A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission. The word is derived from mixed Latin, theatre Theatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre had existed since the dawn of man, as a, or cinema A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a story conveyed with moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry. Stunts are a big part of many action movies Action movies are a film genre where in the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the 1970s. The genre is closely linked with.

Before computer generated imagery Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. Video games usually use real-time computer graphics (rarely referred to as CGI)[citation needed], but may special effects The illusions used in the film, television, theater, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects, these effects were limited to the use of models, false perspective and other in-camera effects, unless the creator could find someone willing to jump from car to car or hang from the edge of a skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper. Most cities define the term empirically; even a building of 80 meters may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes above its built environment and changes the overall skyline.[: the stunt performer These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be. There is an inherent risk in the performance of all stunt work in film, television and stage work. Daredevil performers are distinct from stunt performers and stunt doubles, as they perform their or stunt double A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts (especially fight scenes). Stunt doubles may be used in cases where an actor's physical condition precludes a great amount of physical activity, or when an actor is.

Contents

Practical effects

One of the most-frequently used practical stunts is stage combat Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other production media including film and television. It is. Although contact is normally avoided, many elements of stage combat, such as sword fighting Fencing is a family of sports and activities that feature armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, or bludgeoning weapons that are directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot, thrown or positioned. Examples include swords, knives, pikes, bayonets, batons, clubs, and similar weapons. In contemporary common usage, fencing tends to refer, martial arts Martial arts or fighting arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of Combat. Martial arts all have a very similar objective: defend oneself or others from physical threat. In addition, some martial arts are linked to beliefs such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism or Shinto while others follow a particular code of honor, and acrobatics Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports. Acrobatics is most often associated with activities that make extensive use of gymnastic elements, such as acro dance, circus, and gymnastics, but many other athletic activities— 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

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 aircraft high tension wire to pull him 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. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a Chinese-language film in wuxia martial arts style, released in 2000. A China-Hong Kong-Taiwan-United States co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. The movie was based on the (2000) is a kung-fu Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu (Chinese: 功夫 pinyin: gōngfu), are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" (家, jiā), "sects& movie that was heavily reliant on wire stunts.

Vehicular stunts

Fire-breathing "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band", Chassepierre, Belgium

Performers of vehicular stunts require extensive training and may employ specially adapted vehicles. Stunts can be as simple as a hand brake In cars, the hand brake is a latching brake usually used to keep the car stationary. Automobile e-brakes usually consist of a cable (usually adjustable for length) directly connected to the brake mechanism on one end and to some type of lever that can be actuated by the driver on the other end. The lever is traditionally and more commonly a hand- turn, also known as the bootleg turn, or as advanced as car chases, jumps and crashes involving dozens of vehicles. Rémy Julienne Rémy Julienne (born April 17, 1930) is a pioneering French driving stunt performer, stunt coordinator, assistant director and occasional actor. He is also a former rallycross champion and 1956 French motorcross champion is a well known pioneering automotive stunt performer and coordinator. Another well known Vehicular stunt specialist is Englishman Ian Walton, who was the Helicopter stunt pilot and stunt designer for many 80's movies, notably the Bond James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No film Never Say Never Again Never Say Never Again, released in 1983 by Warner Bros., is a remake of the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. Unlike the majority of other Bond films it was not produced by EON Productions. Because of this, it is referred to as an 'unofficial' James Bond film. The film, like the original, stars Sean Connery as British Secret Service agent James. Streetbike stunts, also known as "stunting" gained wide spread popularity in the early 2000s and continues to grow. It is based on wheelies but now goes much further than that.

Computer generated effects

In the late 20th century stunt men were placed in dangerous situations less and less as filmmakers Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission, through scriptwriting, shooting, editing, directing and distribution to an audience. Typically, it involves a large number of people, and takes from a few months to several years to complete. Filmmaking takes place all over the world in a huge range of economic, turned to relatively inexpensive (and much safer) computer graphics Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer effects using harnesses, fans, blue- or green screens Chroma keying is a technique for mixing two images or frames together in which a color from one image is removed (or made transparent), revealing another image behind it. This technique is also referred to as color keying, colour-separation overlay (CSO; primarily by the BBC), greenscreen, and bluescreen. It is commonly used for weather forecast, and a huge array of other devices and digital effects. The Matrix The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski; starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It was first released in North America on March 31, 1999, and is the first installment in the Matrix series of films, comic books, video games, (1999) is an example of a movie relied on CGI stunts extensively.

