It’s taken only a century, but the Academy Awards will finally include a Stunt Design Oscar. For decades, stunt performers have bemoaned a lack of recognition for dangling from buildings, walking through fire, and keeping totally chill while the facades of houses fell around them. In 2019, there was even talk of an Oscars boycott among stunt performers. Now, they’ll get their due with an annual award beginning in 2027, at the 100th Academy Awards.
“Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said jointly in a statement. “We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion.”
The Academy will announce the guidelines for eligibility and voting in the category in 2027. The Academy’s Board of Governors and executive leadership will determine the award’s presentation in the future. The Academy reports that its Production and Technology Branch includes more than 100 stunt professionals.
In 2013, Jason Statham made an impassioned plea for stunt performers to be recognized in a meaningful way during an interview with Vanity Fair. “I think it is an overlooked category, [considering] how much responsibility these coordinators have for some of the greatest entertainment in action movies,” he said. “I mean, all of the stunt men — these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any credibility. They’re risking their necks. It’s a total injustice. They’re the ones getting busy.”
Last year, Ryan Reynolds called on the Academy to recognize stunt performers in an Instagram post that showed him in his Deadpool costume next to his stunt double Alex Kyshkovych. “Stunt work doesn’t have a category at the Oscars and I hope that’ll change someday,” he wrote. “So many films smashed it this year… Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin were stunt performers as well as filmmakers. Telling stories with their entire bodies.”
From Rolling Stone US
