JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
Jul 25, 2024
Table of Contents
David Leitch’s most recent film ‘The Fall Guy’ pays homage to the stunt department. The film is doing great at the box office and it might have just started a very important conversation about the often forgotten and largely under appreciated jobs in the Film Industry. What are those job positions and what can the industry do to give more recognition?
Stunts, stunts and more stunts
David Leitch is an American film director, writer, producer, stuntman and stunt coordinator. He is known for his work in some notable action / stunt heavy productions such as ‘Bullet Train’ starring Brad Pitt, ‘Atomic Blonde’ starring Charlize Theron and ‘John Wick’ starring Keanu Reeves. ‘The Fall Guy’ is now probably the biggest one of them. With over 80 stunt credits under his belt, Leitch has seen and experienced how the extremely dangerous and life threatening job of a stunt person can be and how it is often forgotten by not only the audience, but the film industry itself. A few minutes into ‘The Fall Guy’ and it is already clear that there is more than one love story happening in the film. It is a love story between Colt (Ryan Gosling) and Jody (Emily Blunt), a love story between filmmakers and film, and most importantly a love story between the ones behind this film and the stunt department as a whole. It’s a beautiful thing to see the story unfold and by the end of the film come to the realization that the plot of the film and Colt and Jody’s love story was just the “sexy bacon” and a very entertaining way to deliver the message behind the film to the audience. And a perfect excuse to do stunning stunts.
In an interview for Hollywood Insider, David Leitch explains the context behind the term “Fall guy” both in the stunt world and the film industry. “Fall guy” has been coined quite early on in film as the stunt person. In the stunt world, the fall guy originally means the guy that steps in and takes the fall, somebody who takes the hits. The entire concept of a stunt person is for them to never be noticed in the project they are in. They are supposed to camouflage as the character they are playing and the actor they are performing the stunts for. They must look as similar to the actor and character they are playing as possible. This includes being the same height and having similar facial features, hair, makeup, wardrobe, etc.
The goal is that no audience member will be able to tell if the body doing the stunts is the actor or the stunt person. They will have done a good job when they are not noticed or recognizable on screen. In order to create the illusion and maintain the suspension of disbelief, sometimes it means that some jobs must be seamlessly invisible to the audience. This is true for jobs such as foley artists, script supervisor, sound designer, boom operator, colorist, editor, etc. This shouldn’t have to mean those jobs are less important or not worthy of commendation. In the Hollywood Insider interview, Leitch confirms that ‘The Fall Guy’ is “a love letter to stunt performers and the blue collar Artisans that make movies” (Hollywood Insider Staff WriterHollywood Insider is a media network that focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment/culture, Director David Leitch spills secrets on ‘The fall guy’ in depth scoop interview – hollywood insider 2024). No matter one’s job title or position in the making of a show or a movie, each one of those jobs helped get the project done and they all deserve praise for it.
For almost a century now, the most important award show of the film industry (Academy Awards) has been held annually in what is now formally known as “Award Season”, which is the season people in both film and television get the recognition and plaudit they deserve. From vital to secondary industry voting awards, to even be nominated in any category could give the exposure to make one’s career. An exposure not all job positions get, considering some full departments in the industry don’t even get a category to be nominated in.
Script supervisor, or continuity supervisor, is a member of the crew whose job is to make sure that each scene can be edited to make sense. They are a vital asset for everyone during and post production and there is not a category for them in any award.
Foley artists are a part of the sound department and their job is to devise and record the everyday sounds heard in shows and films using an arsenal of props. They are responsible for making the sound in the project feel real and sell us the world. They are fundamental in selling us the world of the story and yet there is no category for them, except the “Best Sound” category that is supposed to represent the sound department as a whole.
The first assistant director (1st AD) is the director’s right-hand person on a production, in charge of managing the cast and crew and the one responsible for the logistics of running the set. Without the first assistant director, there would simply be no production and yet 1st ADs are not even given a category , when they should all be getting medals for their incredibly taxing job.
These are only a few examples of the “forgotten film jobs”. Another often undervalued job in the film industry is casting director, whose role is to find the perfect cast for projects. Have you ever thought to yourself “are these people related? because I would believe it if they were”, or “she looks exactly like the real (insert character name)”? Have you ever thought a cast ensemble was so good everyone deserved to get awards for being the perfect ensemble? All of that is a testament of a good casting director. For 95 years, they were neglected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and now Casting Directors are finally getting the recognition they deserve after the Academy officially announced that next year’s Academy Awards will have a “Achievement in Casting” category.
Movie magic is sometimes making jobs disappear to the audience. Perhaps the magic was too powerful and extended to the real world, where so many industry jobs are neglected and under appreciated by the film industry itself. Even though receiving awards is not the only (nor most valuable) way to get a recognition, It is only fair to be given a category after so many other jobs were given the same. Casting directors are no longer the fall guys of the industry. They made it in and now one can only hope the other category-less jobs – from the stunt department to script supervisors – will make the cut eventually. Let us hope we won’t have to wait almost a century for that to happen.
Hollywood Insider Staff Writer Hollywood Insider is a media network that focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment/culture. (2024, May 9). Director David Leitch spills secrets on “The fall guy” in depth scoop interview – hollywood insider. Hollywood Insider – News Entertainment & Culture. https://www.hollywoodinsider.com/leitch-fall-guy/
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JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
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