As you make your final predictions for the Oscars, there’s one category you won’t find on the ballet: Best Stunts. While categories are being combined (Best Sound) and some previously being axed from the ceremony, there is more of a call than ever to honor the art that goes into the stunts, with John Wick 4 star Keanu Reeves and its director, Chad Stahelski, urging for the inclusion of a Best Stunts Oscar.
As per IGN, John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski, a noted stuntman whose career goes back to 1994’s The Crow, said, “Honestly, I’ve been around that for my 20-something-year career in stunts…And there’s a lot of, I don’t know, just this ethereal banter, this wives’ tale, of why stunts aren’t in the Oscars or why stunts should be in the Oscars. As far as I know, the talk has never happened…” It’s a bit of a solemn statement, but Stahelski thinks the proper amount of support could turn the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences around. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the Academy or anybody outside the Academy that wouldn’t agree we’re one of the main nine departments….So has any journalist or stunt person ever walked up to the President of the Academy or a member of the Academy and go, ‘Why don’t stunts [get recognized]?’”
Keanu Reeves, who has obviously been in a lot of stunt-oriented movies (certainly 1999’s The Matrix would have been a viable winner), has some concerns as well. “What would it take for that to happen? I guess just more people would need to say, ‘Hey! You need to do this!’” As one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, maybe Reeves can finally help get the Best Stunts Oscar on the ballot. If so, could John Wick 4 be the first recipient?
There has been a call for a Best Stunts Oscar for some time, with some stunt performers previously calling for boycotts of the ceremony. These proved to be futile, as there remain 23 categories. There is also the debate of who exactly would get the Best Stunts Oscar, with the most common answer being the stunt coordinator.
What do you think? Should the Oscars add a category for Best Stunts? Which movie from 2022 do you think would have won? Let us know below!