2024 Film The Fall Guy

The film follows a stuntman working on his ex-girlfriend's directorial debut action film, only to find himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding the film's lead actor. It stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke.

The Fall Guy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Leitch
Written by	Drew Pearce
Based on	The Fall Guy by Glen A. Larson
Produced by	Kelly McCormick David Leitch Ryan Gosling Guymon Casady
Starring	Ryan Gosling Emily Blunt Aaron Taylor-Johnson Hannah Waddingham Teresa Palmer Stephanie Hsu Winston Duke
Cinematography	Jonathan Sela
Edited by	Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir
Music by	Dominic Lewis
Production companies	87North Productions Entertainment 360
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	March 12, 2024 (2024-03-12) (SXSW) May 3, 2024 (2024-05-03) (United States)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$125 million

The Fall Guy premiered at SXSW on March 12, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada by Universal Pictures on May 3, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and has broken a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls performed in a car.

Hollywood stunt performer Colt Seavers, who primarily works as the stunt double for famous action star Tom Ryder, is severely injured during a stunt gone wrong. Blaming himself, Colt abandons his career and his girlfriend, camera operator Jody Moreno.

18 months later Colt, now a valet for a small Mexican restaurant, is contacted by Tom's film producer Gail Meyer. She claims that Jody is directing her first film, a science fiction epic called "Metalstorm," and has asked for him to join the production in Sydney, Australia.

However, Colt arrives on set, learns that Jody never asked for him, and is still furious about their breakup. Gail reveals that Tom has disappeared after falling in with members of the local criminal element, and she wants Colt to find him before his absence causes the film's cancellation.

Not wanting to ruin Jody's directorial debut, Colt investigates Tom's home and recent movements and gets into several violent altercations. In a hotel room that Tom rented secretly, Colt finds a dead body in a bathtub full of ice, but when he returns with the police, the body is gone.

Meanwhile, as production of "Metalstorm" continues, Colt and Jody begin to rekindle their relationship until Gail abruptly informs him that he's been fired and gives him a ticket back to the United States. Instead, Colt continues looking for Tom by tracking down his PA, Alma Milan. They are both attacked by goons looking for a phone belonging to Tom in Alma's possession. Colt eventually defeats them after an extended chase through Sydney.

Colt and his friend Dan Tucker, the stunt coordinator on "Metalstorm," unlock the phone at Tom's apartment. They discover a video of an intoxicated Tom accidentally killing his previous stuntman, Henry. The goons attack Colt and Dan, and the phone is accidentally destroyed.

Dan escapes, but Colt is captured and brought face to face with Tom, who has been hiding out on a yacht on Gail's instructions. Tom reveals that Gail is framing Colt for the crime, using deep fake technology to replace Tom's face on the video with Colt's, and the phone was the last piece of evidence against Tom. He also reveals that Colt and Henry's "accidents" are actually deliberate attempts at murder carried out by Tom out of his narcissistic jealousy.

At the same time, Henry's dead body is discovered, and the doctored video is released to the news, along with other circumstantial evidence, while Gail tries to convince Jody that Colt is guilty. Colt escapes and is presumed dead after a boat chase, though he swims to safety.

Tom arrives at the "Metalstorm" set with his goons the next day, and the production continues. Colt also returns to the set secretly and convinces Jody of his innocence. Together, they trick Tom into participating in a stunt sequence, scaring him into confessing while he's wired for sound, while the rest of the crew, led by Dan, hold off his goons.

Gail steals the recording at gunpoint and tries to flee in a helicopter, but Jody helps Colt leap onto the helicopter in mid-air, where he retrieves the recording and falls onto a crash mat prepared by Dan. The pair is then apprehended by the police. Tom attempts to get away and contacts his agency through his cell phone while standing on top of pyrokinetic explosives, causing the explosives to set off and killing him.

Metalstorm premieres at San Diego Comic Con, now starring Jason Momoa, and is a huge hit. Colt is exonerated, and he and Jody get back together. The end credits play over a montage of behind-the-scenes footage of the real stunt work involved in making the film.

• Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a seasoned action stuntman
• Emily Blunt as Jody Moreno, Colt's ex-girlfriend and a first-time director
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tom Ryder, a famous action film star
• Winston Duke as Dan Tucker, Colt's best friend and stunt coordinator
• Hannah Waddingham as Gail Meyer, Jody's executive producer
• Teresa Palmer as Iggy Starr, Tom's girlfriend and co-star
• Stephanie Hsu as Alma Milan, Tom's personal assistant

Lee Majors and Heather Thomas, who starred in the original television series, have cameo appearances in the film as police officers, while Jason Momoa cameos as himself.

Development

In July 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that a film based on the 1980s series The Fall Guy was in development. DreamWorks Pictures had teamed up with producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald on the project, and Martin Campbell was in talks to direct the film. DreamWorks, through the Walt Disney Studios' Touchstone Pictures distribution label, was to release the film in North America, Latin America, Russia, Australia, and Asia, while Mister Smith Entertainment would have handled sales in the remaining territories. In September 2013, Dwayne Johnson was in negotiations to play the title role and McG was in talks to direct.

In September 2020, Ryan Gosling, director David Leitch, and writer Drew Pearce were said to be working on an "unnamed stuntman film" that had been picked up by Universal Pictures. In May 2022, it was confirmed this project was a film adaptation of The Fall Guy. Loosely based on the TV series, the film is produced by Universal with Leitch's 87North Productions and Gosling's Entertainment 360, with Leitch and Kelly McCormick producing alongside Gosling and Guymon Casady. Pearce is also an executive producer, as are Geoff Shaevitz and original series creator Glen A. Larson. Variety reported that the Australian Government and the New South Wales state authorities added funds to the production up to A$30 million and A$14.5 million respectively, with Paul Fletcher, Australia's Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, estimating a boom to the local economy, over 1,000 Australian cast and crew, and more than 3,015 Australian film extras.

Emily Blunt was cast in August 2022. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Stephanie Hsu joined in October, and Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham and Teresa Palmer were cast the following month.

Gosling said that he took inspiration from Leitch and his producer wife, Kelly McCormick, for his role in the love story element of the film. Blunt's role was originally a makeup artist, and it was rewritten to be a first-time director before she received a draft of the script. Blunt had some input on the character, stating that "We all kind of built her together, because I think, maybe in the original script, she was quite severe, and that sort of tough director"; she thought it was more interesting to see someone who is "in a situation where they're way over their head." For the character, Blunt took some inspiration from director Greta Gerwig and several other people she had met.

Filming

Principal photography began in October 2022 in Sydney, Australia, at the Disney Studios Australia in Moore Park, Sydney. In January 2023, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was closed for several daytime hours for filming of scenes involving Gosling.

The film used practical stunts, with highly choreographed action sequences. Leitch stated, "It was a love letter to stunts. We knew we had to be authentic in that world." It broke a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls in a car, with eight and a half rolls performed by stunt driver Logan Holladay.

Music

The Fall Guy's score was composed by Dominic Lewis, who previously scored Bullet Train. Blake Shelton contributed to the soundtrack with a cover of "Unknown Stuntman", the theme to the series originally performed by Lee Majors.

The Fall Guy had its world premiere at SXSW on March 12, 2024. It was released in theaters in Australia on April 24, 2024, and later in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2024, and then in the United States the following day. It was previously scheduled for March 1, 2024.

Universal screened The Fall Guy at its CinemaCon panel on April 8, 2024.

The Fall Guy received generally positive reviews after its SXSW premiere. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 55 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "With action, comedy, romance, and a pair of marvelously matched stars, The Fall Guy might be the rare mainstream movie with something to entertain everyone." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.