Stunt

This article is about stunt performance. For other uses of the term, seeStunt (disambiguation).

"Stunt driver" redirects here. For the video game, seeStunt Driver.

Astuntis an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of manyaction films.Beforecomputer-generated imageryspecial effects,these depictions were limited to the use of models, false perspective and other in-camera effects, unless the creator could find someone willing to carry them out, even such dangerous acts as jumping from car to car in motion or hanging from the edge of askyscraper:thestunt performerorstunt double.

Pyrotechnicsstunt exhibition by "Giant Auto Rodéo",Ciney,Belgium

Types of stunt effects

Practical effects

One of the most-frequently used practical stunts isstage combat.Although contact is normally avoided, many elements of stage combat, such assword fighting,martial arts,andacrobaticsrequired contact between performers in order to facilitate the creation of a particular effect, such as noise or physical interaction. Stunt performances are highly choreographed and may be rigorously rehearsed for hours, days and sometimes weeks before a performance. Seasoned professionals will commonly treat a performance as if they have never done it before,since the risks in stunt work are high, every move and position must be correct to reduce risk of injury from accidents. Examples of practical effects include tripping and falling down, high jumps,extreme sportingmoves, acrobatics and high diving,spins,gainer falls, "suicide backflips," and othermartial artsstunts.Stunt airbags (or "stunt mats" ), large deep airbags that may be the size of a small swimming pool, are typically used by professional stunt performers to cushion their landings from staged falls from heights.

Freestyle & Stunt Show 2007 inLandrévarzec,France

Mechanical effects

A physical stunt is usually performed with help of mechanics. For example, if the plot requires the hero to jump to a high place, the film crew could put the actor in a special harness, and use aircrafthigh tension wireto pull them up. Piano wire is sometimes used to fly objects, but an actor is never suspended from it as it is brittle and can break under shock impacts.Hero(2003) andHouse of Flying Daggers(2004) are examples ofwuxiafilms that usekung-fuand are heavily reliant onwire stunts.The Matrixis an example of extensive wire and rigging work in Western cinema.

Vehicular stunts

Performers of vehicular stunts require extensive training and may employ specially adapted vehicles. Stunts can be as simple as ahandbrake turn,also known as thebootleg turn,or as advanced as car chases, jumps and crashes involving dozens of vehicles.Rémy Julienneis a well known pioneering automotive stunt performer and coordinator. A Guinness Book of World Records holder stunt driver,Bobby Ore,performed in numerous movies and events and holds a world record for longest distance driven on two wheels in a London double decker bus (810 feet).

On 1 June 1919, Ormer Locklear waited on one biplane for a second one trailing a rope ladder.

Aviation stunts go back tothose performed in balloons in the 18th century.After the advent of powered aircraft in 1903,barnstormingandaerobaticscame into existence.Ormer Locklearinvented or helped develop many of the basic tricks ofstunt flying,which includedwing walkingand transferring between airplanes in mid-air. Hollywood and the public's fascination with aviation made great demands on stunt pilots, resulting in many injuries and fatalities.

Computer-generated effects

In the late 20th century stunt men were often placed in dangerous situations less and less as filmmakers turned to relatively inexpensive (and much safer)computer graphicseffects using harnesses, fans,blue- or green screens,and a huge array of other devices and digital effects.The Matrix(1999) is an example of a film that extensively enhanced real stunts through CGI post production.TheLord of the Ringsfilm series and theStar Warsprequel films often display stunts that are entirely computer generated. Examples of computer-generated effects include face replacement andwire removal.

Hong Kong action cinema

Further information:Hong Kong action cinema

In 1982,Jackie Chanbegan experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences inDragon Lord,which featured a pyramid fight scene that holds the record for the mosttakesrequired for a single scene, with 2900 takes,and the final fight scene where he performs various stunts, including one where he does a back flip off aloftand falls to the lower ground.In 1983,Project Asaw the official formation of theJackie Chan Stunt Teamand added elaborate, dangerous stunts to the fights and slapstick humor (at one point, Chan falls from the top of a clock tower through a series of fabric canopies).

