With the Oscars continuing to ignore the work of the stunt community, the Taurus World Stunt Awards remain the jewel in the action-community crown… John Kreng reports on a star-filled night…
The 16th Annual Taurus World Stunt Awards were held on 14th May on the Paramount Studios lot. The event is founded by Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz. For many, it’s one of the few times of the year where we get together as a community of Stunt Professionals to celebrate and applaud the best stunt work in film from last year. Many consider The Taurus World Stunt Awards as the equivalent of the Oscars… but solely devoted to stunts.
One of the things that is very sobering about the awards ceremony is the Taurus Foundation which gives financial assistance and grants to stunt professionals who have experienced a debilitating stunt related injury that depends on contributions and fundraising events… This year Olivia Jackson was the recipient of that financial grant. Ms. Jackson has worked big blockbusters films that include Mad Max: Fury Road, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While doubling Milla Jovovich on the set of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter Ms. Jackson was driving a motorcycle past a camera that was supposed to move out of the way as she approached it. Unfortunately, the camera did not move in time and Ms. Jackson crashed into the camera arm. She was in a coma for two weeks and suffered extensive injuries to her arms, back, face, brain, and lungs. Her left arm is paralysed and will soon be amputated. Although Ms. Jackson could not make it to the awards ceremony, a letter she wrote to the Taurus Foundation was read to the audience that showed her perseverance and a strong will to continue on with the next chapter in her life with her husband.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award went to Andy Armstrong. With 40+ years of film experience in various departments, he is highly respected for his work in stunts.
Here are the categories for each category as well as the Nominees and Winners
BEST FIGHT
WINNER – Kingsman: The Secret Service: One man fights a church congregation. Multiple shots were blended together using wipes and whip pans to give the impression of long dynamic shots. The main actor did most of his own choreography but took on stunt performers. Fight features a ratchet into organ pipes and multiple ratchets and hand pulls to assist gunshots, explosions, and impaling. (Rick English, James Harris, Greg Townley, Rudolf Vrba, Damien Walters)
NOMINEES – Furious 7: Two men fight each other on top of a parking structure. The fight starts with pipes and wrenches and moves to a fist fight. Most of the fight was done by stunt doubles and face replacement was used for some shots. (Jace Jeanes, Troy Robinson). Kingsman: The Secret Service: One man takes on a gang in a pub. The main actor did most of his own choreography but took on stunt performers. Hand pulls were used in the fight and face replacement was used for one shot. (Rick English, James Harris, Rory Mulroe, Cali Nelle, Sebastian Zaniesienko). Mad Max: Fury Road: Fight between Mad Max, Furiosa and Nux while Max and Nux are chained together. The weapons, hits, and effects were practical. The actors performed their own work for close-up shots and stunt performers did the fight in all wide shots and close ups that did not feature actors (Dayna Grant, Daniel Himschoot, Jacob Tomuri) Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: The lead character and a woman take on bad guys in a dungeon. The man is handcuffed for most of the fight. Wire rigs were used for parts of the scene to assist with some moves (Lucy Cork, Christopher Gordon).
BEST HIGH WORK
WINNER – Jupiter Ascending: A stunt man and woman were suspended 25′ beneath a helicopter. The helicopter pilot flew through the skyscrapers of Chicago at night weaving through the buildings at approximately 60 mph with 10’ of rotor clearance per side. The stunt performers would pendulum up as the helicopter executed its turns, at one point rising to the level of the ship. A helicopter camera ship filmed this by following directly behind the lead ship. The altitude ranged from 600’ to 1500’. (Mickey Facchinello, Cliff Fleming, Craig Hosking, Antal Kalik).
NOMINEES – Point Break: Two stuntmen use a 150’ descender to fall over Angel Falls in Venezuela (Clay Cullen, JJ Dashnaw).Spectre: James Bond fights a bad guy in a helicopter. The helicopter flew 45’ above a crowded square and does a variety of acrobatic maneuvers trying to throw them off. CGI was used to add people to the square and remove safety cables (Chuck P. Aaron, Rob Cooper, Andy Lister). Spy: A man falls 65’ backwards off a balcony. The stunt performer fell backwards with no wires into a box catcher (Zoltan Hodi).Spy: A stunt woman hangs from a helicopter while a stunt man holds onto her legs. The man slips and falls into a lake (Jace Jeanes, Luci Romberg).
