Taurus 2008 l’oscar degli stuntman: i vincitori

Purtroppo lo sciopero degli sceneggiatori USA ha compromesso anche l’edizione 2008 del Taurus, l’oscar degli stuntman sponsorizzato da un famoso energy drink.

Il sito ufficiale dice che l’evento c’è stato lo stesso, a porte chiuse, senza red carpet, TV o fuochi d’artificio. I premi però sono stati assegnati ugualmente e giustamente. Il Taurus è infatti il massimo riconoscimento per i cascatori e le controfigure che rischiano il collo sui set cinematografici.

Scopriamo quindi che lo stunt di American Gangster ha vinto il premio per la miglior sequenza tra le fiamme. A Bourne Ultimatum è andato il premio per lo stunt che non teme le vertigini e quello per la scena con le auto in corsa. Curiosamente, un premio speciale è andato anche a Hot Rod, commedia demenziale che ruota proprio intorno al mondo degli stuntman. Di seguito tutte le nominations ed i vincitori.

2008 Taurus World Stunt Awards Nominees

BEST FIGHT
1. 300
Spartans fight the Persians with swords and spears in a bloody battle. No wires
were used, all self-thrown ground pounders.
Nominees: Max White, Jon Valera, Danny Hernandez, Ryan Watson, Matt
Rugetti, Tim Rigby, Jonathan Eusebio, Stephane Julien, Matheiu Ledox,
Don Lew
WINNER

2. Code Name: The Cleaner
Two stunt men confront one of the lead characters in hopes of taking him out.
Although they have some moves, they are no match for his fast kicks and hard
hitting hands that cause them to go down hard, over and over again.
Nominees: Phillip Mitchell, Mike Desabrais, Marny Eng, Jase-Anthony
Griffith, Rob Hayter

3. Death Sentence
Two men engage in a brutal fight on top of a parking garage and end up wrestling
in a car as it rolls backwards towards the edge of the structure. During the fight
the front window is kicked out and the hero escapes through the window a
moment before the car and bad guy fall.
Nominees: Steven Ritzi, Freddy Bouciegues

4. The Kingdom
A stunt woman doubling Jennifer Garner has a fight to the death with a large
attacker. The fight Is all hand to hand combat with hard pounding blows and
bodies being hurled against walls and to the floor. The fight ends with a deadly
knife attack.
Nominees: Shauna Duggins, Sala Baker, Mike Smith

5. Live Free or Die Hard
Fight between Bruce Willis and woman using various martial arts moves. Fight
progresses to a down and dirty brawl, sending male double backwards out a 3-
story window, careening off a catwalk and airduct then to the ground. Wires were
used for safety only, no assistance.
Nominees: Ming Qiu, Dane Farewell

—–

BEST FIRE
1. American Gangster
Stuntman wearing nomex and fire jell sits in a chair as Denzel Washington drops
a lighter on him. Stunt man is engulfed in flames for 20 seconds before he falls
over and is then shot.
Nominee: Manny Siverio
WINNER

2. The Comeback
A stuntman wearing a football uniform sprints down the field while fully engulfed
in flames. He ends up at the sidelines where his teammates try in vain to douse
him with the water cooler.
Nominee: Mark Chadwick

3. Hot Rod
A stuntman performs a full body burn as he stumbles, falls and crawls through a
kid’s birthday party.
Nominee: Dave Hospes

4. The Mist
Stuntman does full fire burn after being engulfed from a bucket of gas
Nominee: Jason Gray

5. Reno 911!: Miami
One stuntman catches his hands and jacket sleeves on fire. His partner tries to put
him out and in doing so engulfs himself in the fire. Fully ignited he then jumps
from the yacht 18′ into the marina. This was a full and real burn with no added
CGI or effects.
Nominees: Cole McKay, Patrick J. Statham

—–

BEST HIGH WORK
1. Bourne Ultimatum
Roof top foot chase. No wires were used. The chase ends with a jump from a
balcony through a window where no wires or safety cables were used for the stunt
double.
Nominees: Kai Martin, David Leitch
WINNER

