The Fall Guy/Production

===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 is Geoff Shaevitz. 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 and Blunt said that they took inspiration from Leitch and his producer wife, Kelly McCormick, for the romantic relationship between their characters. 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. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film had a production budget of $130 million. Deadline Hollywood also stated its $130 million production cost after Australian tax credits, though added that "some have heard the production cost was even higher at $150 [million]".
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. Cannon rolls are performed by firing a cannon-like device into the ground from a moving vehicle.
===Music===
The Fall Guy score was composed by Dominic Lewis. The film incorporates songs by AC/DC, Taylor Swift, Kiss, the Darkness, Phil Collins, and Blake Shelton's cover of "Unknown Stuntman", the theme song of the series originally performed by Lee Majors.
===Post-production===
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir was on set during production, returning to Los Angeles for post-production. Sound was conducted by Frankie Montano, Jon Taylor and the team at Universal StudioPost. Visual effects studios Rising Sun Pictures, Framestore, Cinesite, Crafty Apes, Opsis and Day for Nite were involved. The bulk of VFX work was in the creation of Metalstorm, wire and safety removal and cleanup. DI was led by colorist Dave Hussey at Company 3.
== References ==
Category:Production