Highlights
- Stunt workers are often overlooked by the Academy at the Oscars, despite their crucial role in film production.
- Directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, both former stuntmen, are advocating for an Oscars category for stunts.
- Stunt performers risk their lives and are often underpaid, highlighting the importance of recognizing their contributions in the industry.
John Wick co-director David Leitch has some choice words for the Academy, who he accuses of overlooking one extremely vital production department every year at The Oscars.
Since his uncredited direction on the original John Wick, Leitch has made a name for himself as a filmmaker of major blockbusters like Deadpool 2, Bullet Train, Hobbs & Shaw, and his highly-anticipated upcoming film The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling. Leitch's career as a director started after meeting and befriending Keanu Reeves on the set of The Matrix Reloaded while performing stunts for the film. Leitch was also Brad Pitt's stunt double in Fight Club and credits his work as a stuntman for his break into the industry.
During an interview with Empire, the director voiced his opinion regarding a lack of respect for stunt workers in the industry at large, stating, "For my entire career it feels like the stunt community has been lobbying the Academy to recognize them as a department that's as important to a film as anyone else." The Oscars, known for frequent snubs, including classics like Halloween and American Psycho, has had past award categories as specific as 'Best Assistant Director' and 'Best Dance Direction,' but shockingly has never had an award dedicated to stunts. "It's really disheartening when everyone is celebrating on Oscar night," Leitch said, adding that stunt coordinators are in all the same meetings as other department heads, including costume and production designers. "It blows my mind that the perception is that [stunt workers] are not additive," the director lamented.
Leitch's John Wick co-director Chad Stahelski also got his Hollywood start as a stuntman and is now a lobbyist for stunt performers. Stahelski recently did a press tour urging the Academy to consider an Oscars stunt category and announced in June that conversations were officially underway. Leitch and Stahelski have used their platforms as stuntmen-turned-directors to shine a light on the issue of equal recognition. Stunt performers frequently put their bodies in harm's way and their lives in danger to carry out impressive on-camera sequences. On top of that, stunt workers are often paid pennies compared to the actors they're protecting. Accidents involving stunts can end with permanent injury or even death, like the incident that left a stuntman on the Fast and Furious 9 set with life-altering brain damage.
Stunts are vital to films, particularly in big-budget action movies and blockbusters, and stunt performers and coordinators deserve to be celebrated as much as any other cog in the filmmaking machine. Thanks to the work of John Wick directors Leitch and Stahelski, audiences may get to see an Oscars category for stunts shortly.
John Wick is currently streaming on Peacock, and The Fall Guy hits theaters on May 3, 2024.
Source: Empire