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Astunt is 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 performer orstunt double.
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, andacrobatics required 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,[citation needed] 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 sporting moves, acrobatics and high diving,spins, gainer falls, "suicide backflips," and othermartial arts stunts.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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 wire to 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 ofwuxia films that usekung-fu and are heavily reliant onwire stunts.[1]The Matrix is an example of extensive wire and rigging work in Western cinema.[2]
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 Julienne is 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).[3]
Aviation stunts go back tothose performed in balloons in the 18th century. After the advent of powered aircraft in 1903,barnstorming andaerobatics came into existence.Ormer Locklear invented or helped develop many of the basic tricks ofstunt flying, which includedwing walking and 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.
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 graphics effects 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.[2] TheLord of the Rings film series and theStar Wars prequel films often display stunts that are entirely computer generated. Examples of computer-generated effects include face replacement andwire removal.
In 1982,Jackie Chan began experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences inDragon Lord,[4] which featured a pyramid fight scene that holds the record for the mosttakes required for a single scene, with 2900 takes,[5] and the final fight scene where he performs various stunts, including one where he does a back flip off aloft and falls to the lower ground.[6] In 1983,Project A saw the official formation of theJackie Chan Stunt Team and 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 chase through ashanty town, Chan stopping adouble-decker bus with 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 glass that 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.[7] Chan performed similarly elaborate stunts in numerous other films, such as severalPolice Story sequels,Project A Part II, theArmor of God series,Dragons Forever,Drunken Master II, andRumble in the Bronx among others.
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OtherHong Kong action movie stars who became known for performing elaborate stunts include Chan'sPeking Opera School friendsSammo Hung andYuen Biao, as well as "girls with guns" stars such asMichelle Yeoh andMoon Lee. OtherAsian cinema stars also known for performing elaborate stunts include Thai actorTony Jaa;[8] Indonesian actorsIko Uwais andYayan Ruhian; and Indian actorsJayan,Akshay Kumar,Vidyut Jammwal andTiger Shroff.
Films such asHooper andThe Stunt Man and the 1980s television showThe Fall Guy sought 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 Armstrong went on to direct the action filmsThe Cannonball Run,Action Jackson, andJoshua Tree.Vic Armstrong became the first stuntman to win both anAcademy Award (for developing a descender rig as a safe alternative to airbags) and aBAFTA award (for lifetime achievement in film). But the status of stuntmen in Hollywood is still low;[9] 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.[10] Repeated campaigns for a "Best Stunts" Academy Award have been rejected.[11][12][13][9]
In 2001, the first "World Stunt Awards" were presented inLos Angeles by actorAlec Baldwin. The event had A-list stars presenting the statues to Hollywood's stunt performers.Arnold Schwarzenegger was presented with the first "Lifetime Achievement" award. He presented the awards in 2001.[14] 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.
In past Hollywood films it was common for men to double for women andwhite American stunt performers to double for African American performers, in a practice known as "wigging".[15] 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 Carter inWonder 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.[16]SAG-AFTRA union 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.[15] For example, inA View to a Kill, stuntmanB.J. Worth doubled for the black Jamaican actressGrace Jones whose characterparachuted off theEiffel Tower.[17]
A backlash against dangerous stunts followed the fatal 42-foot backward fall ofSonja Davis off a building on the set ofVampire in Brooklyn.[18] 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.[19][20]
The rally is part of a 25-year effort to create a category for stunt coordinators at the Academy Awards.
stunt coordinator shall endeavor to cast qualified persons of the same sex and/or race involved.
air bag that was to cushion Davis' fall instead reacted like a huge balloon, causing the young woman to bounce, slam into the building and hit the ground
some have found irony in recognizing a community at the exact moment when CGI advances seem destined to render that community irrelevant — or at best secondary — to creating thrilling action on film.
Would computers displace stunt work?