2. The Golden Compass
Stunt performers fall 45’ down the side of a glacier. Shot at 7000’ on a real
glacier, a slightly sprung wood base was built for the landing. Two 30’ long
channels were dug into the ice on the top of the glacier to form a guiding groove for the stunt men to slide at speed over the edge of the ice wall where they were
then launched into space.
Nominees: Nicholas Daines, Paul Herbert

3. Live Free or Die Hard
Stuntman is kicked out a 3-story window careens off a catwalk, hits an air duct
then into a truck payload and then the ground. Stunt was done in 3 parts. Wires
were used for safety only, no assistance.
Nominee: Dane Farewell

4. The Number 23
Stuntman executed a backwards fall through candy glass 70+ feet high. He comes
through the window backwards. He falls a long way before tucking for the air bag
landing. The stunt was performed without the use of wires, green screen, CGI, or
composite enhancing.
Nominee: Bobby Brown

5. The Shooter
The film’s lead stunt double falls through a window backwards, tumbling out of
control and ends up landing hard on a sky light on a roof top below. The skylight
breaks and sends him falling again to a hard landing inside a building.
Nominee: Patrick Mark

—–

BEST WORK WITH A VEHICLE
1. Bourne Ultimatum
Lead character is being chased in a parking structure. To escape he drives in
reverse crashing through cars. After stealing a police car, the chase continues in
the streets of New York. There are multiple high speed crashes ending in a VW
pushing the police car up onto a K-rail doing a rail slide. Both cars end in a high
speed crash. The K-rail police car is unmanned
Nominees: Scott Rogers, Chris O’Hara, Martin Ivanov, Darrin Prescott,
Greg Tracy, Gil Combs, Craig “Frosty” Silva, Kevin Scott, Jeremy Fry,
Jeffrey Medeiros
WINNER

2. Grindhouse
High speed chase featuring a stunt woman on the hood of the car. Reaching high
speeds and receiving hits from another car, only one shot shows a dummy on the
hood. Once the stunt woman climbs back into the car, chase continues with a
reverse 180, double car jump and cannon roll.
Nominees: Zoe Bell (two dots over the E), Tracy Keehn Dashnaw, Buddy Joe
Hooker, Steve Davison

3. The Hitcher
Sequence involved driver operating an air cannon turn over of a police van on a
two-lane highway. The van lands in the road then, in a separate cut, is hit at very
high speed by an El Camino driven from the opposite direction. Then in another
cut, a driver slides a SUV into the two crashed vehicles.
Nominees: Kurt Bryant, Denney Pierce, Russel Solberg, Corey Eubanks,
Jennifer S. Badger

4. The Kingdom
Convoy moves down the freeway. An SUV rear ends a Mercedes that explodes,
setting off a multi car crash including cannon rolls, T-bones and pyrotechnics.
First SUV was on tracks. Second was remotely driven. Third SUV performs a
cannon roll and flips several times. This SUV was driven by a stuntman who
performed the stunt three times. No enhancement.
Nominees: Nick Hermz, Michael Hilow, Allen Robinson, Robert Patrick
Nagle, Chris Guzzi, Mario Roberts

5. Rush Hour 3
High-speed chase through the narrow cobblestone streets of Paris. Motorcycles
vs. Taxi. Doors get torn off exposing Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who gets
pulled into a tug of war. Taxi ends up driving on two wheels and on top of the
motorcycle. The only green screen used was to cover the actors.
Nominees: Peng Zhang, Ousaun Trippe Elam, David Julienne, Christophe
Roblin, Marsaud Christophe, CONSEIL Gilles, Bernaud Patrick, Patrick
Demeria, Vladimir Houbart

—-

BEST SPECIALTY STUNT
1. Ghost Rider
Motorcycle rider takes off to catch a van and has two head-on near misses with
semi trucks. Driver finishes with a long nose wheelie into 90 degree stop
Nominees: Robert Jones, Shea Adams

2. Live Free or Die Hard
Stuntman jumps on fence as a car hits fence. The fence is cabled on to the car as
stuntman rides the car through alley. As fence collides with dumpster stuntman is
ratcheted off to a wall.
Nominee: Ralf Koch

3. Pathfinder
Stunt man jumps from a higher vantage point and bulldogs the rider who in turn
falls with his horse.
Nominees: Jeffrey C. Robinson, Greg Hanson “Digger”

