I read about an injury on the set of America’s got talent. It was an escape stunt where the stunt man was suspended between two swinging cars. The man needed to escape in order to not be crushed by the cars.
He didn’t make it in time and was seriously injured.
My opinion is that the so called stunt man was an untalented amateur who had no idea what he was doing. The people in charge of that show are no better. The situation is perfectly summed up by Penn Gilette.
I believe it’s morally wrong to do things on stage that are really dangerous. It makes the audience complicit in unnecessary risk.
Stunts like this should carry the APPEARANCE of danger, but not the reality. This is how a professional does it:
6 Comments
Stankfurt School Long March · October 16, 2021 at 3:04 pm
The Darwin Award is waiting for some lucky (?) contestant.
Therefore · October 17, 2021 at 6:52 am
I like watching Penn and Teller’s _Fool Us_. They have some really good acts on. There are times when I think I know what was done and times I look up their code words to figure it out.
I watched an AGT act where the magician didn’t fool me and from my point of view, want that good.
He did fool the judges that were amazed and astounded. He got on.
Experts in one field are not always experts in other fields.
Jonathan · October 17, 2021 at 11:07 am
This is a great example of when you need professionals, or at least professional supervision.
One mark of a wise man is knowing that he doesn’t know it all and knowing when to call for help.
Don Curton · October 17, 2021 at 11:21 am
I remember way way back before cell phones, when you had to have a big bulky VHS recorder to get home videos. And the show “America’s Funniest Home Videos” eventually had to tell people to quit staging their kids in dangerous situations and taping it in hopes it would play on TV. But I guess risking your kid’s life to get on TV has always been a dream for some people.
Eric Wilner · October 18, 2021 at 9:54 am
From TFA: “Due to the impact of the cars colliding the vehicles reportedly exploded, erupting into a fireball”
Wait.
Cars Don’t Do That.
If the cars exploded into a fireball, the fireball was planned, presumably to make it look more Hollywood.
Ygolonac · October 18, 2021 at 11:57 am
Waaaaaay back in the ’80s, I think, I watch a Penn & Teller show on, IIRC, broadcast TV, and I want to say live, where they ran over Teller with a semi.
Trailer wheels right across his midsection.
After the commercial break, they showed the gag – there was a *shit ton* of weights on the far (non-camera) side of the trailer, enough that it would have stayed level without camera-side wheels at all. Then, they demonstrated that the tires were solid…
Foam rubber.
That is how it’s done – the look of real danger, but it’s just appearance.
You’re putting on a *show*, after all.
As for fireballs, the usual gag is a half-gallon of gas (or more, and maybe use something more volatile) sitting on something ‘splodey. Gotta get the fuel spread out into the air for the most impressive effect.
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