One Of The Fall Guy’s Incredible Car Stunts Broke A Hollywood Record [SXSW 2024]
It’s been several days now since this year’s Oscars ceremony, and yet I’m still scratching my head as to why the Academy had Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt present a montage honoring stunts and stunt performers without mentioning why they had selected these two specific actors to do so. Then there’s the bitter irony of the Academy celebrating stunt performers while stubbornly refusing to give them an Oscar of their own, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole.
While it’s true the pair starred in dual halves of Barbenheimer last year, they’ve also got a new film coming out in “The Fall Guy.” Loosely adapted from Glen A. Larson’s ’80s action-adventure TV series of the same name, the movie casts Gosling as a stuntman who’s rapidly aging out of his occupation from years of risking permanent bodily harm, only to find himself unraveling a mystery on the set of his latest project … a film that, wouldn’t you know it, is being directed by his ex-girlfriend (Blunt). Basically, unlike the Academy, “The Fall Guy” actually puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to honoring stunt performers, relying heavily on practical stunt work and even hailing from a real-life veteran of the field in Brad Pitt’s stunt double turned uncredited “John Wick” co-director (and credited “Deadpool 2” helmer) David Leitch.
Speaking at the film’s South by Southwest panel after its world premiere (which /Film attended), Leitch confirmed that he and his crew avoided CGI as much as possible during production:
“No, that was our goal. It was a love letter to stunts […] Look, I love my visual effects friends and brethren, but this is a movie that really had to be true to the roots of stunts.”
In doing so, Leitch and his crew even set a stunt record of their own.