Like so many sections of the entertainment industry, it’s easy to let the superhuman efforts of stunt coordinators, actors, and choreographers become invisible in the grand context of a film’s achievements. But without these tireless individuals, these achievements wouldn’t be possible. The high-octane entertainment value from such billion-dollar action-oriented franchises as “James Bond,” “Fast & Furious,” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be nonexistent without the spectacular feats of these teams.
With the Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance giving recognition to stunt teams, what’s keeping the Academy from making a stunt-oriented award a possibility? Answers have varied, with some such as stunt pilot Steve Stafford telling Scripp News, “It’s just the Oscars themselves, they are very slow to change anything.” Others believe the Academy fears that stunt teams will go too far to get an award, with Redditor u/roto_disc commenting, “There will never be a stunts category. They don’t want people going out of their way to be dangerous to win a statue.”
While a valid concern, Redditor u/scalablecory that there is a relatively easy way to ensure that things don’t go too far. “I think you do this by disqualifying a stunt if it was performed unsafely,” they responded. “Bake it into the rules.” It may not be clear why the Academy has yet to give stunt teams the awards they deserve, but a solution may not be too far away.
