As far as becoming an armorer in the film industry is very vague and varies greatly vs LEO or military which requires certification vs apprenticeship.
To me, this should change developed a standard and require license and certification.
I read an interview with a movie armorer in the UK, and they require licensing and you start as an apprentice, then journeyman, then master. No shortcuts. You can't just get a job as an armorer there because your dad is an armorer. They are also much more strict on handling the guns. An AD can't hand a gun to an actor, it has to be a master armorer. And no live ammo (other than blanks) on the set at all (which seems like common sense to me, I can't believe they were allowed to take prop guns out plinking with live rounds a recipe for disaster) and the guns have to be modified so they won't accept cartridges with bullets. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
That being said, do you have a link for that? I'm not finding much out there about it and can't really comprehend how COVID would be related. Everything I'm finding in terms of new news today is all about how the armorer didn't know WTF she was doing and was a complete idiot.
"I'll take Diversity Hires that backfired for a thousand Alex". [Reply]
Originally Posted by : "Rust" armorer "mishandled" guns on previous film with Nicolas Cage, crew members say
From CNN's Chloe Melas
Two crew members tell CNN that Hannah Reed-Gutierrez, 24, who was the lead armorer on the set of "Rust," mishandled weapons on a previous film project.
Stu Brumbaugh, the key grip on "The Old Way," told CNN that Reed-Gutierrez handled guns on the set of that project in a reckless manner and that he urged the film's assistant director to fire her.
“There’s a universal way to handle weapons on set and immediately red flags went up when I worked with Hannah,” Brumbaugh said. “This is why I asked for her dismissal.”
“This is why people get injured because of rookie mistakes,” he said.
CNN has reached out to the film's production company and the assistant director on the film for comment. CNN has also reached out to Reed-Gutierrez.
Brumbaugh cited an incident in which Reed-Gutierez fired a gun near the film's star Nicolas Cage without warning.
"Make an announcement! You just blew my f***ing eardrums out!" Cage screamed in response and then walked off set angrily, according to Brumbaugh.
“She was talking to the stunt coordinator, and she just fired off a round, it sounded [like she fired] at the ground, and that’s when Nick really laid into her. That’s when I said she needs to be let go, she’s the most inexperienced armorer I had ever worked with. I have no idea why she wasn’t let go.”
CNN has reached out to Cage for comment.
Brumbaugh's allegations were first reported by The Wrap.
Reed-Gutierrez is the daughter of longtime Hollywood armorer, Thell Reed. "Rust" was her second film as an armorer. She said on an episode of The Voices of the West podcast in September that she was "nervous" to work on "The Old Way."
"I almost didn't take the job because I wasn't sure if I was ready, but doing it, like it went really smoothly," she said during the podcast.
A source who worked on “The Old Way" and requested their name not be included for fear of professional reprisal told CNN they also had concerns about Reed-Gutierrez's work on the project.
"She walked out onto the set with live rounds with no announcement whatsoever to the cast and crew by her," the source said. "She never announced to anyone that she was walking on the set carrying firearms loaded with blanks with her."
"She didn't carry the firearms safely. She had pistols tucked under her armpits and was carrying rifles in each hand that were ready to be used in the scene," this individual added. "Firearms were aimed at people. She turned around and the pistols that were tucked under her armpits were pointing back at people."
On Wednesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said investigators believe the gun fired by "Rust" producer and star Alec Baldwin contained a "suspected live round."
Mendoza said Reed-Gutierrez, Baldwin and others on the "Rust" set at the time of the shooting are cooperating with the investigation.
So if her incompetence is deemed mostly at fault here which seems to be the case, what’s a potential charge and punishment?
It’s pretty clear by her own words and with additional details that she didn’t respect or understand the importance and severity of her job at all. [Reply]
Seriously, WTF? She's a professional armorer, and the daughter of a professional armorer, yet she's breaking the most basic rules of gun safety that should be taught to any child by his/her father, ESPECIALLY one that's a professional armorer.
Between her and the assclown assistant director, it's a wonder more people didn't end up shot. Jesus. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
So if her incompetence is deemed mostly at fault here which seems to be the case, what’s a potential charge and punishment?
It’s pretty clear by her own words and with additional details that she didn’t respect or understand the importance and severity of her job at all.
Not a lawyer, but it seems like a fairly likely involuntary manslaughter charge, which would be up to 18 months in prison in New Mexico.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Either way, it's becoming pretty clear that she was dangerous and had no business being in that role...
Dang, that's not good at all. It sounds like she really didn't understand her job.
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
So if her incompetence is deemed mostly at fault here which seems to be the case, what’s a potential charge and punishment?
It’s pretty clear by her own words and with additional details that she didn’t respect or understand the importance and severity of her job at all.
I have no legal expertise at all, but isn't this the definition of manslaughter or negligent manslaughter? She's going to be making license plates for a while, I bet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Not a lawyer, but it seems like a fairly likely involuntary manslaughter charge, which would be up to 18 months in prison in New Mexico.
Originally Posted by DaFace:
That being said, do you have a link for that? I'm not finding much out there about it and can't really comprehend how COVID would be related. Everything I'm finding in terms of new news today is all about how the armorer didn't know WTF she was doing and was a complete idiot.
I read an article on Twitter over lunch. Not sure if I'll be able to hunt it back up (but it was pretty dismissive of the claim so it seemed unlikely to have been made up from whole cloth). [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Not a lawyer, but it seems like a fairly likely involuntary manslaughter charge, which would be up to 18 months in prison in New Mexico.
