Naman Shrestha
Loosely based on the eponymous 1980s television series about stunt performers, ‘The Fall Guy’ is an action romantic comedy movie helmed by David Leitch, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the lead roles of Colt Seavers and Jody Moreno, respectively. The narrative follows Colt, a seasoned action stuntman who gets the opportunity to work on the directorial debut film of his ex-girlfriend, Jody, after being out of business for one year due to a fatal accident. When the lead actor of the movie goes missing, he gets pulled into a conspiracy as he is given the task of tracking down the missing star.
But as he dives deeper into the case, the sinister plot thickens. Apart from that, Colt also embarks on a personal mission to win back the love of his ex-lover by impressing her with his action sequences. Besides Gosling and Blunt, the thriller film also consists of other talented cast members in supporting roles, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke. Whether it is the set of the film that Colt and Jody are a part of or other sites that feature in ‘The Fall Guy,’ they are enough to raise questions about the actual locations in the minds of the viewers.
The Fall Guy Filming Locations
Filming for ‘The Fall Guy’ took place in the Australian city of Sydney, starting in October 2022. After about four months of shooting, the principal photography came to an end in February 2023. With a mission to stay authentic to the world of stunts, the makers used practical stunts and highly choreographed action sequences throughout the film. Interestingly, the Ryan Gosling starrer broke a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls in a car as it includes a total of eight and a half rolls, which are performed by stunt driver Logan Holladay.
Sydney, Australia
‘The Fall Guy’ was exclusively shot in the vibrant city of Sydney in New South Wales in the southeastern part of Australia. In January 2023, the production team restricted local movement on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a few hours during the day to carry out the shooting of the film. The iconic steel arch bridge is world-renowned for offering breathtaking panoramic vistas of the city. The services and facilities provided by Disney Studios Australia — a first-rate production facility situated at Building 16 at 38 Driver Avenue in Moore Park in the heart of Sydney — were also utilized for a few sequences. Spanning 32 acres, the studio comprises 9 advanced sound stages as well as an interior tank.
Taping also took place in the Northern Beaches region in Northern Sydney as well as the suburb of Kurnell. The cast and crew were also spotted lensing a number of shots in and around the neighborhood of The Rocks, particularly at Dawes Point Reserve on Hickson Road. The popular pedestrian street mall, Martin Place (formerly Moore Street) in Sydney’s central business district, also appears in a few shots in the film. Specifically, the team members recorded the scenes near Castlereagh Street. The shooting of the Ryan Gosling starrer also occurred near Anzac Bridge, the country’s longest cable-stayed span bridge.
One of the world’s most famous architectural marvels, the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point on the edge of the Sydney Harbour, can also be spotted in the backdrop. It also appears that filming took place at the Sydney Opera House Car Park at 2 Macquarie Street, the Sydney Harbour tunnel, the entrance to Wynyard train station on George Street, and the Wynyard bus stop on Carrington Street. Several exterior action sequences involving Ryan Gosling were also shot on a small street near the side of the Capitol Theatre and Rushcutters Bay, locales of which were featured in the backdrop of boat chase scenes.
The cast and crew members also took over Elizabeth Street to tape important scenes, with Chifley Square making an appearance in the backdrop. Other prominent sites that feature in the action movie are several streets between Circular Quay and Martin Place and the Kimpton Margot Sydney at Lobby/339 Pitt Street in Sydney. Additional portions of ‘The Fall Guy’ were also recorded in and around Sydney Wharf Apartments at 56 – 56A Pirrama Road in Pyrmont and North Narrabeen Beach. Boat Harbour and Potter Point in Kurnell doubled as the desert landscape, where an explosive stunt scene was shot.
In an interview with Men’s Health, when director David Leitch was asked to open up on the need for not one but 5 stunt doubles for Ryan Gosling, he explained, “Because of the level of stunts we were doing, it just made sense: Let’s just bring in the best person and do something epic that celebrates stunts, whether it’s driving a boat, jumping a car 225 feet, cannon–rolling a car a world-record eight and a half times, doing practical high falls into airbags, using air ramps to do somersaults without wires. In Fall Guy, we used more stunt performers because we were trying to elevate the level of practical stunts we were doing as a celebration of our industry. Some filmmakers are inclined to want to lean toward visual effects, but my upbringing has always been practical, practical, practical—as much as possible.”
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