Ray Winstone Cosigns Open Letter To BAFTA Calling For Stunt Performer Recognition

‘HOLLYWOOD BULLDOGS: The Rise And Falls Of The Great British Stuntman’ Documentary Released On Digital Platforms 4th April 2022 + Blu-ray To Follow

Read the full letter here: https://shor.by/HollywoodBulldogs

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


NEWS PROVIDED BY
Wall Of Sound PR

Monday 4th April 2022, London; Independent filmmaker Jon Spira and actor Ray Winstone have today shared an open letter to BAFTA calling for stunt performers to be officially recognised at the awards.

Read the full letter here: https://shor.by/HollywoodBulldogs

Despite including categories for hair and makeup, sound, and even best song, the BAFTA awards have never officially recognised the contribution of stunt teams to film and television.

Spira’s latest feature length documentary ​​Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman is set for release on all digital platforms on 4th April 2022 via Alcopop! Records, with a Blu-ray edition to follow later this year.

Narrated by award-winning actor Ray Winstone (Nil by Mouth, Sexy Beast), the documentary tells the rough-and-tumble story of the small community of British stunt performers who came to dominate Hollywood in the 1970s and 80s.

Commenting on the news, Ray Winstone said: “I am totally shocked that these brilliant stunt performers are not recognised by BAFTA for their amazing work and how important these men and women are to our industry.”

Of his reasons for sharing the letter, Spira said: “These are the performers who gave the thrills to the audiences of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Aliens and countless more. On home turf they were even more significant because they are the people who created and performed the action of James Bond, arguably our most enduring contribution to global cinema. And let’s be honest, what’s a 007 film without the stunts? The one question I have been asked by almost everybody who has worked on the flm, promoted the film and, now, seen the film is a simple one: Why is there no BAFTA award for stunts?"

The label will also be releasing a special one-off stunt bike edition of the Blu Ray, which comes complete with a custom-painted Hollywood Triumph Scrambler signed by some of the featured stuntmen—yours for a deliciously trim £13,500.

Commenting on the film, label manager Jack Clothier said: “When my friend and director Jon Spira came to us with this smashing film, Hollywood Bulldogs, it felt ridiculous to not get on board. It's stuffed with charm; a historic movement of genuinely heartfelt stories from a community that have a hell of a lot of narrative to share. Plus it's narrated by bloody Ray Winstone. What's not to like!”

Hollywood Bulldogs is A Canal Cat Films Production in association with Red Rock Entertainment and Verax Films, and features a cast of invincible stuntmen from the length and breadth of the UK including Vic Armstrong, Paul Weston, Rocky Taylor, Greg Powell, Ray Austin, Jim Dowdall, Richard Hammatt and Frank Henson, Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman is directed by Jon Spira (Anyone Can Play Guitar, Elstree 1976), produced by Hank Starrs (Elstree 1976, Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story) and executive produced by Adam F. Goldberg, Liam Dunne, Robert Hornak, Gary Collins, and Arvind Desai.

Growing out of the ragtag community of bouncers, gangsters and demobbed soldiers who were prepared to take a punch or chuck themselves down a flight of stairs for a few quid, the next generation went on to turn stunt work into a legitimate profession.

Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman reveals how, by partying and drinking their way through chaos and tragedy, they created and performed the iconic action sequences of 007, Superman, Rambo, Star Wars, Highlander, the Indiana Jones films and pretty much everything since.

They crashed cars, jumped from burning buildings, shot, stabbed, kicked and punched their way into cinema history.

Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman is released on UK streaming services on 4th April 2022 with a Blu-ray edition coming later this year.

April 4, 2022 6:30am ET by Wall Of Sound PR  

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