For years and years, there’s been a push to recognize the best action movies, and specifically, their stunt teams at the Oscars. When it comes to projects on the 2024 film schedule, flicks like the well-reviewed Road House would be a shoo-in for that category…if it existed. However, the category is still not part of the Academy Awards, and after people had a chance to see all the wicked action in Doug Liman’s remake of Road House, one of the movie's stars spoke out about The Academy still not honoring stunt performers.
Dominique Columbus, who plays Reef, one of the Road House’s security guys who is caught in a lot of the action, spoke with Hollywood Life about being part of the action in the movie. He also made sure to give props to the stunt guys he worked with while speaking out about why their work should be recognized at the Oscars:
One thing I really want is for the stunt team to get their flowers. It bothers me to this day that the Academy Awards don’t give awards to stuntmen [and women]. It bothers me. Because when I watch people running the stunts on set, this is not an easy task.
Road House, which was led by stunt coordinators Steve Brown and Garrett Warren, is jam-packed with high-octane action. Columbus’ character is involved in a lot of it too. His character Reef ends up working at the Road House bar, and he assists Jake Gyllenhaal’s Dalton in getting all the violent fellas out. So, naturally, he was part of shooting a lot of the incredible fights in the film, and he got to see the stunt performers do what they do best.
He’s also 100% correct, stunt performers do deserve recognition at the Oscars, and people have been pushing for it for years.
For example, Jason Statham has been a major advocate for stunt people being recognized by The Academy. As an action star himself, he’s aware of all the work that goes into action sequences, and he eloquently explained that it takes years to learn and perfect their craft while also noting that these performers “are putting themselves at great risk for the good of the movie.”
John Wick’s director Chad Stahelski has been pushing for a stunts category too, using a BTS video from his movie to prove his point. He’s also gone on the record saying something that fits right in with Columbus’ point, as the iconic action director told Deadline:
There’s not a single arguable reason not to have stunts in the Academy Awards. No one’s gonna deny that we are at least equal to every other department. We’re part of every film, as much part of Hollywood lore as music, costumes, technical achievements, directing, or cinematography.
With a new casting category being added to the Oscars, it became clear that the award show is willing to implement new categories. Also, the fact that Chad Stahelski has been speaking with The Academy about recognizing stunts is encouraging. I know I’m hopeful about stunt performers finally getting the credit they deserve, and it feels like many folks in Hollywood are too.
There was a lot of hype behind the action scenes in Road House, and between their stunt team and stars, including Jake Gyllenhaal and UFC fighter Conor McGregor, the fights in this film are next level. If there were a stunt category at the Oscars, I feel like this movie would be an obvious pick for a nod.
However, at least for the next year, another Oscars will go by without stunt performers getting the praise they merit. Hopefully, someday soon, Dominique Columbus’ hopes will become a reality. But for now, make sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about this ongoing campaign for stunts at the Academy Awards, and make sure to stream Road House with an Amazon Prime subscription.