Examples

Stars who do stunts

Main article: Stunt actor

In the early days of cinema A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a story conveyed with moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry, some actors such as Buster Keaton Joseph Frank Keaton, known professionally as Buster Keaton , was an American comic actor and filmmaker. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face" and Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor and film director of the silent film era who became one of the best-known film stars in the world before the end of the First World War. Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and continued well into the era of the talkies, though his films did most of their own physical stunts. However, as these performances were usually very dangerous and many movie stars A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters. The most widely known, prominent or successful actors are sometimes were not so athletic, filmmakers Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission, through scriptwriting, shooting, editing, directing and distribution to an audience. Typically, it involves a large number of people, and takes from a few months to several years to complete. Filmmaking takes place all over the world in a huge range of economic, and insurance In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or companies turned to hiring stunt doubles A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts (especially fight scenes). Stunt doubles may be used in cases where an actor's physical condition precludes a great amount of physical activity, or when an actor is to do them.

Most action movie actors today use stunt doubles, though some of them do a few of their own stunts to please movie fans. One famous exception to this norm has been Jackie Chan Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer from Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million. Igor Breakenback, an actor An actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets"; in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character, stuntman These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be. There is an inherent risk in the performance of all stunt work in film, television and stage work. Daredevil performers are distinct from stunt performers and stunt doubles, as they perform their and once Jackie Chan Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, filmmaker, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer's Body Double A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, whether videotape or film. The term is most commonly used in the context of head-to-toe shots involving nudity. More specific terms are often used in special cases; a stunt double is used for dangerous or sophisticated who is highly skilled in I Go Ryu Jiu Jitsu, also does all his stunts without assistance or wires. Tony Jaa Tatchakorn Yeerum (Thai: ทัชชกร ยีรัมย์; or formerly Panom Yeerum (born February 5, 1976 in Surin province, Isaan, Thailand), better known in the West as Tony Jaa, in Thailand as Jaa Panom, is a Thai monk. Prior to assuming his vows, he was a martial artist, actor, choreographer, stuntman, and director. His films include, an actor An actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets"; in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character who is highly skilled in martial arts, also does all his stunts without assistance.

Popular Indian actor Jayan used to do physical stunts without stunt doubles. He was killed in a helicopter crash while doing a stunt for a Malayalam Malayalam (മലയാളം malayāḷam, pronounced [mɐləjaːɭɐm]) is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Mahé. It is spoken by 35.9 million people. Malayalam is also language movie in 1980. Hrithik Roshan too performed his own stunts for the much acclaimed films Krrish and Dhoom 2 that sprang him to instant stardom after his break with the movie Kaho Na Pyar Hai in which he played a macho man in the second half.

Notable among professional Hollywood stuntmen were Yakima Canutt (1895–1986) and Dar Robinson Dar Allen Robinson was an American stunt performer and actor. Robinson broke nine world records and set 21 "world's firsts." He invented the decelerator (use of dragline cables rather than airbags for stunts that called for a jump from high places) which allowed a cameraman to film a top-down view of the stuntman as he fell without (1947–86).

In his movies, Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards. His first leading role was the 1983 film Risky Business, which has been described as "A Generation X classic, and a career-maker" for the performs many of his own stunts without doubles, including the Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team for all but the first season was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves Trilogy and Minority Report Minority Report is a 2002 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "Precrime", a specialized police department, apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge[citation needed].

In The Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three live action fantasy epic films: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). The trilogy is based on the three-volume book The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. While they follow the book's general storyline, the films also feature some additions to, Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn Aragorn II is a character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is also known as Strider and later as King Elessar performed all of his own stunts, including swordplay, insisting it would look more authentic, and sustained several injuries as a result.

Some notable movie stunts

Caida de altura Ejemplo 3 (English: Example 3 Drop Height)

Silent comedian Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies climbs the entire height of a Los Angeles skyscraper without wires or nets. Lloyd dangles from a broken clock face on the topmost floor above moving traffic despite having only three fingers on his right hand.

The front of a house falls down with Buster Keaton standing in the exact position of an open window, leaving him unharmed. His stone-faced expression remains.

Joe Canutt Judah Ben-Hur rides his chariot over the wreck of a competitor. He is launched over the front of his chariot and barely manages to hang on to the front as he climbs back up.

