The Fall Guy | |
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Directed by | David Leitch |
Written by | Drew Pearce |
Based on | The Fall Guy by Glen A. Larson |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Jonathan Sela |
Edited by | Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir |
Music by | Dominic Lewis |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 126 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $120 million [lower-alpha 1] |
Box office | $104.8 million [8] [2] |
The Fall Guy is a 2024 American action comedy film starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. It is directed by David Leitch and written by Drew Pearce, loosely based on the 1980s TV series about stunt performers. It follows a stuntman (Gosling) working on his ex-girlfriend's (Blunt) directorial debut action film, only to find himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding the film's lead actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). The film also features Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke.
The Fall Guy premiered at SXSW on March 12, 2024, and was released in the United States on May 3, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $105 million worldwide. It also set a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls performed in a car.
Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt performer, works as the stunt double for famous action star Tom Ryder. However, he is severely injured during a stunt gone wrong and he abandons his career and his girlfriend Jody Moreno, a camerawoman.
Eighteen months later, Colt, now a valet for a small Mexican restaurant, is contacted by Gail Meyer, Tom's film producer. She tells him that Jody is directing her first film, a science fiction epic titled Metalstorm, and wants Colt to join the production in Sydney. After arriving on set, Colt learns that Jody never asked for him and is still angry about their breakup.
Gail reveals that Tom has disappeared after getting involved with drugs, and she wants Colt to find him before his absence causes the film's cancellation. Not wanting Jody's directorial debut ruined, Colt starts to track down Tom. He first goes to Tom's apartment where he is attacked by Tom's girlfriend Iggy. She gives him a lead, so he visits a nightclub, where he meets drug dealer Dune, who tricks Colt into drinking a cocktail laced with hallucinogenic drugs. After getting into a fight with the drug dealer's goons, he visits Tom's hotel room where he finds a dead body in a bathtub full of ice. When Colt returns with the police, he finds the body has disappeared.
Meanwhile, as production of Metalstorm continues, Colt and Jody begin to rekindle their relationship until Gail abruptly informs him that he must return to the United States. Instead, he continues looking for Tom by tracking down his PA Alma Milan. They are both attacked by people looking for a phone belonging to Tom in Alma's possession. Colt defeats them after an extended chase through Sydney, involving a rubbish truck. He and his friend Dan Tucker, the stunt coordinator on Metalstorm, unlock the phone at Tom's apartment. They discover a video of an intoxicated Tom accidentally killing his previous stuntman Henry. The henchmen attack Colt and Dan, destroying the phone with shotgun pellets.
Dan escapes, but Colt is captured and brought face-to-face with Tom, who has been hiding out on a yacht on Gail's instructions. He reveals that Gail is framing Colt for the crime using deepfake technology to replace Tom's face with Colt's on the incriminating video. Tom also reveals that he orchestrated Colt and Henry's "accidents". Henry's body is discovered and the doctored video is released on news media, while Gail tries to convince Jody that Colt is guilty. Colt escapes and is presumed dead after a boat chase, though he swims to safety.
The next day, Tom arrives at the Metalstorm set with his goons and the production continues. Colt secretly returns to the set and convinces Jody of his innocence. Together, they trick Tom into participating in a stunt sequence, and into confessing, while he is wired with a microphone. The rest of the crew, led by Dan, hold off his goons. Gail steals the recording at gunpoint and tries to escape in a helicopter with Tom, but Jody helps Colt leap onto the helicopter in mid-air. He retrieves the recording and falls onto a crash mat prepared by Dan, while the helicopter crashes with Gail and Tom in it. Tom later blows himself up attempting to make a call in an area with explosives.
Metalstorm premieres at San Diego Comic-Con, with Jason Momoa replacing Tom as the lead, and the film becomes a blockbuster hit. Colt gets exonerated, and he and Jody get back together.
