Stunt Coordinators on Oscar’s Best Pic Nominees Take Nuanced Approach to Scenes
variety.comStuart Miller In some years, the most action-packed, stunt-filled films are also ambitious enough to find their way into Oscar’s best picture category.
But for every “1917” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” there are 10 “Fast and Furious” and “Taken” films — where the action is center piece.Yet movies driven more by character and story than by fisticuffs and explosions still feature stunts, and they often come at crucial moments.
While they may not require a Bond escape or a Bourne fight, they need to be dynamic and exciting while serving the context of the larger story.This year’s best picture nominees included “Belfast” (riots and explosions), “Nightmare Alley” (brutal beatdowns and a vicious hit and run), “Power of the Dog” (men on horseback), “West Side Story” (dancing, sure, but still fighting), “King Richard” (tennis, sure, but still a battle) and “Dune,” which with its futuristic sword play and scenes of war, is the one film on a blockbuster budget.
Jamie Jones, stunt coordinator for “Nightmare Alley,” says the combination of an emphasis on theme and story and the fact that these films have fewer action scenes than a comic book-based movie means that each of those moments carries greater weight and must convey more about the emotional arc of the characters.For most of “Nightmare Alley,” people wield power with words and wealth, so when Stan (Bradley Cooper) bludgeons Grindle (Richard Jenkins) and then slams his car — not once, but twice — into Anderson (Holt McCallany) near the film’s end, his actions must convey his mounting desperation and inherent ruthlessness to a stunned Molly (Rooney Mara) and to the audience.James O’Donnell, the stunt coordinator for “Belfast,” agrees with the idea that the stunts can’t just be.
Read more on variety.com