In a recent interview, Bullet Train director David Leitch shared some key info on his upcoming Ryan Gosling starrer, The Fall Guy, which reimagines a classic 1980s show about a Hollywood stuntman-turned bounty hunter.
The film adaptation, which is scheduled to begin production in Australia soon, was teased as early as 9 years ago — with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as the main lead. This time, however, Gosling will take charge, fresh off the heels of a successful debut film for the Russo Brothers’ The Gray Man franchise. Leitch himself will be working on The Fall Guy immediately after Brad Pitt-starrer Bullet Train launches on August 5.
Here’s what Leitch had to share about the project, speaking to Collider’s Steve Weintraub:
“I can tell you a little. It’s a reimagining of the show from the ’80s, the late ’70s, early ’80s, starring Lee Majors. It’s about a stuntman who gets embroiled in some crazy drama outside of the movie business, and mayhem ensues. And so, there’s fun and action, and we’re trying to make a big summer movie with it. And Universal’s incredibly supportive, and Ryan’s been really collaborative on the material, and we’re starting shooting in October. And so, we’re in pre-production right now.”
What Was The Original Like?
Developed in the late ‘70s and debuting on November 4, 1981, The Fall Guy was an Amercian action-adventure series broadcast on ABC, that carried on for 113 episodes across five seasons, becoming one of 20th Century Fox’s biggest hits of the period.
The premise, as discussed above, is pretty simple. Lee Majors, also famous for his appearance in The Six Million Dollar Man, plays Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who picks up a side-job as a bounty hunter to make ends meet. One of the first-ever shows to prominently feature stunt performers as main characters, Seavers was joined by his cousin and apprentice stuntman Howie Munson (Douglas Barr), and stuntwoman Jody Banks (Heather Thomas) as the group crashed, swerved, and exploded their way across America.
Lee Majors famously performed the title track himself and was quite close to the premise, having started his own acting career by hanging out with stuntmen and occasionally taking up a gig or two himself. He returned the favour often while on the show, giving plenty of stuntmen a series to be proud about, while offering them work on set.
Leitch’s Own History With Stuntmen
Caption: Keanu Reeves, Jason Constantine, Basil Iwanyk, David Leitch, and Chad Stahelski at an event for John Wick (2014) | Credits: Lionsgate
With the advent of John Wick and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, stunt performers have risen into new echelons — both as filmmakers in the case of Chad Stahelski and Leitch in unison for the former, and Brad Pitt’s high-profile Oscar-winning role for the latter Tarantino flick.
Letich’s own history is peppered with a variety of exciting stuntwork gigs — ranging from stunt double and coordinator duties in The Matrix, Underworld Evolution, Tron: Legacy, and several more, which inspired much of his subsequent filmography.
Even Gosling has similar credits to Majors and Pitt, having played a Hollywood stuntman-turned getaway driver in 2011’s Drive.
“We’ll definitely want to have fun with the movie world,” enthused Leitch. “I think, again, for all of us involved, it’s sort of like, ‘Yes, it’s about a stuntman.’ So whatever drama that’s happening to this guy, it’s like any other movie. It’s a great world for that drama to be happening in. And then it’s so rich with anecdotes from Kelly [McCormick, producer]’s experiences, my experiences, Ryan’s experiences.
We’re definitely going to have a lot of fun playing with our movie experiences inside of this movie.”
(Featured Image Credits: FilmDistrict)
