On February 28, the 88th Academy Awards will air on national television, and once again, a group that is integral to the film industry will have their contributions ignored. While controversy has been swirling in recent weeks over minority inclusion in the Oscars, little has been said in the media this year about the recognition of stunt performers and coordinators.
Stunt coordinators are in charge of casting stunt actors, ensuring safety, training the main cast and directors when necessary and, of course, coordinating all of the on-screen action. They often double as stuntmen and women themselves, and despite recent safety innovations they easily have one of the most dangerous jobs in Hollywood. Yet despite their contributions to the industry, stunt performers belong to one of the few departments in Hollywood that doesn’t have its own award category. Ask anyone involved in the business of stunts and they will tell you that this is an issue that needs to be resolved and, in theory, it shouldn’t take much to solve it.
Jack Gill, a stuntman who, since 1991 has led the campaign for stunt performer recognition, has brought the issue up with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences every single year — yet, despite his efforts, the Academy has failed to give him the simple majority vote that is required to introduce the new category. The campaign has attracted support from people at every level in Hollywood, from directors like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese to actors like Jason Statham and Arnold Schwarzenegger. So why then does it continue to fail?
Most stunt performers and coordinators will tell you that at the end of the day, it comes down to studio politics. The studios don’t want to ruin the illusion that actors and actresses perform all of the cool action scenes in their movies by themselves. It’s an excuse that is blatantly ridiculous. Everyone knows about stunt performers, and although some actors — such as Tom Cruise — actually do perform all of their own stunts, they are in the minority. Furthermore, Hollywood is built on illusion. Makeup artists and sound editors both have Oscar categories, and their jobs are contingent on creating illusions — be they turning an extra into a zombie or passing off a glove playing a bass for Godzilla’s iconic roar.
Another reason that the yearly petitions have been ignored is that some members of the Academy are worried that if they include stunt performers in the televised show, then their own categories might be dropped due to a lack of time. However, Gill and other stunt performers leading the campaign aren’t asking to be a part of the televised ceremony. He insists that stunt performers would be satisfied with a separate ceremony held earlier in another venue, like the Academy’s Science and Tech Award ceremony.
Most people within the film industry would agree that there is no real reason stunt performers shouldn’t have their own Oscar category, and that it’s time for the Academy to recognize these men and women who have done so much for us over the years.
Benjamin Goldberg is an undeclared sophomore