Everything Everywhere's Stunt Coordinator Says It's Time For Stunt People To Have Their Own Oscar - Exclusive
Timothy Eulich has been working as a stunt coordinator, stunt person, and fight choreographer for 20 years, with TV shows like "Cobra Kai," "Outcast," and "K.C. Undercover" (for which his work was nominated for an Emmy) on his resumé alongside movies such as "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Captain Marvel," and "Bird Box." His latest effort as a stunt coordinator is "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which features several incredible scenes of martial arts fighting in a mind-bending sci-fi tale starring Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Yet Eulich, like countless numbers of his fellow artists in the stunt profession, is not recognized for his skills or talent by the Academy Awards. Despite a 31-year campaign to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to add an award for stunt people to the Oscars (via Vulture), those efforts have been continually rebuffed — even though the Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television all now have awards for stunts.
With the Oscar ceremony itself having problems attracting viewers in recent years (among other issues), a category that would by its nature often feature the action blockbusters that moviegoers flock to might add some much-needed excitement to the annual awards show. But even with the support of filmmaking titans like James Cameron and Steven Spielberg (via Pajiba), the campaign for a stunt Oscar has been stymied.
"From an industry perspective, a lot of people see stunt people as craftspeople, or just a tool — like, 'We need somebody to fall down, make that happen over there,'" Eulich told Looper. "But I think more and more, with this generation of stunt people who are coming up, I think we're artists. We have creative influence over these films and TV shows that we're working on."
Timothy Eulich says an Oscar for stunts is important
Timothy Eulich sees action and stunts as an important part of storytelling in movies, which is why he is especially pleased with his work as a stunt coordinator on "Everything Everywhere All at Once." He explains that it's crucial for the action in a movie to push both the narrative and the characters forward: "For me that's everything. I choose jobs that I do based off of that."
Yet recognition for this work via Hollywood's highest honor continues to elude the artists who literally put their lives on the line to make it happen on screen.
"We are artists who are realistically risking our lives at certain points to tell these heightened moments in these stories," says Eulich, who adds that the Academy's continued stonewalling of such an award is "confusing and baffling" to him. "It would mean a lot to me and to my colleagues to have that recognition in some way," he continues. "The Television Academy recognizes us in the Emmys, which we appreciate very much. Hopefully, the Motion Picture Academy can come around to that understanding."
Yet despite ongoing efforts, Eulich tells us that he's heard — at least at this juncture — that "it will never happen. Stunt people will never be recognized at the Oscars ever." Describing the response as "resounding," he adds, "At that point, it seems like there's something personal going on, but I'm only speculating. I don't get it."
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" is now playing in select theaters, with a wide release coming April 8.