Seriously, what the hell is taking so long? After years of relentless campaigning in the filmmaking community, we’re still talking in maybes about giving stunt workers the recognition they deserve at the Oscars. We’ve had Oscar-nominated films about these incredible people, yet they still don’t have a category. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
So, we finally got some heads of The Academy to sit down with Empire for a rare interview. What do we get? A big, fat “maybe.” They confirmed there have been talks about a stunts Oscar, especially after announcing a new Best Casting Oscar category in 2026. Great, more vague promises.
“We’re talking to members of the stunt community who are Academy members about the possibility of that,” Bill Kramer, Academy CEO, said in the interview. “We added a new award that will launch in two years for Casting Directors, so we’re always open to those discussions.”
Yeah, open to discussions. Fantastic. Meanwhile, these stunt workers are risking their lives to make movies exciting, and they get nothing.
Academy President Janet Yang called the Academy “a living, breathing organism” and claimed that if the organization’s members have “really strong support” for a change, they’ll listen.
“That’s what happened with Casting. We’ve created new branches over the decades,” Yang added. “So it does evolve, and it evolves with the changing industry.”
Seriously? Has it evolved with the industry? Then why the hell are we still waiting for a stunts category? This isn’t a new issue; it’s been dragging on for years.
The campaign for the Best Stunts category has been long and arduous. An extensive IGN report broke down earlier this year that it’s hard but not impossible to get a new category added. Just look at the upcoming Best Casting category. In the simplest terms, the process involves a push and vote from The Academy’s various committees before getting approved by The Academy Board of Governors.
At the most recent Academy Awards, Hope for a Stunts Oscar ramped up with a tribute to the stunt community from The Fall Guy stars Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling. But did it end with an announcement of an official stunts category? Of course not. Instead, Gosling called The Fall Guy “just a giant campaign to get stunts an Oscar.”
So here we are, still waiting. The comments in the Empire profile are a significant confirmation from the Academy heads that it’s at least being considered, but that’s not enough. It’s time to stop the maybe nonsense and give these incredible professionals the recognition they’ve earned.
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