Much like everyone else, during isolation I have found myself diving into many a research rabbit hole or intense TV binge, which most recently led to a fascination with stunt-work in film. After listening to endless podcasts interviewing legends within the stunt work scene, I began to wonder why their praises weren’t being sung to the highest extent, i.e. at the Oscars. Stunt work has only been honoured twice by the Academy: Yakima Canutt in 1967, and more recently Hal Needham in 2012.
Stunts often constitute some of the most intricate and memorable moments within a film, and because they are so often executed seamlessly, the behind the scenes work put into creating them can go unnoticed. It is, unfortunately, too easy to assume that all a stunt double does is jump off of things and throw a few punches within a scene, something that looks quite easy to execute from the outside. In the past, I have often heard jokes such as, “I could do that, sure I fall on my face every other day,” but how many times in a row have you had to fall? And how often have you had to time yourself jumping out of the way of a moving car before hitting the ground while simultaneously making it appear accidental as the director yells action? We often forget that a fall isn’t simply a fall and a fight isn’t simply a fight, but stunt people have to make it look like that’s all there is to it.
Let’s hit rewind for a moment to pre-production, long before any film hits our screens. The original screenplay for a film very rarely has the action planned out when it comes to fight sequences, so, many moons before any stunts are even performed, they have to be coordinated. This is the job of the action designer (stunt coordinator), whom you will most likely find in meetings with every single department in the lead up to filming as they need to know things such as the dimensions and materials of the set from the scenic department to plan any collisions with walls and other objects, costume design to see if padding will be worked in, hair and makeup for helmets under wigs as well as training involving both actors and doubles, which can sometimes go on for weeks on end. On top of that, the stunt coordinator often works as second unit director, overseeing and editing all of their own work.
Why is it that as an audience we are alway so amazed to hear that an actor does some of their own stunts? Consider someone like Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible franchise. He does all of his own stunt work, which is obviously an amazing achievement, but it’s not like there was no one else for the job, and they most certainly would not receive the same amount of credit if they were given the opportunity. And where exactly is the round of applause for the action designer volunteering to jump out of the plane before Cruise to film the scene?
In the past five years, almost every film nominated for an Oscar has employed at least one stunt coordinator, so what could possibly be the reason to not show them some appreciation? Action designer Jack Gill feels it is to do with the certain prejudice held by the Academy towards action films, which is yet another issue that needs to be addressed. Personally, I think that adding some form of stunt awards category would add a much needed pick-me-up to the Oscars programme, especially considering the huge ratings drop over the past few years. These people literally put their lives on the line for the sake of cinema; surely the least we can do is provide them with a piece of metal as appreciation.