Police Story(1985) contained many large-scale action scenes, including an opening sequence featuring acar chasethrough ashanty town,Chan stopping adouble-decker buswith his service revolver and a climactic fight scene in a shopping mall. This final scene earned the film the nickname "Glass Story" by the crew, due to the huge number of panes ofsugar glassthat were broken. During a stunt in this last scene, in which Chan slides down a pole from several stories up, the lights covering the pole had heated it considerably, resulting in Chan sufferingsecond-degree burns,particularly to his hands, as well as a back injury and dislocation of his pelvis upon landing.Chan performed similarly elaborate stunts in numerous other films, such as severalPolice Storysequels,Project A Part II,theArmor of Godseries,Dragons Forever,Drunken Master II,andRumble in the Bronxamong others.

Two motorbikes jump a car at a country fair, England

OtherHong Kong action moviestars who became known for performing elaborate stunts include Chan'sPeking Opera SchoolfriendsSammo HungandYuen Biao,as well as "girls with guns"stars such asMichelle YeohandMoon Lee.OtherAsian cinemastars also known for performing elaborate stunts include Thai actorTony Jaa;Indonesian actorsIko UwaisandYayan Ruhian;and Indian actorsJayan,Akshay Kumar,Vidyut JammwalandTiger Shroff.

Stunts that have gone wrong

Main article:List of film and television accidents

Recognition of stunt performers

Films such asHooperandThe Stunt Manand the 1980s television showThe Fall Guysought to raise the profile of the stunt performer and debunk the myth that film stars perform all their own stunts. Noted stunt coordinatorsHal Needham,Craig R. Baxley,andVic Armstrongwent on to direct the action filmsThe Cannonball Run,Action Jackson,andJoshua Tree.Vic Armstrongbecame the first stuntman to win both anAcademy Award(for developing a descender rig as a safe alternative to airbags) and aBAFTAaward (for lifetime achievement in film). But the status of stuntmen in Hollywood is still low;despite the fact that few films of any genre or type could be made without them, stunt performers are still perceived as working mainly in action films.Repeated campaigns for a "Best Stunts" Academy Award have been rejected.

In 2001, the first "World Stunt Awards"were presented inLos Angelesby actorAlec Baldwin.The event had A-list stars presenting the statues to Hollywood's stunt performers.Arnold Schwarzeneggerwas presented with the first "Lifetime Achievement" award. He presented the awards in 2001.The awards show hands out eight awards: Best Fight, Best Fire Stunt, Best High Work, Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Man, Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman, Best Speciality Stunt, Best Work with a Vehicle and Best Stunt Coordinator or 2nd Unit Director.

Equality in stunts

In past Hollywood films it was common for men to double for women andwhite Americanstunt performers to double for African American performers, in a practice known as "wigging".Veteran stunt manDave Sharpe,a man of shorter than average height, often doubled for women in film serials of the 1930s and '40s. Veteran stunt performerJeannie Epper,who doubled forLynda CarterinWonder Woman,explained that the situation improved in the 1970s as actresses did not want to be doubled by men, and could be more convincingly doubled by a woman.SAG-AFTRAunion rules for stunt performers say that to double an actor of a different gender or race the stunt must be so dangerous that there are no volunteers available of the appropriate gender or race.For example, inA View to a Kill,stuntmanB.J. Worthdoubled for the black Jamaican actressGrace Joneswhose characterparachutedoff theEiffel Tower.

The future of stunt work

A backlash against dangerous stunts followed the fatal 42-foot backward fall ofSonja Davisoff a building on the set ofVampire in Brooklyn.Despite speculation that developments incomputer-generated imagery(CGI) would make stunts unnecessary and reduce stunt performers to the status of body doubles, stunt work has increasingly been made safer and enhanced by CGI effects; nevertheless, stunt performers remain essential to provide a human quality to the action.

See also

• Stunt coordinator
• Stunt performer
• Stunt double
• Motorcycle stunt riding

Further reading

• Gene Scott Freese, 2014,Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary,2nd ed. illustr. rev., McFarland,ISBN0786476435,see[1],accessed 16 April 2015.

External links

• Taurus World Stunt Awards
• Photos from competition and international gathering stuntriders in Minsk (Belarus)