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Action and Martial Arts Industry Honors Hollywood StuntwomenBy Patrick Vuong |
Various action stars and martial arts luminaries—including actor and judo icon Gene Lebell, taekwondo master and stunt coordinator Simon Rhee, and stuntwoman and Deathproof star Zoe Bell—joined more than 200 entertainment industry members in attendance to honor the toughest ladies in entertainment. LeBelle presented Laila Ali, world champion boxer and daughter of Muhammad, with the Dare2bDifferent Award while Screen Actors Guild president Ken Howard handed the Action Icon Award to Jamie Lee Curtis, star of the Halloween horror franchise. Prior to receiving the honor, Curtis said that she attended the awards ceremony to raise awareness about stuntwomen. “They are the unsung heroines of the film industry,” Curtis said. “These women put their lives on the line so you could look cool. It’s always good to shine the spotlight on the people who don’t get the attention.” In an awards show filled with surprises, Curtis delivered a heartfelt, if unusual, thank-you speech. She took to the stage fittingly dressed as her longtime stunt double, Donna Keegan. Then Curtis showed raw footage of the climax from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies, revealing outtakes of Curtis’ dangerous fighting and aerial gags in that 1994 movie—including dangling from a flying helicopter over a speeding limo and a burning bridge—contrasted with shots of the even more death-defying stunts Keegan performed in her stead for the same scene. After the video montage, Curtis unexpectedly called Keegan to the stage and handed her award to the stuntwoman, saying it was Keegan who was the true action icon and inciting the packed crowd to salute the women with a standing ovation.
In keeping with the show’s unpredictability, the ceremony’s planned fashion show was interrupted by drunk men who shouted catcalls at the models and started four separate fights on the stage and in the crowds. A collective gasp filled the auditorium and a few people stood up before everyone realized the fights were actually choreographed. Highlights of the staged brawls included former kickboxing champion Jeff Mulvin (Price of Glory) getting smashed with wine bottles, capoeira practitioner Naomi Peters (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) knocking out professional wrestler Van Ayasit (Power Elite), and actress / stuntwoman Natascha Hopkins (Spider-Man 3) tossing taekwondo expert Ilram Choi (The Last Airbender) through a dinner table. John Kreng, the stunt coordinator who directed the awards show’s demonstrations, said his intent was to dupe an audience filled with stunt veterans while showcasing the talent of these stuntwomen.
Bell—who was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary Double Dare along with stunt legend Jeannie Epper —said she got a kick out of the staged fights and was honored to be a part of such a prestigious awards show. “It was important to be involved in (the awards ceremony) and show my support for our industry and the women in it,” Bell said afterwards. “There were some pretty cool women involved and I was honored to be invited.” The ceremony benefited the Diamond in the RAW Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at educating at-risk teen girls and exposing them to various careers in the entertainment industry. The foundation also honored several other stuntwomen, including Angela Meryl (Kill Bill: Vol. 1) for the Diamond in the RAW Award and May Boss (Hulk) for the Helen Gibson Award. Meanwhile, legendary stunt coordinators Vic Armstrong (Gangs of New York) and Keith Woulard (Iron Man) both won the Gem Award, which was voted on by members of the stunt community and actors guild. The following is a list of the other winners chosen by their peers:
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