Pursued by Germans, Bud Ekins as Capt. Virgil “The Cooler King” Hilts jumps his motorcycle 60 feet (18 m) over a barbed-wire fence... but does not quite make it to safety.

Trapped by the Superposse, Butch and Sundance leap off a cliff into raging waters knowing that the "fall will probably kill [them]". Mickey Gilbert doubled for Robert Redford and Howard Curtis doubled for Paul Newman.

Papillon makes his final bid for freedom by leaping from a cliff into the sea. Dar Robinson doubled for Steve McQueen, his first major stunt in a Hollywood film.

Ross Kananga as James Bond uses four crocodiles as stepping stones to reach safety on the other side. Kananga, who owned the crocodile farm seen in the film, and after whom the main villain is named, did the stunt five times wearing the same crocodile skin shoes as his character had chosen to wear. During the fourth attempt, the last crocodile bit through the shoe and into his foot. The fifth attempt is one seen on film, with the tied-down crocodiles snapping at his feet as he passes over them.

In the same film, Jerry Comeaux as James Bond jumps his speedboat 70 feet (21 m) over a police car, a record that remained for 15 years.

"Bumps" Williard as James Bond driving a AMC Hornet leaps a broken bridge and spins around 360 degrees in mid-air, doing an "aerial twist". Willard was paid £30,000 for the stunt, which was held under EON Productions copyright for several years afterwards.

A major character dies when the rope bridge he is standing on is cut. British stuntman Joe Powell volunteered for the stunt after the rest of the stuntmen came down with a mysterious ailment. He fell 80 feet (24 m) onto cardboard boxes balanced on the edge of a ravine. If he had missed the boxes, no safety wire or parachute would have stopped him falling to the bottom of the ravine. Making the situation more dangerous was the rope bridge, which caused Powell to spin as he fell.

Rick Sylvester playing James Bond escapes the bad guys by skiing off a cliff in the Austrian Alps (actually Mount Asgard in the Arctic Circle) then releasing a parachute. Sylvester waited two weeks for the weather atop Mount Asgard to change. Finally he had a 15 minute window to make the jump. Five cameras were meant to record the stunt, but only the master shot worked. Sylvester was allegedly paid US$100,000 for the stunt. As he falls, one of his skis hits the parachute on its way down. It shows just how dangerous the stunt really was.

Initial stunt sequence freefall was done for real with stuntmens clothing modified with special breakaway patches to conceal lightweight parachutes.

A.J. Bakunas as Hollywood stuntman Hooper leaps from a helicopter onto an airbag 232 feet (71 m) below, a record that remains to this day.

The hero fights the villain atop the world's tallest freestanding structure, Toronto's CN Tower, and the villain loses. Doubling the villain was Dar Robinson who opened his parachute just 300 feet (91 m) from the ground after a fall lasting six seconds. Robinson was paid US$100,000 (£61,862.04).

Corrie Jansen leaps 182 feet (55 m) from a cliff, a record freefall for a woman.

Indiana Jones climbs underneath a moving truck and is dragged along behind it before climbing back on board. The stunt was performed by Terry Leonard. Leonard agreed to do the stunt only if his good friend, stuntman Glenn H. Randall Jr., was driving the truck.

The Bandit leaps his Pontiac Trans-Am motorcar from the back of trailer, setting a record that remains to this day.

Sharky (Burt Reynolds) punches the villain through the window of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.To achieve the effect, stuntman Dar Robinson ran at the window, then at the last moment, spun around to go backwards through the glass and land on an airbag. It is the highest freefall (220 feet (67 m)) from a building without a cable or parachute.

Renegade cop Roy Scheider, flying the state-of the-art “Blue Thunder” helicopter, is chased by a police helicopter down storm drains in Los Angeles, weaving between the varying support legs until his pursuer eventually crashes.

Stunt featured Jackie Chan hanging of a real clock tower and falling through 3 ripped canopies used to break his fall before hitting the real ground. Chan has proudly told fans and critics, that the stunt he performed was a homage and inspiration given to him by one of his early cinema idols, Harold Lloyd in the movie Safety Last.

Vince Deadrick Jr. and Terry Leonard as Joan Wilder and Jack Colton leap from a car as it falls over an 80-foot (24 m) waterfall.

During the skateboard chase, Marty McFly runs over the top of Biff Tannen's convertible and rejoins his skateboard on the other side.

While rampaging through a mall, Genghis Khan rides up to a trampoline, does a somersault off of it, and lands back on his skateboard.

