Leitch has relentlessly dedicated himself to honing his craft and putting it to good use over the years, having also founded an action design-production company named 87Eleven with fellow director and stunt performer Chad Stahelski (with whom he co-directed “John Wick”). “The Fall Guy” relies heavily on stunt work; Ryan Gosling plays veteran stuntman, who needs to become a real-life action hero when a famous action-movie star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) goes missing. Since the film tells the story of a stunt guy who draws on his craft to play action-hero, Leitch and his crew went all out on performing record-breaking stunts that did not rely on CGI.
Producer Kelly McCormick spoke to Empire about the “really special” nature of the set that facilitated such ambitious stunts, including “a 250-foot jump over a giant crevasse” and a cannon roll that flipped a car over and over (a feat that hasn’t been replicated since 2006’s “Casino Royale”). With little to no reliance on CGI, stunt performers on set were given the opportunity to perform the grandest stunts that added to the thrill of Colt both doing his job and trying to find the missing movie star. This is just a glimpse into the tremendous effort that goes into stunt work in films, which is why this essential field of expertise desperately needs an Oscar category at the earliest.
“I hope this shines a light on it. If I can make any difference in that journey to get [stunt teams] recognized by the Academy, that would be great,” says Leitch.
“The Fall Guy” is scheduled to drop in theaters on May 3, 2024.
