Least Action Heroes
No one ever said you had to be modest to be a stuntman (anyone who would suggest it would be laughed off the sound stage). Now we have stunt coordinators imputing the success of eight of the 10 top-grossing films of all time to stuntmen--who are “artistically . . . creating the action on the screen”--and calling for an Oscar for stunt coordinating (Film Clips, April 3).
It’s not unusual for any film worker to see a film in terms of his or her specialty, but stunt coordinators would be well advised to carry out their work according to the creative needs of the director and cinematographer. Their hubris blinds them to the sobering and contradictory evidence of huge numbers of high-action flops that are churned out of film factories the world over.
The distinction is in the tastes of the true creators of the films, hardly in how well the stunt coordinator has done his work. A stunt category in the academy? Lord help us.
JAKE ANGELIN
Los Angeles
It’s not exactly true that the academy never acknowledged the work of stuntmen. In 1967, the great Yakima Canutt was given an honorary Academy Award “for achievements as a stuntman and for developing safety devices to protect stuntmen everywhere.”
Also, the executive director of the academy, quoted in the article, is Bruce Davis, not Davies.
STEVE BARR
Culver City
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