A Jackie Chan movie, which consists of many dangerous and real life stunts, done without wires. Scenes include Jackie hanging on to a double decker bus window by an umbrella handle. As well as a famous mall fight scene at the end featuring many stuntteam members performing tumbles, falls and flips through various objects including glass window displays, stairs, escalators, etc. The finale featured Jackie Chan himself jumping and sliding down a mall post covered with wired lights before smashing through a wooden canopy. The film showcases many skills and talents of the stuntmen and women on the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, as well as putting many in long term recovery.

Dar Robinson asked to play the part of the albino killer in this Burt Reynolds directed Elmore Leonard adaptation so the audience would be more shocked by the villain's death. Without cutting away, Robinson was filmed falling backwards off a hotel balcony emptying his revolver at Reynolds' as he fell. A thin cable ran up Robinson's leg to a harness around his waist to arrest his fall just feet off the ground.

This was the third variation on a stunt that had appeared first in Moonraker and then in Octopussy; James Bond battles a bad guy while they are both hanging outside a plane. In this case, Bond and the villainous Necros fight as they cling to a cargo net filled with bags of opium hanging out the rear of a Soviet cargo plane. All three stunt sequences were done with ace parachutists Jake Lombard and B.J. Worth. Lombard, who had previously doubled for Roger Moore, took the part of Necros here, while Worth finally got to play Bond by doubling Timothy Dalton.

Nick Gillard as Eric Visser jumps his speedboat over a bridge in Amsterdam, breaking the record previously set by Live and Let Die.

Vic Armstrong as Indiana Jones rides his horse onto a ledge and jumps onto a moving Nazi tank.

The killer robot T-1000 flies a helicopter in a freeway chase after a S.W.A.T. van driven by The Terminator and at one point flies under an overpass. As if to prove the stunt was done for real, the pilot attempts a second underpass, but flies away at the last second.

Corrupt Treasury agent Travers hijacks a jet carrying US$100 million, then slides down a cable to the villains' Learjet. British stuntman Simon Crane performed the stunt. When the film's budget could not afford the one million dollars needed to complete the sequence, lead actor Sylvester Stallone agreed to cut his salary by the same amount.

Stuntman Billy Morts doubles for actor Keanu Reeves as L.A.P.D. cop Jack Traven, who rips the door off a Jaguar sports car then leaps to the open door of a speeding bus, his feet scraping against the ground.

Wayne Michaels as James Bond bungee jumps over a dam to break into a Russian chemical weapons factory. Michaels reached 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) during the jump and came perilously close to the sloping surface of the dam, which was studded with irons struts that could have torn him to pieces. The stunt was further complicated as Bond had to take out a gun during the fall, which threw Michaels off trajectory.

Echoing The Man with the Golden Gun, Gary Powell as James Bond leaps his boat in a 360 degree spin, wrecking a gun emplacement on the bad girl's boat.

Sebastian Foucan as an African bombmaker eludes Daniel Craig's James Bond using free running style parkour. Foucan's (and the stunt's) notation in the opening credits were a first.

Stunts that have gone wrong

This section requires expansion.

Stuntwork accounts for over half of all film-related injuries, with an average of 5 deaths for every 2,000 injuries. From 1980 to 1990 there were 37 deaths relating to accidents during stunts, twenty-four of these deaths involved the use of helicopters.

A plane crash killed stunt pilot Ormer Locklear.

Several people died, one man lost a leg and a number were injured in a scene where several hundred extras were caught in the 'Great Flood'. The deaths were instrumental in the introduction of film safety regulations in the following year.

Margaret Hamilton was badly burned during a scene in which her character 'vanished' in a burst of flame and smoke, a delay in activating a trap-door catching her in the pyrotechnic device. Her stuntwoman was also injured in a scene involving a smoking broomstick

Stuntman Bob Morgan was seriously injured filming a gunfight on a moving train. Chains holding logs on a flatbed car broke, crushing Morgan as he crouched beside them.

Stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed, and another stuntman seriously injured, when the title plane failed to clear a sand dune and crashed.

During a scene for Episode 9 ("The Terrifying Cobra-Man"), lead actor Hiroshi Fujioka, fractured his thighbone in a motorcycle stunt when he rode into a telephone pole at 50 mph, forcing him out of action. Producers had to use stock and unused footage which was dubbed by Rokurô Naya for the next four episode, causing a dip in the ratings. Producers eventually had no choice but to substituted him with a second character played by Takeshi Sasaki. Fujioka made a return in Episode 53 ("Monster Jaguarman - Deathmatch by Motorcycle Fight"). As neither actors could be axed, the show ended up having two heroes (as opposed to one).

