Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I Do My Own Stunts

Rerun...

Actors on talk shows always say that they do their own stunts... which makes me wonder why there aren't more unemployed stunt men in Hollywood. But there are some actors who really do their own stunts - watch any Hong Kong Jackie Chan film - that guy does *crazy* things on camera! And I think the thrill of watching a Jackie Chan film is that it really is him risking his life doing amazing stunts without CGI and without a net and usually without safety wires. He's just amazing!

I was cruising around YouTube, looking for some clips from a French film called THE BURGLARS made in 1971, based on a novel by David Goodis (DARK PASSAGE with Bogart, SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER directed by Truffaut, lots of other noir stuff) and starring Jean Paul Belmondo... who did his own stunts, like Jackie Chan. And this film is filled with amazing stunts. Saw it decades ago at some Berkeley art house. Own the Ennio Morricone sountrack on vinyl... and on CD... it's on my iPod and I probably hear it three times a week. Danged if I didn't find both a car chase from the film and this amazing chase - 9 minutes - starts a little slow but then gets crazy! Stick around for the end - and *insane* stunt that Belmondo does.



And, as with all action scenes - somebody wrote that.

- Bill
IMPORTANT UPDATE:

TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: Ten Things You Need To Know About Writing A Screenplay That YOU Will Film - DIY.
Dinner: Terrible Burger King sourdough burger - bread was mushy, fries were not good... I was feeling not great and thought food that is bad for me would make me feel better... nope.
Bicycle: Medium ride.

9 comments:

Rusty James said...

Hey cool... just picked up the Hard Case Crime edition of Goodis' THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN.

Have you seen Ninja Assassin yet?

Pretty good, and the actor - Korean Pop Singer, Rain - does his own stunts!

Or more like choreographed fight sequences.

Cllr Keith Martin said...

Hi Bill,

I am reading your blog in chronological order and I have learnt so much and really enjoyed it.

Its rare a blog makes me laugh out loud.

Thanks for all the tips. I look forward to future updates and intend to be a regular contributor in your forum.

I will also be ordering some of your stuff as I really think you know what your talking about.

Cheers

ObiDonWan said...

Holy Patron Saint of Stunt Guys: that last Belmondo stunt is incredible and he did it himself. Got lots of respect for that guy--the French Jackie Chan.

wcmartell said...

Yeah - when you see his face in the shot you realize he's really doing it... and Omar Shariff is *not* really driving that car!

mrswing said...

Belmondo does more great stunts in L'homme de Rio (1963 or 4), Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine (chase/fight scene on the wooden scaffoldings in Hong Kong), and in Peur Sur La Ville (1975). The first two are action comedies, the latter one is a tough French cop movie (with a villain stolen from Dirty Harry). It has a LONG rooftop chase with Belmondo dangling from all types of precipices, and later he's really on top of a subway train... Really good stuff.

mrswing said...

I can't believe I actually forgot this sequence... What I remember from La Casse are the car chase and Belmondo slapping the girl of the movie around with the lights in her apartment going off and on with each slap (the lighting gets activated by a clapping sound).
That last stunt outdoes anything Jackie Chan ever did (and by the way, Chan did a hell of a lot himself but regularly used doubles, even in his glory days - and sometimes for the money stunts, too. On the other hand, no one could top him in matters of object manipulation in action scenes).

Feersum Endjinn said...

When I do a stunt, there´s usually no camera on. Like last winter, when my car decided to start drifting in a really cool and awesome way and ended me up spun around a lanternpost at 40 mph... :)

Michael said...

Now these days’ www.discreetpharmacist.com|www.bestgenericpharmacy.com play a vital role in making generic drugs popular. They not only deliver your order at your doorstep but also give you so many discounts

Todd said...

He sure did a lot of car stunts too... like this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz0ZY0xvGdw&feature=related

eXTReMe Tracker