Just last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced they would finally include a category honoring stunt work. While we still have a few years until we get the inaugural winner – the Best Stunt Design Oscar will be given out at the 100th Academy Awards – many are chiming in as to what this means for both the industry and the action genre. So what does Jackie Chan think about the long-overdue Oscar recognition for stunts?
Speaking with CBR, Jackie Chan said that the Best Stunt Design Oscar is something that those within the stunt community have been pleading for for a long time. “We’ve been wanting that…We’ve been doing so many years because I’ve been participating in so many movie awards. I sit there, Best Actor, Robert De Niro, Best Actor, Dustin Hoffman, and the Best Actor, Tom Hanks. No action star, nobody says, right.”
That’s an excellent point, when it comes down to it. And while something like Mad Max: Fury Road would win the most Academy Awards of its night, it’s not as if it was taking home any “major” honors. So for Jackie Chan, there’s so much more for the Oscars to explore within the action genre, something that so long went ignored. “It’s about all action. Action stunt guys, stunt coordinator, action star, women action, best action. It’s different because I said, why Oscar, they don’t have a, they have a special effect. Sound. No action. The action film goes [around] the world, the whole world.” Now now, Jackie, let’s not forget Best Engineering Effects!
While Jackie Chan would be a fitting choice to read the first name to win the Best Stunt Design Oscar (OK, so Tom Cruise is in the running – literally – too), it’s worth noting that he did win an Academy Honorary Award in 2016, essentially for how his work in the action genre crossed continents to appeal to the masses.
Do you think Jackie Chan would have won an Oscar if stunt work got its due years ago? What do you think stands as his greatest stunt? Share your pick below!
