Talkback: Do You Think Stuntpeople Should Have An Oscar Category?
Earlier this year, Vin Diesel boldly told the Los Angeles Times that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Fast Five garnered "Oscar talk" this award season. While the fifth Fast and Furious film won't be winning any statuettes for its acting this lifetime (sorry, Vin, The Rock and Ludacris), it might have a legitimate shot at an Academy Award if the movie's stunt coordinator Jack Gill convinces the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to add a Best Stunt category.
Gill -- who has coordinated stunts on nearly 150 films including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Pearl Harbor and Con Air -- will join a group of stuntmen and women on Tuesday night to lobby the AMPAS Board of Governors for their own annual award, which they propose be handed out in advance of the main telecast with the other technical categories. Gill isn't alone in his wish for recognition; veteran stunt icon Vic Armstrong told Movieline last month that it was "ridiculous" stuntpeople didn't have an Oscar category all to themselves... not that Armstrong felt the goal would never be achieved.
I don't think we ever will get accepted. I'm in the Academy, and we keep having petitions and votes and everything, but it doesn't seem to get anywhere. I think it is ridiculous when you have two categories for editing, two categories for sound, you've makeup separate, you've got wardrobe separate -- all these things that are all deserving in their own way. In the old days they used to lump visual effects in with special effects, and I think they can find a way to put us in there. Because whenever you see a movie that wins a special effects award, it's not a visual effects award. It's an award where 99.9 percent it's all the action in the movie. It's all the stunts! So I think we should be recognized. But we're not, and I don't think we ever will.
On the other hand, actress and stuntwoman Zoe Bell sees things a bit differently, as she told Movieline in February.
Part of what I love about what we do as stuntpeople is the illusion of it. You know, if people are convinced that the actors did everything in the movie, then I've done my job. My peers know what my work consists of, and people who are going to be hiring me are aware of that stuff, and my friends and family get to know and be proud, and that's the most important part of it, I think. But having said that, our industry has changed so much that so many of the behind-the-scenes are no longer so behind the scenes, so why not pay attention to it? It just becomes a really difficult thing to credit -- there's a stunt department, but ultimately the stunt coordinator is the head of the department. So do you award it to the stunt department, or do you award it to the performer? And as a performer, I believe I can't do my job without the crew behind me. I love the idea of people in our industry, who work really really hard, getting appreciated for it, but maybe I'm old-fashioned in the sense that I feel like the magician [keeping secrets].
So, dear Movieline readers, the floor is yours. Should stuntpeople have their own Oscar category? And if not, why?
In honor of this discussion, enjoy the late Yakima Canutt's iconic Stagecoach stunt and share your thoughts below.
· Stuntmen to lobby Academy for award category [EW]
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Comments
Yes, it should be for Best Stunt Coordinator and I think it would be great to have on the show. I know a lot of people love the awards for visual effects, sound and make-up, I see this award as one of those.
Ditto. Absolutely.
Plus, Best Stunt Coordinator keeps the mysteries intact.
The inevitable musical tributes choreographed by Stomp or Debbie Allen or someone involved with Dancing with the Stars will be AMAZING.
No.
Only if they start giving Oscars for dance again !
Absolutely they should. If Rick Baker can win a statuette every year for make-up, why not? Because the Academy wants to protect the fragile egos of stars who claim they do their own stunts when everyone knows this is an utter lie. It's unfair, inane and long overdue. If the Academy had any class whatsoever, they'd at least give Hal Needham the Thalberg.
Absolutely, I think stuntpeople should have an Oscar category. True, they keep the illusions going but then again, so do visual effects artists, and they've had an Oscar category for years...
The Taurus Stunt Award Show was recently held in May. The creator of Red Bull thought the men and women who work as stuntmen deserved to recognized for their work. The show last May was the tenth Taurus award show. People involved in the business receive awards for their work. This year's award life time achievement was Loren James.
The last thing the Oscars need is more categories no one cares about.
I think they should. If we give actors an Oscar for their hard work for achieving a great performance on a movie, why shouldn't we give a statue to the stunts who work hard to make the movie believable and to impress the audience?
Hopefully, we would stop listening to actors bragging about them doing all the crazy, over the top stunts when they obviously didn't and give credit to those who actually deserve it.
yes i do if make-up can get an oscar stunts should be right there
Yes they should have a catagory. Just like production design, make up, acting, visual effects stunt cordinating is an art form and a techinical job. They work hard to pull off the magic of film and often help to make a scene artistic. If lighting and the like can get an Oscar why not stunts?
Think of it this way- Do we really need both lead and supporting actor catagories? If you are a great actor it shouldn't matter if you are the focus or not- you should stand out and be breath taking.
Yes. I think that the category should be for best stunts in a motion picture; to be accepted by the stunt coordinator in the name of the whole stunt crew.
But it won't be this year (if ever) - Hollywood likes to think that people haven't figured out that it wasn't Harrison Ford being dragged under that truck, or Lucy Lawless flying through the air.
Speaking of Lucy Lawless - and her stunt double on "Xena", Zoe Bell, as an example of what stunt people go through with no recognition - in the documentary about stunt women, "Double Dare", we see Bell doing a complicated wire gag, including a fairly rough landing on some mats, wearing the Xena costume. Jeannie Epper (also featured in "Double Dare") doubled Lynda Carter on "Wonder Woman", and did her work wearing the WW costume.
Not much room for pads like stunt men can use. Stunt women have it harder than men if only due to costuming cliches, and get (if possible) even less recognition.
Bell was injured on "Kill Bill" (fairly seriously) but played it down to avoid hurting her future in the industry.
This has been talked about for as long as I can remember watching the Oscars, which is for roughly 50 years. My answer for this has been the same one for just as long: YES, they deserve an Oscar Category. They are the nameless, faceless people who actually make movies happen for all action/adventure films. It's way past time they get acknowledgment for their work. I sure would like to see it before I die and I sure never thought in my 20's we'd still be talkin about it here into my stinkin 50's.