♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, disturbing new claims in the "rust" movie set shooting, alleging drug use. and who killed jam master jay? a witness's explosive testimony. >> it left an impression upon me that i will not forget. >> juju: two men accused of gunning down the legendary

deejay and founding member of run-dmc, leaving an enduringing mecy of music and hip-hop fashion in iconic videos like "it's tricky." after two decades of silence, why are minutes finally speaking out? plus "argylle." >> oh my god. >> oh my god. >> oh my god. >> juju: the new star-studded spy story for the silver screen with nonstop twists and turns. >> for all of us, how far can we take this? how much fun can we have with it? >> juju: pop star dua lipa levitating over her action-packed role. >> i felt like a little kid have this mad experience, i loved it. i really did. >> juju: the real-life mystery behind the "argylle" author's identity, fueling speculation taylor swift may have penned the plot. >> it's very mysterious. >> juju: and elmo asks for a

check-in and gets a lot more than he bargained for. >> i'm just happy to see you. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey!! (thinking: eddie, no frasier, frank... frank?) fred! how are you?! fred... fuel up to 7 brain health indicators, including your memory. join the neuriva brain health challenge. a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low,

and i approve this message. you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds, but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited line. plus, get the new samsung galaxy s24 on us. ♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, new evidence submitted by prosecutors in the "rust" movie onset shooting raising disturbing questions about alleged substance abuse. here's abc's mullah lenghi.

>> reporter: tonight as the criminal trial nears for the armorer charged in that fatal "rust" movie shooting, newly revealed texts say some members of the crew were alleged about her alleged drug ask alcohol use during filming. court documents show four days after the shooting the film's prop masters told one text member in an exchange about hanna gutierrez. court documents say witnesses claim gutierrez was high on marijuana in her hotel room while simultaneously in possession of ammunition to be used on the set. authorities say six live rounds were found on the movie set in santa fe, new mexico. just how they got there remains a central question in this case. tonight in court documents, prosecutors say their investigation developed substantial evidence that miss gutierrez brought the live rounds on set when she first began work on the film, a claim gutierrez denies.

gutierrez now facing involuntary manslaughter and other charges after the revolver actor alec baldwin was rehearsing with fired a live bullet, killing cinematographer alina hutchins and injuring directly joe souza. "the state unquestionably lacks authority to prosecute gutierrez on this charge," adding their response to launch vitriolic attacks to obscure the facts and truth is more of the same unprofessional conduct that we have seen throughout the case." >> juju: our thanks to fingers were pointed, names were named, in the death of master jay. millions mowered his death while witnesses remained silent, fevering for their own lives. today that changed. here's ashan singh. >> there was a lot of shot today

because no one had ever heard the graphic part about how jam master jay had been killed. >> reporter: a 21-year-old unsolved murder catching fire today. the trial in hip-hop legend jam master jay's killing bringing explosive testimony in the case against two of the men charged with taking the life of the run-dmc deejay, jason mizell. >> it was jaw-dropping for me to finally hear the narrative of what hets his friends and family have been asking for, for 20-plus years. no one has really been able to piece together, which is what prosecutors have done so far in the first three days of this trial. >> reporter: karl jordan jr. and ronald washington pleading not guilty and denying all charges. jordan's attorney saying his client was at his girlfriend's house at the time of the shooting. huti el, known as tony rincon, in the studio with jay when he was shot in the head, finally speaking out. >> first of all, he sobbed the

entire time. >> reporter: actually got emotional? >> he sobbed. he was -- he -- there were just tears streaming down his face. >> reporter: rincon himself was wounded in the gunfire, shot in the leg. giving chilling details in court today of a cold-blooded murder as rincon pointed across the room to jordan. >> jordan's family is -- >> donna miles, reporter for abc 7, has covered the case extensively and was inside the courtroom. >> you got a visual in your head. maybe what jam master jay's face was at the time. it just painted a very vivid picture of what he described, that jam master jay's body fell. it left an impression upon me that i will not forget. >> reporter: washington's lawyer questioning rincon's reliability, saying the case was held together with tape and glue. it's the latest decades-old, high-profile hip-hop murder case without resolution. ♪ >> reporter: in the 1980s,

run-dmc was the essence of hip-hop. songs like "it's tricky." ♪ ♪ it's tricky ♪ >> reporter: their gold and platinum albums climbing to the top of the charts. the first of the genre to do so. >> they were the blueprint for a lot of what we are experiencing in hip-hop right now. in fact, i don't know that we have hip-hop at the level that we have hip-hop without run-dmc and jam master jay. ♪ >> reporter: releasing barrier-breaking songs like "walk this way" featuring aerosmith. ♪ walk this way talk this way ♪ >> the video is still, to this day, one of the most epic music videos of all-time. >> reporter: the trio known for their signature look, sporting rope chains, shell toe adidas with no laces, fedoras, glasses,