Additionally, Ben Knight appears as Tom's bodyguard Dressler; [15] [16] Zara Michales appears as Venti Kushner; Adam Dunn appears as Nigel; Matuse appears as Doone; and Dan Reardon appears as Fry. [15] Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, who starred in the original television series, have cameo appearances in the film as prop crew members dressed as police officers in a mid-credit scene, [17] while Jason Momoa cameos as himself. [15]
In July 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that a film based on the 1980s series The Fall Guy was in development. DreamWorks Pictures had teamed up with producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald on the project, [18] and Martin Campbell was in talks to direct the film. [19] DreamWorks, through the Walt Disney Studios' Touchstone Pictures distribution label, was to release the film in North America, Latin America, Russia, Australia, and Asia, while Mister Smith Entertainment would have handled sales in the remaining territories. In September 2013, Dwayne Johnson was in negotiations to play the title role and McG was in talks to direct. [20]
In September 2020, Ryan Gosling, director David Leitch, and writer Drew Pearce were said to be working on an "unnamed stuntman film" that had been picked up by Universal Pictures. [21] In May 2022, it was confirmed this project was a film adaptation of The Fall Guy. Loosely based on the TV series, the film is produced by Universal with Leitch's 87North Productions and Gosling's Entertainment 360, with Leitch and Kelly McCormick producing alongside Gosling and Guymon Casady. Pearce is also an executive producer, as is Geoff Shaevitz. [22] [10] Variety reported that the Australian Government and the New South Wales state authorities added funds to the production up to A$30 million and A$14.5 million respectively, with Paul Fletcher, Australia's Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, estimating a boom to the local economy, over 1,000 Australian cast and crew, and more than 3,015 Australian film extras. [23] [24]
Emily Blunt was cast in August 2022. [25] Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Stephanie Hsu joined in October, [26] [14] and Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham and Teresa Palmer were cast the following month. [11] [12] [13]
Gosling and Blunt said that they took inspiration from Leitch and his producer wife, Kelly McCormick, for the romantic relationship between their characters. [27] [28] Blunt's role was originally a makeup artist, and it was rewritten to be a first-time director before she received a draft of the script. [29] Blunt had some input on the character, stating that "We all kind of built her together, because I think, maybe in the original script, she was quite severe, and that sort of tough director"; she thought it was more interesting to see someone who is "in a situation where they're way over their head". [29] For the character, Blunt took some inspiration from director Greta Gerwig and several other people she had met. [29] [30]
Principal photography began in October 2022 in Sydney, Australia, [31] at the Disney Studios Australia in Moore Park, Sydney. [32] In January 2023, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed for several daytime hours for filming of scenes involving Gosling. [33] [34] Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film had a production budget of $130 million. [6] [7] Deadline Hollywood also stated its $130 million production cost after Australian tax credits, though added that "some have heard the production cost was even higher at $150 [million]". [4]
The film used practical stunts, with highly choreographed action sequences. Leitch stated, "It was a love letter to stunts. We knew we had to be authentic in that world." [35] It broke a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls in a car, with eight and a half rolls performed by stunt driver Logan Holladay. [36] [37] Cannon rolls are performed by firing a cannon-like device into the ground from a moving vehicle.
The Fall Guy's score was composed by Dominic Lewis. [38] The film incorporates songs by AC/DC, Taylor Swift, Kiss, the Darkness, Phil Collins, and Blake Shelton's cover of "Unknown Stuntman", the theme song of the series originally performed by Lee Majors. [39] [40]
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir was on set during production, returning to Los Angeles for post-production. Sound was conducted by Frankie Montano, Jon Taylor and the team at Universal StudioPost. Visual effects studios Rising Sun Pictures, Framestore, Cinesite, Crafty Apes, Opsis and Day for Nite were involved. The bulk of VFX work was in the creation of Metalstorm, wire and safety removal and cleanup. DI was led by colorist Dave Hussey at Company 3. [41]
The Fall Guy had its world premiere at SXSW on March 12, 2024. [42] It was released in Australia and New Zealand on April 24, [43] in the United Kingdom on May 2, and in the United States the following day. [44] [45] Universal screened The Fall Guy at its CinemaCon panel on April 8. [46]
As of May 13,2024 [update] , The Fall Guy has grossed $50.8 million in the United States and Canada and $54 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.8 million. [8] [2]
In the United States and Canada, The Fall Guy was released alongside Tarot , and was projected to gross $30–35 million from 4,002 theaters in its opening weekend, with some rival studios estimating it could reach $40 million. [6] [7] The film made $10.5 million on its first day, including $3.15 million from preview screenings. It went on to underperform, but nevertheless top the box office, debuting at $27.7 million. [4] In its second weekend the film made $13.7 million (a drop of 51%), finishing second behind newcomer Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes . [47]