A.J. Bakunas died doubling for George Kennedy in a fall from the Kincaid Towers in Lexington, Kentucky, for the movie "Steel". Bakunas had successfully performed a fall from the ninth floor of the construction site, but when he learned that Dar Robinson had broken his record high fall for a non-movie related publicity stunt, Bakunas returned to perform the fall from the top of the 300-foot (91 m) construction site. Bakunas performed the fall expertly, but the airbag split and Bakunas was killed.

While filming a high speed chase in the bobsleigh-run the four-man bob came out of the run at the wrong place and hit a tree. One of its occupants, a young stuntman named Paolo Rigon, was killed.

The making of the movie Twilight Zone had consequences that overshadowed the film itself. During the filming of a segment directed by John Landis on July 23, 1982, actor Vic Morrow and child actors My-Ca Dinh Le (aged 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (aged 6) died in an accident involving a helicopter being used on the set. Without warning, it spun out of control and crashed, decapitating Morrow and one of the children with its blades. The remaining child was crushed to death as the helicopter crashed.

Stuntwoman Heidi van Beltz is left a paraplegic after being thrown from her car during a crash.

Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed in an aircraft crash taping footage of a flat spin.

During the filming of a scene which called for Jackie Chan to jump from a wall to a tree branch, unhappy with the first shoot, he performed a second shoot that went wrong as his grip on the branch slipped and Jackie fell 15 feet to the ground below. He landed hard on his head, causing part of his skull to crack and shoot up into his brain. He was flown to the hospital and was in surgery 8 hours later. He now has a plastic plug, and a permanent hole in his head. He is also slightly hard of hearing in one ear from that fall.

Stuntman Dar Robinson was killed in a motorcycle accident.

During a filming of a the location reports, from the Royal Tournament, one of its presenters, Anthea Turner was injured when a pyrotechnic display exploded in her face whilst she was giving a piece to camera during a motorcycle stunt. The incident was broadcast live on-air. The incident was later blamed on a miscommunication between programme staff and stunt organisers, coupled with an unplanned last-minute change in the location from which Turner gave her report.

Stuntman Clint Carpenter was killed in a helicopter stunt.

In one of the most high profile of stunt deaths Brandon Lee the star of The Crow was killed 8 days before that film's completion. Prop Masters working under time constraints had failed to notice that the previous firing of a cartridge with only a primer and a bullet in had caused a bullet to lodge in the forcing cone of one of their revolvers. When the first unit used this gun to shoot the death scene, the chamber was loaded with blanks which had no bullets. However, there was still the bullet in the barrel, which was propelled out by the blank cartridge's explosion. Despite being rushed to hospital Lee died within a matter of hours.

Sonya Davis died from head injuries from a high fall during filming.[1]

Stuntwoman Janet Wilder was killed and four other people are injured when a speedboat misjudges a ramp and lands in a crowd.

Actress Michelle Yeoh, who usually perform her own stunts was seriously injured during film of a film about a life of a stuntwoman when she misjudged 18-foot (5.5 m) jump off a bridge onto a truck, fracturing a vertebra and was in traction for a month, this sequence can be seen at the end of the film.[2] This was her last stuntwork before Tomorrow Never Dies.

During the filming of a scene on a grain silo, stuntman Collin Dragsbaek (doubling actor George Shetsov) died when he fell onto a faulty airbag.

Professional wrestler Owen Hart died in May 1999's WWE/WWF PPV Over the Edge 1999 after he was scheduled to glide down from the rafters for a ring entrance. This stunt was botched and Owen fell 78 ft (24 m) to the ring below.

Stuntman Harry L. O'Connor was killed in an accident when he failed to rappel fast enough down a parasailing line to land on the submarine. He impacted a bridge at high speed and was killed instantly.

