The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a slow organization to change. It took decades to change the five Best Picture nominations to ten. But now, according to Deadline, after much pressure, the Academy is adding a new category for the 2027 awards show. The Board of Governors of the Academy said that they are creating an Academy Award for Achievement in Stunt Design. The hard work of stunt people will receive recognition with a little gold statue of a bald dude at last.
In a statement, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang said “Since the early days of cinema, stunt design has been an integral part of filmmaking. 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.” This award category is long overdue. Especially given how many of the most popular films of all time have copious amounts of stunts in them. John Wick and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch has been pushing for this category for years. Finally, his dream for this award came true.
While recognizing stunt performers has been a long time coming, we hope it’s not the last new category the Academy creates. A few years back, they teased a new category for “Best Box Office Film.” Which is irritatingly vague, as often the biggest box office movies aren’t that good. But they would benefit from a Best Action/Suspense category, as action films and horror films are often totally ignored for a Best Picture nod. Considering these films are the backbone of the industry, they deserve bigger recognition. It took decades for Achievement in Stunt Design, but it’s finally happening. So anything is possible if enough film industry folks advocate for it.
Content shared from nerdist.com.