BEST STUNT RIGGING
WINNER – Mad Max: Fury Road: A stuntman rides a motorcycle towards the War Rig performing a lay down. The bike and rider were attached to safety lines mounted on the War Rig that pulled slack with a ratchet system as he approached the War Rig. The rider was pulled to the final position where he grabbed the stunt woman’s legs, while the motorcycle was quick released. (Keir Beck, Russell Ingram, Guy Norris, Mick Roughan, Mark Wickham).
NOMINEES – Ant-Man: Falcon fights Ant-Man. A 3D winch, ratchets, and vehicles fly the Falcon during the entire fight. At one point, the performer was 50′ in the air, and manipulated back and forth in multiple directions over a 1000 square foot area. (James M. Churchman, Richard Epper, Michael Hugghins, Billy Morts, Brian Simpson). Jupiter Ascending: The lead male character flies out of a doorway and across an alley. He rebounds off the far wall and leaps back across the alley, landing on the 3rd-floor fire escape. Executing a backflip to dodge gunfire, he lands back on the fire escape, leaps, and flies down the alley and around the corner. This sequence was done in three parts utilizing multiple computer-fired ratchets and a winch (David Hugghins).The Martian: Two astronauts spin wildly around in zero gravity. A 3D winch and 2D traveler system were used, in conjunction with a rotating helicopter truss system to execute this sequence (Daryl Andrews, Giedrius ‘Gee’ Nagys, Leonard Woodcock). Point Break: A snowboarder falls off the edge of a steep cliff. A truss system was secured at the ridge line and high lines were run across the gorge and secured to the opposite cliff wall. The stuntman fell 35 meters and was decelerated utilizing the overhead lines and a brake line. The stunt was performed at an altitude of 4000 meters (Werner Bernstadt, Gunter Franze, Matthias Guenther, Ralf Haeger, Florian Hotz).
BEST WORK WITH A VEHICLE
WINNER – Furious 7: Two cars slam into each other and go down a mountain side filled with trees and cliffs. They are chased by 2 bad guys, with one car being launched 60’ through the air and impaled on a fallen tree. The other bad guy flips while in pursuit of the two cars that sail off another cliff. The two cars then turn to avoid a larger cliff. A Camero jumps out of the woods, slams into a car, and pushes him off the edge of the cliff. All of the car work was practical with the help of some FX rigs.(Steve Kelso, Henry Kingi, Jalil Jay Lynch, Rhys Millen, Jimmy N. Roberts).
NOMINEES – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Avengers chase Ultron through the streets of Korea. Chase features work with a motorbike, crashes, a 3 car cannon, and a pipe ramp by a big truck (Evangelos Grecos, Rob Hunt, Lee Millham, Sarah Vignot). Mad Max: Fury Road: Buzzard cars attack a war rig. Chase features a hot rod flipping 360 degrees in a pit, a pipe ramp alongside the war rig, cannons, and a t-bone (Lee Adamson, Steve Griffin, Karl Van Moorsel, Mick Van Moorsel, Glenn Suter). Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: Lead character chases multiple bikes in a black BMW M3 and eventually on a bike. The chase starts in city alleyways and continues on highways and mountain roads. Chase features the BMW rear-ending a motorcycle, a 360 spin in an alley, and a motorbike being high sided (Kieran Clarke, Rick English, Christopher Gordon, Jimmy N. Roberts, Jenny Tinmouth). Spectre: James Bond fights a bad guy in a helicopter. The helicopter flew 45’ above a crowded square and does a variety of acrobatic maneuvers trying to throw them off. CGI was used to add people to the square and remove safety cables.(Chuck P. Aaron, Rob Cooper, Andy Lister).
