This article appears in the SXSW 2024 issue ofDen of Geekmagazine.
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The Fall Guywasnt supposed to be a romance.
Or at least it didnt start out that way.
All we do is punch people in the face.
Stop punching and start kissing!
That was ringing in Leitchs head when Gosling came up with a revolutionary idea.
He said, What if we lean into the love story?
Lets just go down that road in the outline and experiment with it.
We call it a love bomb, David Leitchs producing partner Kelly McCormick laughs.
Its a love letter to the crew.
And that love is at the heart of it.
So we felt that it had to be that way from a story perspective as well.
PlayingThe Fall Guysleading man is no easy feat.
Its such a romantic endeavor, just to make a film in general.
And that romance is at the core of all of it, Gosling gushes.
As stunt people who grew up in the 80s, we watched it religiously on Fridays.
Theyre the people who really create these action sequences and bring them to life, Leitch says.
Theres so much that stunt performers do in the creative process, and I wanted to tell that story.
So it didnt just get you excited about stunts; it started to get you excited about moviemaking.
But the difference here isThe Fall Guywants us to feel like part of the below-the-line crew.
Whos making that fictional film?
I didnt want her to be severe and tough and together, Blunt says.
Its okay for her to feel like shes in way over her head.
Its okay that shes white-knuckling it.
And then, when Colt shows up, the thread breaks.
I like that shes just as messy and eccentric as the rest of them.
I love the systemobviouslyof making films, she laughs.
I think theres a curiosity about how its done.
The chaos, how everyone is held together with duct tape by the end of the movie.
Its two people trying to have a conversation with all this chaos around them.
So it all had to center around that idea.
Its very strange, Gosling says.
Everyone sees the movie through the lens of their part in it, the actor continues.
Its a hard thing to capture, and I think the movie does that.
We shot Sydney for a couple of reasons, McCormick explains.
They really opened their arms to us.
And they opened the Opera House for us for multiple days.
Its romantic, bombastic, and brilliant acting as a midpoint crescendo for the film.
Just thinking about the sequence moves Blunt, too, taking her back to shooting the huge moment.
Its giving me goosebumps talking about it because that scene is everything; its the impossible shot.
And yet, people do it.
Somehow, it just happens in the end.
It reminded Blunt of another impossible shot while filmingA Quiet Place Part II.
He said, No, I promise you it can, Blunt recalls.
They rehearsed it for two weeks, and he was able to do it.
Its like a million things have to come together to make something impossible happen.
For Blunt,The Fall Guys Sydney Opera House battle captures that unique feeling perfectly.
Thats maybe what I love most about that scene.
Its the insular joy you feel with your cast.
Thats really difficult for anyone else to get in on.
Its an insular world.
You have these very accelerated friendships with people, very exciting relationships.
That meant bringing in some of the best of the best in the world of stunts.
So, was there a stunt that felt like it could be impossible to bring to life?
No, it was a lot!
Ryan on the descender is real, McCormick shares.
And thats really a riggers dream to get an actor on a rig that high.
How was that experience for Gosling?
I had developed a fear of heights before this film.
I knew it was coming.
I mean, its calledThe Fall Guy;I knew he was going to take a fall.
Hes not falling off his chair!
David and I worked so closely on this and on the script, Gosling says.
Weve both been at this for a while now from different ends of the business.
All that preparation meant that Gosling knew the stunt was coming, but it didnt make it any easier.
When you get there, its completely different.
If its a celebration of stunt performers, let them do their thing.
But with a former stunt performer director, it was never gonna go down that way.
It felt very important that I do a couple of them, and I completely got why.
Theres a five-minute scene that leads up to this 12-story drop.
Its all part of this long one-shot.
Everything had to go right, Gosling recalls.
Just watching it was scary enough for his co-star Blunt, who was in awe of his courage.
I was very scared for him, Blunt says.
And he was so brave to do it because Im not great with heights, especially not now.
And I just thought it was unbelievable watching him do that.
I mean, you could have heard a pin drop; everyone was just staring up at him.
Then everyone is cheering for him at the end.
So deserving of it.
I dont know if I would have done it.
Animals Do Stunts, Too!
But as Gosling explains, the story behind Jean-Claudes addition to the film is a moving and personal one.
I walked in, and he was just laying there, and they were performing CPR on him.
And I was so disturbed.
I said, Whats going on?
And they said, He choked on a bone.
WhenDen of Geekpoints out Messi is another dog who likely took commands in French, Gosling laughs, Yes!
He was aBon Garcon!
Its full of surprises, Gosling teases.
Im excited to see it with an audience.
And I feel like South By is the perfect place!
