Oscars to introduce ‘Best Stunt Design’ category
From 2028, the Oscars will have a new category. It has been announced that The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has established a ‘Best Stunt Design’ award to honour performers working in that field.
The first stunt design Oscar will be presented at the awards ceremony’s 100th anniversary. The centennial will take place in 2028, honouring films released in 2027. Therefore, stunt performers working on movies during that year could be among the first batch to be honoured in this new award’s debut year.
This is an addition many in the industry have been demanding for a while. Each year, the Oscars celebrates a vast array of performers, talent and workers in the film industry. It spans way beyond the actors audiences tend to focus on as it also honours off-camera and behind-the-scenes people who truly make the industry what it is. For a long time, the stunt world have been fighting to have stunt performers as part of the ceremony, given how essential they are to the making of so many movies.
“Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a statement as they announced this change and recognised this contribution, “We are proud to honor the innovative work of these technical and creative artists, and we congratulate them for their commitment and dedication in reaching this momentous occasion.”
David Leitch, the stunt performer-turned-director, has been most vocal in fighting for this change in recent years, even making presentations to the Academy board to rally for the new award.
“Stunts are essential to every genre of film and rooted deep in our industry’s history, from the groundbreaking work of early pioneers like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, to the inspiring artistry of today’s stunt designers, coordinators, performers and choreographers,” Leitch said in a statement after the decision was announced.
The exact criteria for this category has not yet been determined but will be announced in 2027 as part of the 100th Academy Awards Rules.
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