Do you ever get the urge to crack open an ice-cold tinnie, throw some air punches and chest bump the nearest man? That’s what it feels like when you walk out of the cinema after watching Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s hilarious action-comedy film, The Fall Guy, arriving in Australian cinemas on 24 April, 2024.
Based on the 1981 action-adventure TV series of the same name, the two-hour film centres around a battle-scarred Hollywood stunt performer Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) who, having left the business a year after a terrifying stunt accident, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).
Directed by real-life stunt man David Leitch – Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – the film is an all-star apex-action thriller with a focus on the hard-working and under-appreciated crew of people who make them.
The five-time Brad Pitt stunt double turned superstar director has spent the last decade perfecting the art of big action films. However, he saved one of his biggest and best stunts for the Sydney Harbour Bridge where Ryan Gosling pulled off his most ambitious stunt of the movie. Man of Many sat down with Director David Leitch to figure out how on earth he pulled this thing off.
RELATED: These were the 10 best Super Bowl ads for 2024, according to us.
Filmed in Sydney, Australia, Sydneysiders may recall when the city was plunged into chaos after production completely shut down the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House strip for several days of filming in late 2022 and early 2023.
Leitch told Man of Many that the high-octane stunt which sees Gosling’s character dragged across the Harbour Bridge while holding onto the back of a speeding truck was one of the most ambitious stunt to pull off due to the disruption and short 4-hour window they had to film.
“I think the one that was the most disruptive that everyone will talk about is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And where we drag Ryan across at 35 miles an hour (~48km/h) across the bridge while he hangs onto a shovel,” said Leitch. “Logistically for the locations department that was really hard. I mean, we scouted the bridge multiple times, we knew we wanted it to be a key set piece. But we couldn’t really figure out how we were going to logistically use it.”
However, parameters imposed by the city restricted the director’s ability to get the shot he dreamed of. And while the final outcome is nothing short of amazing, we could’ve been treated to a fight scene, helicopters, a cast member descending down the bridge itself, and more if they had more time on their hands. “There were parameters that the city had put to us. And finally, we ended up coming up with this sort of bin chase section that we would put there,” he said.
“We had fantasies of like helicopters landing on the top and like a fight scene and a big, you know, descender drop off of it. But ultimately, what we got, you know, the four hours, I think we really delivered something special.”
If you want to see what all that disruption culminated in, The Fall Guy, hits Australian cinemas on 24th April, 2024.