BEST SPECIALTY STUNT
WINNER – Mad Max: Fury Road: Stuntmen are on top of giant poles made to move like metronomes, with two men on the bottom to assist the movement of the poles. The poles were on moving cars that chased a tanker. All performers were then able to transfer from the top of their pole to the tanker or pull people from cars. Some stunt performers were also holding weapons and props.(Sebastian Dickins, Pete Hill, Craig Morgan, Chris Patton, Judd Wild).
NOMINEES – Mad Max: Fury Road: Rock riders jump over a moving war rig and drop fire bombs. Riders were positioned at intervals along the side of the road and dropped smoke grenades as they jumped the war rig. Special effects explosions were triggered remotely.(Michael Addison, Shaun Ford, Stephen Gall, Cody Mackie, Robbie Marshall).Point Break: Four men in wingsuits base jump and fly through mountains in Switzerland. Flights were made in formation through narrow gaps about 150’ wide. No CGI was used.(Noah Bahnson, Julian Robin Boulle, Jon DeVore, Jhonathan Florez, Mike Swanson).Point Break: Stunt performers snowboard down a steep slope that is only accessible by helicopter. At the end of the run, one stunt performer slams into the slope and falls off the edge of a cliff into a 500m gorge. He falls 35m before he is stopped by rigging wires.(Ralph Backstrom, Mike Basich, Xavier De Le Rue, Jorg Ellmer, Mitch Toelderer).The Revenant: A man rides through a freezing river, going over multiple waterfalls in the river. No wires were used and the stunt man went over practically (Alex Krimm).
BEST OVERALL STUNT BY A STUNT WOMAN
WINNER – Furious 7: A woman is thrown from the back of a bus onto the hood of a car. She then rides on the hood during a car chase. During the chase, the driver of the car does a wheelie and the stunt woman is launched up to the roof of the car and pulled inside through the sunroof (Linda Jewell).
NOMINEES – Cooties: Stunt woman does a full body burn while running down a street. No CGI was used to enhance the fire (Emily Brobst). Freaks of Nature: A stunt woman is ratcheted back 18’ into the air and lands on a car windshield (Kimberly Shannon Murphy). Furious 7: A stunt woman drives a black Barracuda during a car chase. Chase features a canon resulting in the back of the vehicle on fire, sliding around streets in an attempt to escape a drone, and racing through a tunnel (Debbie Evans).Tomorrowland: A woman rings a doorbell and is ratcheted back to the ground (Krista Bell).
HARDEST HIT
WINNER – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Lead character rides a motorcycle under the bike of a stunt man. This causes the stunt man to high side and be thrown from the bike (Rick English).
NOMINEES – Freaks of Nature: A stunt woman is ratcheted back 18’ into the air and lands on a car windshield (Kimberly Shannon Murphy). The Gunman: An explosion is triggered and sends a stunt man flying 15’ across a stair landing and crashing into a closed, solid wooden door (Cesar Solar). Terminator Genisys: Two men in a parking structure crash through a wall into a hospital. (Martin De Boer, Rob Mars, Kevin Reid). Tomorrowland: A woman rings a doorbell and is ratcheted back to the ground (Krista Bell).
BEST ACTION IN A FOREIGN FILM
WINNER – Medal (Russia) Vladimir Orlov
NOMINEES – The Code of Cain (Belarus) (William De Vital). Paparazzi (Lebanon) (Federico Cueva). Sindrome de ti (Spain) (Joaquin Ortega).
BEST STUNT COORDINATION AND/OR 2ND UNIT DIRECTION
WINNER – Mad Max: Fury Road (Keir Beck, Steve Griffin, Guy Norris, Glenn Suter, Lawrence Woodward).
NOMINEES – Furious 7 (Andy Gill, Jack Gill, Joel Kramer, Spiro Razatos. Kingsman: The Secret Service (Brad Allan, Adam Kirley). Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: (Wade Eastwood, Gregg Smrz). Point Break: (Jon DeVore, Ralf Haeger, Brian L. Keaulana, Mic Rodgers).The Revenant: (Scott Ateah, Doug Coleman, Brian Machleit). Spectre: (Gary Powell).
