) – At what is meant to be a poignant moment in the DC Comics adaptation “Supergirl” (Warner Bros.), the title character, played by Milly Alcock, is told by her mother (Emily Beecham) that she doesn’t have to be nice but she must be good. The recipient of this advice takes it to heart in a way that lends the whole film an unpleasant tone.
We’re not talking Deadpool depths of obscene snark here. Yet scrappy Supergirl, aka Kara Zor-El, in contrast to her affable cousin — and fellow Kryptonian — Superman (David Corenswet), does not come across as especially likeable.
Nor is she a figure to be imitated since, before she embarks on the quest to which most of the running time is devoted, early scenes show her waking up with a succession of staggering hangovers. She gets blotto, we later learn, in an effort to blot out her troubled past. The only positive ingredient in her current life is the bond she shares with her beloved dog, Krypto.
So when evil alien Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) wounds Krypto with a poisoned dart, leaving him with only hours to live, Supergirl is desperate to help the pup survive. Learning that Krem carries the antidote with him wherever he goes, she sets off on an interplanetary hunt for the villain, racing against time.
Supergirl has already crossed paths with another of Krem’s victims, Ruthye (Eve Ridley). Having watched as Krem slaughtered her entire family, Ruthye is out for revenge and wants to join forces with Supergirl.
Since Ruthye, though courageous, is undersized and completely untrained for combat, Supergirl initially tries to ditch her. But Ruthye is not to be so easily rebuffed.
The unlikely duo eventually acquire an informal ally in the person of cigar-chomping, motorcycle-riding freelance warrior Lobo (Jason Momoa). Lobo has reasons of his own for hating the band of brigands Krem leads.
As scripted by Ana Nogueira, director Craig Gillespie’s scifi adventure includes more than one exchange in which Supergirl warns Ruthye about the morally corrupting effects of exacting vengeance. Yet this thoroughly respectable ethical message is completely undermined as the action reaches its climax.
“Supergirl” may not be a dose of Kryptonite. But it’s no energy-infusing sunbath either.
The film contains much harsh but bloodless violence, a scene of urination, a passing reference to nonscriptural religious ideas, a couple of mild oaths, several uses each of crude and crass language and an obscene gesture. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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A crazed newscaster prompts his viewers to do a wild thing: open their windows and shout, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” And they do it, from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, so much yelling. It’s a prescient scene in “Network” from 1976, the year of America’s bicentennial. Fast forward to the semiquincentennial and Americans holler versions of that slogan through windows in real life, just on phones and computers.
When the national mood wobbles, we turn to the arts, which have the power to free buried desires, soothe souls and cross divides. So as America turns 250, the Entertainment team considered how this country’s ups and downs have shaped what we watch, listen to and read. Throughout this week those stories will appear here. Bookmark this page to come back for more.
To start, “Network” makes our list of movies that illustrate frictional historical moments. (“Team America: World Police” does too so expect range!) We also spotlight a new generation of playwrights reimagining Americanness with a sense of hope that America’s best years are still ahead of us. —Brittany Levine Beckman, Entertainment and Features editor
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