ushering in a new era of fashion. >> there was not one person i can think of that i know who lived in the mid-'80s who did not try and replicate that look. >> reporter: it wasn't just cultural mainstream impact. they used street credit to push the 1980s anti-drug message. >> when it comes to drugs, just say no. >> reporter: by the early 2000s, hip-hop fans and the industry had moved on from according to prosecutors, request that's when jay turns to the dug trade. >> jam master jay was supporting friends and family, pulling people out of poverty. it became a situation where helping was somewhat of a financial liability more than he can gain assets. to this day, jam masti jay's family denies he had any connection to drug dealing. >> reporter: i've heard an alleged $200,000 drug deal went bad. prosecutors say jordan and washington entered his recording studio in queens, new york, and thought him dead, leaving his

wife and children behind. >> i want to thank everybody for their thul support and their condolences. and we'll get through this. >> reporter: a star-studded funeral with thousands lined up to pay their respects. >> this is how it ends for jason mizell, his cass set encased in glass, pulled by two horses. >> reporter: it took until 2020 for an indictment to come. >> and we have alleged that two defendants -- karl jordan jr., and ronald washington -- are responsible for the monday of jason mis zell, known to us as jam master jay. >> reporter: tony rincon saying, he walked to jay and gave half a head shake on the arm, "at the same time, that's when i her a couple of shots." adding, "then i see jay just

fall." the prosecution claiming each defendant was proud they had town him down and got away with it, painting a picture of what happened that night more than two decades ago. many wondering why it's taken so long. >> people taking their time to come forward would actually be about fear. you might not fear the person 20, 30-odd years later, or you've just grown apart and you feel safer because you're no longer in that environment, or just the guilt just knocking and knocking and knocking. >> reporter: highlighting a reality that many communes facing a cross america. >> the relationship between the nypd and individuals in hollis, queens, over the last two or they can decades is strenuous at best. and so being truthful with them or believing they will solve these crimes make it difficult for them to accord night an investigation. but over time, people talk and cases get solved. >> every day there's been someone from queens paying homage to jam master jay in the courtroom. he was their neighborhood hero,

and he was the architect of so much of hip-hop culture. >> juju: our thanks to ashan. when we come back, the stars of "argylle" on spies, plot twists, and those taylor swift rumors that won't go away. to turbotax... whend i broke four generations of family tradition with five little words... ma, i wanna make perfume! ( ♪ ) getting my business off the ground was a full-time job. so i made barbara's new side gig count by guaranteeing 100% accurate filing and her maximum refund. make your moves. we'll make them count. intuit turbotax. 100% accuracy, guaranteed. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq.

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to protect the rule of law, or to build affordable housing, or write california's patients bill of rights. but i know adam through the big brother program. we've been brothers e he stood by my side as i graduated from yale, and i stood by his side when he married eve, the love of his life. i'm a little biased, but take it from adam's little brother. he'll make us all proud as california senator. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

♪ >> juju: welcome back. from james bond to austin powers, audiences have long loved a great spy story. and now a new film, "argylle" is getting in on the genre. the identity of its real-life author is a mystery all its own. abc's maggie rulli has more.

>> reporter: i wouldn't make a good spy. i wouldn't. i don't have a poker face. >> actor, maybe. spy, no. >> reporter: she might not an spy but bryce dallas howard has been learning the ropes in "argylle," the mystery movie she says there's more to than first meets the eye. >> it's like nothing you've ever seen before. that's what it felt like, making it on set. >> reporter: the new film from director matthew vaughn catnip for a new jen rig of spy stories. >> whoa, hey, there's a cat in there. >> reporter: refreshing the espionage genre with an unlikely heroine. >> that is probably one of the hardest movie interviews i've ever had to do because there are so many twists and turns. how do you describe this film to people without giving anything away? >> i would say this is a movie which starts off in a fancy spy world, which we're all used to, then you meet a real-life spy that shatters all the illusions that we think are real.

