Being a stunt performer is hazardous, very often life-threatening, work. But that's the job, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else on a movie set as excited to get a cool shot in the can as they are.
Safety is always the priority, and with every stunt all contingencies are thought of in advance, all necessary training is executed, and first aid crews are standing by. Still, a dangerous stunt is a dangerous stunt and sometimes things can go wrong. That could mean a broken bone or two, like when Tom Cruise famously broke his foot during the filming of "Mission: Impossible -- Fallout" or when Guy Norris broke his leg during an iconic crash/ragdoll moment during the making of "The Road Warrior."
On occasion, a stunt performer will actually die while shooting a stunt scene, like when Joi Harris crashed her motorcycle during the filming of "Deadpool 2.
Safety is always the priority, and with every stunt all contingencies are thought of in advance, all necessary training is executed, and first aid crews are standing by. Still, a dangerous stunt is a dangerous stunt and sometimes things can go wrong. That could mean a broken bone or two, like when Tom Cruise famously broke his foot during the filming of "Mission: Impossible -- Fallout" or when Guy Norris broke his leg during an iconic crash/ragdoll moment during the making of "The Road Warrior."
On occasion, a stunt performer will actually die while shooting a stunt scene, like when Joi Harris crashed her motorcycle during the filming of "Deadpool 2.
- 12/19/2023
- by Eric Vespe
- Slash Film
Before Keanu Reeves established himself as the action hero powerhouse we all know, the actor had to be convinced to do his own stunts for 1994's "Speed." Director Jan de Bont told The Huffington Post that Reeves thought a stunt involving his character jumping from a moving car to a bus was "way too dangerous," and only agreed to do it after de Bont told him it was "basically like stepping onto an escalator."
The director said that having actors perform stunts was "more realistic" and allowed the audience to "understand why the actor or the character reacts in a certain way." By the time Reeves came to star in 1999's "The Matrix," not only did he not require any convincing to do his own stunts, but he'd basically adopted the view of his "Speed" director as his own guiding principle. Suddenly, he was throwing himself in harm's way, telling...
The director said that having actors perform stunts was "more realistic" and allowed the audience to "understand why the actor or the character reacts in a certain way." By the time Reeves came to star in 1999's "The Matrix," not only did he not require any convincing to do his own stunts, but he'd basically adopted the view of his "Speed" director as his own guiding principle. Suddenly, he was throwing himself in harm's way, telling...
- 9/18/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ has surpassed $306 million worldwide. The fourth instalment of the Keanu Reeves-fronted action movie series has taken home a strong international box office performance despite competition from ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and the ‘Dungeons + Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’. The Chad Stahelski-helmed flick made a significant portion of its revenue in the North American market with $147.06 million earnt there and getting the rest of the $159 million from overseas audiences. Currently, It is set to beat its predecessor ‘John Wick: Chapter 4 - Parabellum’ global total of $328.3 million as it is yet to be released in South Korea and the Middle East later this month. The ‘John Wick’ universe has been tipped to be growing with the new spin-off ‘Ballerina’, which will feature ‘Blonde’ star Ana De Armas in the lead role and has a planned June 2024 release. In addition, the lore will expand into the television sphere with the Peacock series,...
- 4/10/2023
- by Clara Hill
- Bang Showbiz
Keanu Reeves lovingly wanted all of the “John Wick: Chapter 4” stuntmen to remember just how many times they died during the making of the blockbuster action movie. A new report from The New York Times about the making of the sequel’s unforgettable action scenes includes a detail about Reeves gifting the film’s stunt crew with t-shirts that had the number of deaths each stunt person faced in the movie. For some of the stunt crew, that number was above 20.
Why so many death scenes per one stunt person? It’s because “John Wick: Chapter 4” re-used stunt workers in multiple scenes. For the instant classic staircase fight, in which Reeves’ John Wick fights bad guys as he races up the 222 steps leading to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (only to be pushed back down to the bottom and have to do it all over again), the production used 35 stunt workers,...
Why so many death scenes per one stunt person? It’s because “John Wick: Chapter 4” re-used stunt workers in multiple scenes. For the instant classic staircase fight, in which Reeves’ John Wick fights bad guys as he races up the 222 steps leading to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (only to be pushed back down to the bottom and have to do it all over again), the production used 35 stunt workers,...
- 3/29/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
This post contains spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4."
For what could very well be the final major set piece in the mainline "John Wick" series (spinoffs are coming), it makes sense that director Chad Stahelski and his incredible team of stunt performers would want to create the biggest, loudest scene they could. The climax ends up being a triptych of a sequence that takes place at three different locations: the Arc de Triomphe, an abandoned house of some kind, and finally the massive staircase leading to Sacré-Cœr. Some, including myself, would say it's a bit too much action, but there are unquestionably moments within this nearly 40 minute stretch that I marveled at.
Mostly, this occurred on the staircase, with dozens of assassins attempting to take down Keanu Reeves' titular hero before reaching the top for his duel with the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). Where it differs from the...
For what could very well be the final major set piece in the mainline "John Wick" series (spinoffs are coming), it makes sense that director Chad Stahelski and his incredible team of stunt performers would want to create the biggest, loudest scene they could. The climax ends up being a triptych of a sequence that takes place at three different locations: the Arc de Triomphe, an abandoned house of some kind, and finally the massive staircase leading to Sacré-Cœr. Some, including myself, would say it's a bit too much action, but there are unquestionably moments within this nearly 40 minute stretch that I marveled at.
Mostly, this occurred on the staircase, with dozens of assassins attempting to take down Keanu Reeves' titular hero before reaching the top for his duel with the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). Where it differs from the...
- 3/26/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
This post contains spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4."
To say there are a lot of impressive action sequences and set pieces in "John Wick: Chapter 4" is an understatement. The movie, especially the last hour, is a non-stop assault on your senses as you follow Keanu Reeves' John Wick as he falls out of buildings, gets hit by cars, and falls down way too many flights of stairs.
That stair sequence, it turns out, impressed the stunt coordinators on the film as well. "It was one of the most impressive days of a performer I've ever seen in my 32-year career," Scott Rogers told me when I interview him and his fellow stunt coordinator, Stephen Dunlevy, about their work on "Wick." That long, long fall is one take, and one that "Wick" stunt double Vincent Bouillon did an impressive four times.
I spoke with Rogers and Dunlevy about many...
To say there are a lot of impressive action sequences and set pieces in "John Wick: Chapter 4" is an understatement. The movie, especially the last hour, is a non-stop assault on your senses as you follow Keanu Reeves' John Wick as he falls out of buildings, gets hit by cars, and falls down way too many flights of stairs.
That stair sequence, it turns out, impressed the stunt coordinators on the film as well. "It was one of the most impressive days of a performer I've ever seen in my 32-year career," Scott Rogers told me when I interview him and his fellow stunt coordinator, Stephen Dunlevy, about their work on "Wick." That long, long fall is one take, and one that "Wick" stunt double Vincent Bouillon did an impressive four times.
I spoke with Rogers and Dunlevy about many...
- 3/24/2023
- by Vanessa Armstrong
- Slash Film
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