The Fall Guy received generally positive reviews after its SXSW premiere. [48] [49] [50] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 82% of 312 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "With action, comedy, romance, and a pair of marvelously matched stars, The Fall Guy might be the rare mainstream movie with something to entertain everyone." [51] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 55 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [52] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 90% overall positive score. [4]
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico said that The Fall Guy "feels like a pushback against all the CGI-heavy, character-less, humorless blockbusters that have been coming off the content production line" and provides audiences "with what too often feels like a secondary concern in big movies lately: fun". [53] IGN called the film a "self-reflexive love letter to Hollywood stunt work", and praised Gosling and Blunt's performances and chemistry. [54]
Oliver Jones notes at Observer , "Rather than indict Hollywood’s worst instincts, the film instead echoes them. The action we see Jody undertake as a director is hashing out her relationship grievances with Cole [sic] over megaphone in front of her crew. We later discover that her favorite movies are Notting Hill and Love, Actually, though she likes them less since her breakup with Cole [sic]. If The Fall Guy reflects how Hollywood views women directors, it’s little surprise there are so few of them." [55]
Lee Majors is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series The Big Valley (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television science-fiction action series The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978), and Colt Seavers on the American television action series The Fall Guy (1981–1986).
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor. Prominent in both independent films and major studio features, his films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Gosling has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for three Academy Awards and two British Academy Film Awards.
Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and four British Academy Film Awards. Forbes ranked her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2020.
The Fall Guy is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonlight as bounty hunters.
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place, for which Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He has since written and directed the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
Stuntman is the name of two action-adventure racing video games; one was developed by Reflections Interactive for the PlayStation 2, and the other by Velez & Dubail for the Game Boy Advance, with both being published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The games focus around the career of a motion-picture stuntman. It takes the player through various movies in which they perform dangerous stunts as called by the game.
Aaron Perry Taylor-Johnson is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of the title character in Kick-Ass (2010) and its 2013 sequel, as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
David Leitch is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film John Wick (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. He also directed Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Bullet Train (2022), and The Fall Guy (2024).
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Deadpool 2 is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to Deadpool (2016) and the eleventh installment in the X-Men film series. The film was directed by David Leitch and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, who stars in the title role alongside Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T. J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Jack Kesy. In the film, Deadpool forms the X-Force to protect a young mutant from the time-traveling soldier Cable.
Charles F. Stahelski is an American stuntman and filmmaker. He is considered a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He first achieved prominence as a stunt performer and coordinator, notably as the key stunt double for Keanu Reeves on The Matrix (1999), and as the martial arts stunt coordinator on its first two sequels. He subsequently directed the 2014 film John Wick, starring Reeves, and its three sequels.
Gary Kent was an American film director, actor, and stuntman notable for his appearances in various independent, grindhouse, and exploitation films. A native of Washington, Kent studied at the University of Washington before later embarking on a film career. He made his feature film debut in Battle Flame (1959) and had roles in several additional low-budget films in the 1960s, including The Black Klansman (1966) and the biker film The Savage Seven (1968). He also served as a stunt double for Bruce Dern in Psych-Out (1969).
87North Productions is an American independent film production company focused on the production of action films and founded by David Leitch and Kelly McCormick. Their credited productions include Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk and Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt which Leitch directed. In television, Leitch and McCormick have several projects in development, including My Friend Pedro, based on the popular video game series.
Maximum Effort Productions, Inc. is a film production company and digital marketing agency founded by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds alongside George Dewey. The company name is a reference to a catchphrase from Reynolds' 2016 film Deadpool.
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The Fall Guy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2024 film of the same name directed by David Leitch, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. The soundtrack featured 24 tracks, with three songs and the remainder consisting of original score composed by Dominic Lewis. It was released by Back Lot Music on May 3, 2024 alongside the film.