The Fall Guy

Packed with white-knuckle action scenes, The Fall Guy showcases the incredible skill of stunt performers, taking in a range of classic stunt elements such as pyrotechnics, rigging, trained animals, car chases, crashes and fight sequences. The film even set a Guinness World Records™ title for the most cannon rolls in a car: 8 1⁄2, executed by stunt performer Logan Holladay.

Filming on location in Sydney, Australia, The Fall Guy production necessitated the closure of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as several surrounding streets to film car chases and other action sequences. These shooting conditions presented significant challenges, including timing constraints, regulatory restrictions and stringent security. “With practical effects, there’s always an element of unpredictability and risk that can't be mitigated without digital intervention. Visual effects allow filmmakers to elevate practical stunt performances by adding layers of complexity and spectacle to their action sequences. They also remove the potential dangers of stunt work, whether that means wire removals, safety equipment or rigs,” explains the film’s VFX Supervisor, Nicolas Chevallier. 

The Fall Guy also delves into the filmmaking process itself, taking the audience behind the scenes of Metalstorm, a fictional high-budget, special effects-laden film that splices the alien and cowboy movie genres, adding a space opera twist. Framestore created some of the epic and stylized shots of Metalstorm’s trailer featured in The Fall Guy, which pay homage to the beloved campy style of classic ̛80s action films. 

Framestore's team executed an array of VFX, including set extensions, explosions, crowd simulations, vehicle crashes and laser blasts for the fictional trailer, infusing each shot with a sense of OTT grandeur. These effects were carefully stylized to align with Metalstorm’s aesthetic, including a vibrant color palette and striking lighting contrasts. "For each shot, we had to create a scenography with a unique setting, often using elements like crowds, spaceships and explosions in a one-off manner without continuity from one shot to the next,” says Chevallier. “This necessitated creating lots of unique and quite complex assets or environments with specific rigs that we’d use only in one shot." To streamline this process, the team developed extensive libraries of assets and FX to answer all the varied needs and to bring diversity to each trailer shot, meticulously categorising explosions by their nature— i.e., whether airborne, ground-level, or aquatic.

Celebrating the unsung heroes of action cinema, The Fall Guy merges practical stunt work with advanced CG to create a visually compelling narrative that honors the artistry behind action filmmaking.

The Fall Guy was released in theatres on May 3, 2024.  

He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?                
From former real life stunt man and director David Leitch, the blockbuster director of Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and the producer of John Wick, Nobody and Violent Night, comes his most personal film yet. A new hilarious, hard-driving, all- star apex-action thriller and love letter to action movies and the hard-working and under-appreciated crew of people who make them: The Fall Guy.                    

Oscar® nominee Ryan Gosling (Barbie, La La Land, Drive) stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno, played by Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place films, Sicario)— goes missing.                    
While the film’s ruthless producer (Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham; Ted Lasso), maneuvers to keep the disappearance of star Tom Ryder (Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Bullet Train) a secret from the studio and the media, Colt performs the film’s most outrageous stunts while trying (with limited success) to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces. But as the mystery around the missing star deepens, Colt will find himself ensnared in a sinister, criminal plot that will push him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.                
Inspired by the hit 1980s TV series, The Fall Guy also stars Winston Duke (Black Panther franchise) and Academy Award® nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once).      
              
From a screenplay by Hobbs & Shaw screenwriter Drew Pearce, The Fall Guy is produced by Kelly McCormick p.g.a. (Bullet Train, Nobody, Atomic Blonde) and David Leitch p.g.a. for their company 87North, by Guymon Casady p.g.a. (Game of Thrones, Steve Jobs and executive producer of Ripley) for Entertainment 360 and by Ryan Gosling. The film is executive produced by Drew Pearce, Cecil O’Connor and Entertainment 360’s Geoff Shaevitz. The film is based on the television series by Glen A. Larson.