John Wick director Chad Stahelski claims there should be an Oscar awarded for stunt work at the Academy Awards. Stahelski's career path began in stunt work as he crossed paths with John Wick star Keanu Reeves working on the set of The Matrix. He served as the stunt coordinator on the Matrix trilogy before having his directional debut with John Wick. After co-directing the first film, he served as the sole director for John Wick 2 Chapter 2 and John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum.
Stunt work in Hollywood contributes to the magic of the cinematic craft and by no means is a simple endeavor. While the growing demand for superhero and action-driven films rises, the more notoriety stunt work achieves. As Hollywood becomes more adaptable and inclusive to all areas of film, other award ceremonies, such as the SAG awards are giving stunt work the proper credit while many many powerful voices in Hollywood such as Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Cruise have voiced their support. Now, Stahelski has voiced his opinion on how much recognition stunt work should get in Hollywood.
In an interview with Discussing Film, Stahelski voiced his support for a stunt work Oscar. Stahelski explained that he thinks there is good reason to highlight stuntwork come Oscar season, but that most stunt people don't do the job for the recognition. Stahelski's full quote from his interview can be read below:
"It makes sense on a logical nature that if nine other departments are awarded Oscars, that yes a legitimate full-blown department for stunts would be acknowledged or considered. If there’s ten of you and nine of you are getting a treat, it makes sense that at least ten of you would get a treat too. I think that’s a very logistical comment... If wardrobe, hair, and makeup, certainly all the creative departments here are considered for Oscars, then yes, it makes perfect sense that the stunt department would be considered for an Oscar. Now on a personal level, being a former stuntman, second unit director, and all that stuff – for all the generations that were either before me, trained me, or current now – I don’t know a single person in my 30 years of work that got into stunts to win an Oscar."
Having an Academy Award for stunt work is not a new proposal as of late. There have been major movements within the film industry in the past year, with stunt performers voicing their frustrations with the Academy's policies. A growing sense of awareness and respect in Hollywood has resulted in more people acknowledging the importance of stunt performers, and in 2007, the Screen Actors Guild added a Best Stunt Ensemble category. Introducing a new Oscar category has proven to cause conflict and backlash before, considering how the Best Popular film Oscar was received in 2019.
Given all the departments that receive Academy Awards each year and the growing inclusivity of the ceremony, not having an Oscar for stunt work seems implausible and outdated. Intricate stunt work for action films has seen tremendous growth due to the John Wick franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Mission Impossible series, and even the Fast & Furious films. Part of the hesitancy by the Academy may be due to the desire to keep the illusion of action films alive. For the amount of work that is put into stunts, it needs to be sooner rather than later that the Academy recognizes this important and intrinsic factor within the ever-evolving film industry.
Source: Discussing Film
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