Drummer Tommy Lee was hospitalized when he was hit by sparks from a pyrotechnic stunt while he was swinging on a wire between drum sets suspended several feet above the stage.[3]

Slipknot turntablist Sid Wilson broke both heels on landing after a jump over percussionist Chris Fehn.[4]

Whilst filming a scene where a small boat that had been set on fire to ram a larger boat, the fire spread quickly went out of control, killing stuntman Lu Yanqing and injuring six others.[5]

Conan O'Brien suffered a concussion and was hospitalized when he hit his head doing a stunt while filming the Tonight Show.[6][7]

Recognition of stunt performers

Movies such as Hooper and The Stunt Man and the 1980s television show The Fall Guy sought to raise the profile of the stunt performer and debunk the myth that movie stars perform all their own stunts. Noted stunt coordinators Hal Needham, Craig R. Baxley and Vic Armstrong went on to direct the action films The Cannonball Run, Action Jackson, Joshua Tree (1993 film). Vic Armstrong became the first stuntman to win both an Academy Award (for developing a descender rig as a safe alternative to airbags) and a Bafta award (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 seen as working mainly in action movies. Repeated campaigns for a "Best Stunts" Academy Award have been rejected.

In 2001, the first 'World Stunt Awards' was held in Los Angeles. Presented by actor Alec Baldwin, the event had A-list stars presenting the statues to Hollywood's unsung heroes. Arnold Schwarzenegger was 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 and/or 2nd Unit Director.

Shows such as Jackass on MTV2, Dirty Sanchez on British TV, and Totally Outrageous Behavior on the American G4 feature people doing outrageous stunts.

Equality in stunts

In past Hollywood movies it was common for men to double for women and White American stunt performers to double for African-American performers. Veteran stunt man David Sharpe, a man of shorter than average height, often doubled for women in movie serials of the 1930s and '40s. It is now against union rules for stunt performers to double an actor of a different gender or race unless the stunt is so dangerous that there are no other volunteers, for example when B.J. Worth doubled for the black Jamaican actor Grace Jones parachuting off the Eiffel Tower in A View to a Kill. The rise of action heroines like Angelina Jolie and African-American stars like Will Smith has offered wider opportunities for stunt performers from diverse backgrounds.

The future of stuntwork

A backlash against dangerous stunts following the death of Sonya Davis[citation needed], coinciding with developments in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) that make such stunts unnecessary threatens to reduce stunt performers to the status of body doubles. And yet a backlash against movies that resemble video games could lead to a resurrection in pure stuntwork. Movies such as The Matrix and Mission: Impossible II have shown how CGI and stunts can be integrated for maximum effect. But - if for no other reason than safety - it is doubtful that the records established by Hooper and Sharky's Machine will be broken anytime soon. A new sub-genre of eastern martial arts movies exists which emphasize the actors performing their own stunts, deliberately using wide angles and unbroken shots to show each stunt in its entirety. Notable examples include Phanom Yeerum in Ong Bak, and Dean Alexandrou in Shanty Town Show Down.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/node/9540
  2. ^ http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/ah_kam.htm
  3. ^ "Crue drummer injured during show", Kelly Barbieri, Amusement Business, October 13, 2005
  4. ^ "Interviews and More- Slipknot -February 21, 2009", Jason Rocha, Disability Entertainment News
  5. ^ "Stuntman Killed on John Woo Film Set" AP via Yahoo News
  6. ^ "O'Brien woozy after injury", Erie Times News, October 1, 2009
  7. ^ "Injured O'Brien headed back", B. J. Hammerstein, Detroit Free Press, September 28, 2009

External links

Categories: Film techniques | Special effects | Theatrical combat

 

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'Stunt' Answers
What is the best way to get into stunt and precision driving? How easy is it to find employment?
Q. It is my dream to be a stunt driver. I love to drive, I love cars and I love learning about cars and other ways to become a defensive driver. I know there is Bob Bondurant's Racing School, but how easy is it to find employment afterwards? And where else can you go to learn. I mean, you can't have a few days of classes and be ready to work, can you? Does anyone know, or expirienced in this field?
Asked by indigonipple - Tue Jun 19 14:48:26 2007 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Its actually hard to get into it. It's almost like they have a union. A stunt driving school would be a good way to go and they could probably tell you where to go from there. But to get a job, you need an in with someone. It's like performance driving school. It's the job everyone wants and its very protected by the people within. This here is the best program I've seen. I want to do it someday. They actually teach you the ins and outs of the business. Don't bother with a performance driving school. I go to those once a year and no one cares. I've done 1 stunt in 1 movie since I've started my racing career. And I have several ins. Maybe I just suck though. Anyway, check that guy out and good luck.
Answered by Miotch - Tue Jun 19 18:51:04 2007

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