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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Coming almost directly from the oscars With a truck full of Kenergy, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt arrived at the South By Southwest Film and Television Festival for their premiere. “The scapegoat” A loving, action-packed ode to stunt work and the dedicated professionals who dedicate their bodies to film.
“The Fall Guy,” directed by stuntman-turned-filmmaker David Leitch, was perhaps the most anticipated world premiere at this year’s SXSW. Given that Blunt and Gosling were coming off Sunday’s Oscars, where they were both nominated (and where Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” brought the house down – the rumor was even stronger on Tuesday night.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to sing. I promise,” Gosling said before the movie, prompting boos from the crowd.
But that was the only sound of disappointment emanating from the raucous Austin, Texas, crowd that loved every minute of “The Fall Guy,” an action movie loosely based on the 1980s television series that Universal will release in theaters. on May 3.
In the film, Gosling plays Colt Seavers, double for a major movie star named Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who, after a grueling fall, is convinced to return to the set in the sci-fi directorial debut. . of his lost love (Blunt). “The Fall Guy” has wall-to-wall action scenes, both staged in the movie-within-the-movie and occurring in off-set adventures.
“We really wanted to celebrate the teams and the magic behind the scenes,” said Leitch, who was Brad Pitt’s stunt double, among others, before making his first feature film, 2014’s “John Wick.” “Bullet train,” Pitt also starred.
But that clever casting had nothing to do with the fun role reversals of “The Fall Guy.” It features a megawatt star playing a stuntman whose face is treated as a liability to the film, acting alongside many of the stuntmen who actually worked on “The Fall Guy.” That includes Logan Holladay, who performed Gosling’s stunts, such as a record-breaking 8 ½ lap car crash.
“There’s a moment in the movie where he buckles me up for a trick he’s about to do. And after it happens, I get out of the car and he pats me on the back for a trick he just did,” Gosling said. “What I love about this movie is that in any other movie you wouldn’t know it, but in this one you do.”
The SXSW premiere of “The Fall Guy” came with some of its own stunts. A pair of motorcycles sped through the crowd milling outside the Paramount Theater before Blunt and Gosling arrived in the back of a pickup truck.
Blunt and Gosling weren’t the only Academy Awards newcomers. Leitch and his wife, Kelly McCormick, (producer of “The Fall Guy”) produced a stunt clip for the broadcast. Although stunt acting is not an Oscar category (a sore point that comes up in “The Fall Guy”), Leitch believes it will happen soon. The academy recently voted to add an Oscar for casting.
“I feel like it’s changing,” Leitch said. “I think the academy wants it and it’s going to happen.”
But, in the meantime, “The Fall Guy” seeks to give the stuntmen, among other members of the team, a moment in the spotlight.
“There are so many cynical films about filmmaking. But the truth, in my experience, is that everyone cares a lot,” Gosling said. “Even if it’s an accessory, even if it’s a mug, the person using it will take out 10 mugs and have broken one of the handles and glued it on because they thought maybe it broke at one point but it has sentimental value to you.” .
Sentiment also plays a bigger role in “The Fall Guy” than you might think. Although Leitch said he was initially less prominent in the film, Gosling urged him to expand the love story component. “The Fall Guy” may lionize anonymous film workers, but it is enhanced by the charisma and chemistry of its two lead stars.
“Emily could create chemistry with a trash can,” Gosling said of Blunt, who was nominated for her supporting performance in the winner of best picture “Oppenheimer”.
Another “Fall Guy” co-star, an attack dog who responds only to commands in French, had a particular shock for Gosling.
“Eva (Mendes) and I had a dog named Hugo who was a Belgian Malinois, who was an attack dog. And he only spoke French,” Gosling said. “He has already passed away and this is my tribute to him. I miss that guy. He was a bon garçon.”
But in countless ways, the greatest romance of “The Fall Guy” is that of cinema. Among those with specifically verified names are “Rocky” and “The Last of the Mohicans.” In those and other films, the painful work of stuntmen is designed to be invisible. “The Fall Guy” flips the script.
“I have to say,” Gosling said, “I’m Ryan Gosling and I did almost none of my own stunts in this movie.”