4. Seraphim Falls
Performer was in rapids to 160’ waterfall. He was attached by a cable to
helicopter flying backwards above. When he dropped over falls, cable was tripped
by the pilot, releasing performer to free fall down waterfall with completely slack
cable into mist before being stopped by bungee. No CGI or green screen was
used.
Nominees: Mark Vanselow, Craig Hosking
WINNER

5. Wild Hogs
Motorcycle rider grabs a handful of throttle and slips off the back of the bike
sliding across the ground. Motorcycle keeps going and crashes.
Nominee: Erik Stabenau

—–

HARDEST HIT
1. 3:10 to Yuma
Stuntman does backwards fall from horse.
Nominee: Brian Lee Brown

2. Death Sentence
A man is standing in the street facing away as a car approaches and he is cued to
turn a moment before impact. He is struck head on by the car, breaking the
windshield and is thrown over the car and lands in the street.No dummies, cables,
or computer graphics were used, only a speed change on the profile impact shot.
Nominee: Nick Stanner

3. Hot Rod
A stuntman attempts a ramp-to-ramp jump over a mail truck with a moped. The
take off ramp breaks and the jump goes bad. The stuntman collides upside down
and backwards into the catch ramp, causing him to fall on his neck and shoulders
on the pavement.
Nominee: Lars Grant
WINNER

4. Live Free or Die Hard
Stuntman is thrown backward down a flight of stairs in a computer chair. The
chair was on a ratchet to gain speed but no wires were on the stuntman.
Nominee: Adam Hart

5. We Own the Night
Stuntman jumps out a 2-story window to the ground. First part of the stunt he falls
to a catcher. For the landing he was hung by a wire above the fence then free
released to the ground.
Nominee: Bob Colletti

——

BEST OVERALL STUNT BY A WOMAN
1. The Brave One
Stuntwoman gets hit head on by a car.
Nominee: Chrissy Weathersby

2. Mr. Brooks
A stunt woman doubling Demi Moore fights off an attacker in the back of a
speeding van. The van careens off cars and slides to an abrupt stop, slamming into
a parked car and pitching the stunt woman out of the van landing her hard into a
taxi’s windshield. The travel of the stunt woman was aided by a ratchet.
Nominees: Boni Yanagisawa, Tracy Keehn Dashnaw

3. Grindhouse
High speed chase featuring a stunt woman on the hood of the car. Female driver
reaches high speeds and receives hits from another car, only one shot shows a
dummy on the hood. Once the stunt woman climbs back into the car, chase
continues with a reverse 180, double car jump and hits tail end of car causing the
other car to turn over.
Nominees: Zoe Bell (two dots over the E), Tracy Keehn Dashnaw
WINNER

4. Live Free or Die Hard
Stuntwoman is hit by SUV coming through a wall. SUV was on a limit line to
start then stuntwoman attached to hood as it drove through walls, shelving and a
window. Wire assisted in the start of the stunt.
Nominee: Ming Qiu

5. Redline
Ford GT enters race track at high speed in reverse through narrow opening. The
GT narrowly misses the Ford Mustang and does a reverse 180 down the track.
She starts racing the Mustang and does a series of drifting maneuvers in the
infield and on the track. Female driver also does spin out in Ford Mustang.
Nominee: Debbie Evans

—–

BEST STUNT COORDINATOR AND/OR 2ND UNIT DIRECTOR
1. 300
Nominees: Damon Caro, Stephane Lefebvre

2. Bourne Ultimatum
Nominees: Dan Bradley, Gary Powell, Darrin Prescott, Scott Rogers, Miquel
Pedregosa, Evangelos Grecos

3. Grindhouse
Nominee: Jeff Dashnaw

4. Live Free or Die Hard
Nominees: Brad Martin, Brian Smrz, John Branagan
WINNER

5. Rush Hour 3
Nominees: Conrad E. Palmisano, Eddie Braun, Brad Allan

——

BEST ACTION IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. Code of Appocalipce
Nominee: Vladimir Orlov

2. Das Inferno
Nominee: Torsten Jerabek

3. Flash Point
Nominee: Mr. Donnie Yen
WINNER

4. Paragraph 78
Nominee: Vladimir Orlov

5. The Last Legion
Nominees: Steve Griffin, Lubomir Misak, Monika Fiserova