>> reporter: ellie conway played by bryce dallas howard is a spy thriller novelist whose stories turn out to be closer to fact than fiction. >> i'm just really drawn to movies that have a lot of spectacle and challenge in it. so if it's "spider-man" or "twilight" or "terminator" or "jurassic" or whatever, that's my jam. >> reporter: the "jurassic park" leading lady. >> do something for once in your life. >> why do you have to make it personal? >> reporter: sharing a screen with so many stars, twists and turns to match. a-list cast but you had a good time together? >> it was like, how far can we take this, how much fun can we have with this, how many risky choices can we make? >> reporter: superheroes like superman's henry cavill. anti-heroes like bryan cranston of "breaking bad." peacemakers john cena, sam

rockwell, ariana debose, to name a few. the unexpected casting plays a huge role. how important was that? >> if you have the best script in the world, the best cinema tag grapher, the best editor -- if you've got the wrong actor, doesn't matter, you're out of business. casting, casting, casting is the most important thing for me. >> reporter: some say vaughn is following new rules when it comes to casting. ♪ pop star dua lipa joining in the hijinks too. what was it like working with dua, and how did you decide to cast her? py saw >> i saw her interviewed, she has charisma. she's a pop star, she's here to stay. i got in touch, she said she wanted to act. we shot this before "barbie," so she'd never been on a movie set. she worked hard. >> this is my first experience doing anything like this film-wise. and i just -- i loved it. i just wanted to get so immersed in the whole experience.

i felt like a little kid, i loved it. >> reporter: the grammy award winner appears opposite cavill, who's sporting a new look. >> you had a distinctive look. >> the flattop, the green velvet jacket, you go, okay, we're in for a different kind of ride. >> reporter: a wild ride packing plenty of punches. how are the stunts? >> it was a learning curve. i'd done some fight stuff. not as much as henry. henry was like, "take it easy, you're going to get hurt." >> reporter: how's the body feel now? have you recovered? >> it's still a wreck, yeah. still recovering. >> reporter: how are you guys answering questions? >> every journalist is like, we can't talk about anything because the plot has so many twists. we're leaving a trail of bread crumbs for the audience to be on the edge of their seat. >> were you caught off guard and surprised by how many twists and turns there? it's like, are you kidding me? no. i'd go back a little bit. oh, i see how this is going to be set up. oh, man.

it's just crazy. >> a lot of twists, a lot of red herrings, a lot of the things going on. >> reporter: the book that inspire the film even voweded in mystery and sparking speculation as to who's the author behind the pen. when you were making this movie, it sounds ls like you got inspiration from an unexpected source? >> it's not taylor swift. i'm like, it ain't taylor swift. it's been the weirdest -- >> reporter: do you know who ellie conway is? >> of course i do. i think ellie -- she's got to come out of the shadow. i think the taylor swift thing has just gone -- "please get the spotlight off the taylor swift questions and do some interviews." i think that's going to happen soon. >> reporter: while we don't know yet who the author is, there is one star of the film who some say steals the show. there's only one cast member we've heard conflicting reports on. you are front and center in the movie poster. but you have to share that front billing with the cat.

>> yes. >> reporter: how did that make you feel? >> totally fine. that's one of the few times -- >> don't lie, you're jealous. >> honestly not. cats don't even register on my radar, i'm a dog person. >> reporter: alfie the cat, played by chip, the real-life pet of claudia schiffer. >> it's making me laugh that this cat is going to be the most famous person in our family. >> which is saying something. >> yeah. >> reporter: the cast of "ar kyle" says they can't wait for audiences to come along on this caper. >> there's a kind of -- there's a joyfulness and a heart in all of these action set pieces that are not necessarily typical in a spy thriller. and it makes it so, so special. >> the book is phenomenal, sweetie. >> what happens next? it's called a cliffhanger, mother. >> juju: our thanks to maggie.

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♪

>> juju: welcome back. you know, elmo is one of "sesame street's" most beloved characters. so when he posted a question on x, formerly known as twitter, people responded. lots of people. here's abc's will reeve. >> i really love friends. >> reporter: it started as a simple question from one of america's most beloved characters, elmo taking to x to, and how's everybody doing? an avalanche of responses. "elmo, i'm suffering from existential dread over here." and, "every monday i cannot wait for friday to come, every single day and every single week, for life." president biden weighing in saying, "i know how hard it is some ways to keep the cloyed away." after the volume of responses, "sesame street's" official

account sharing a link for those looking for help with their mental health. elmo not shying away from his new role as america's therapist, later writing, "wow, elmo is glad he asked. elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. elmo will check in again soon, friends. elmo loves you, emotional well-being." >> juju: our thanks to will and elmo. a historic miscarriage of justice that's been resolved. kick off the start of black history month tomorrow night at 10:13 p.m. eastern with "soul of a nation presents: exonerated, the murder of malcolm x and 55 years to justice" featuring coanchor byron pitts following "genius." martin luther king action here on abc. that's