Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt & David Leitch Break Down 'The Fall Guy' Stunt Scene

Was it a fling?

Was it to you?

Well, was it?

Emily, this is me Ryan now. I'm still there, sorry.

I'm still there.

[David laughs]

[beep]

Hey guys, I'm Ryan Gosling.

I'm Emily Blunt.

I'm David Leach.

And this is Notes on a scene.

for The Fall Guy. For The Fall Guy.

We're gonna go again Colt.

'Cause there was a little buzz on that one.

[Crew member] Okay, light him up.

[flames roar]

[lazer guns firing]

[explosions]

So the scene we're about to see is Jody and Colt's

unpacking their past on set

[Emily] in front of the crew. Unpacking.

Let's dive into this scene. [Emily and Ryan laughing]

Let's have some fun. Here we go.

Hit the play.

We're going again.

[flames roaring]

[David] So we're actually really doing this stunt

and that um, is-

Not me. Not Ryan Gosling.

Yeah, let's pause that please.

So let's go back for a second.

Here can we go back for a second?

We're going again.

[flames roar]

So we're actually really doing this stunt.

We did a lot of practical stunts in this movie.

Like more than you would normally do in a film like this.

All this fire is real.

But what we did do in this was a,

what we did a motion control shot.

So we actually did a fire burn with Ben, the stunt double.

And then we did another motion control pass with Ryan.

See that is actually you.

My kids said they were cool if I did a stunt film

but that I could not get set on fire.

Real fire, real Ryan.

So. But-

And this is me. Ben Jenkins came in.

That's me right there.

Ben Jenkins came in and he did it.

He actually said, I guess he called Chris O'Hare

and asked if he could get set on fire.

Yeah, he called the stunt

coordinator and said- Because he'd never

done it before. He'd never done

the stunt before. And I was like=

He was the fire virgin. We're gonna be

a great team! Yep. Yep.

Why do you have to-

I don't know. So if we-

It was eight times, right?

It was eight.

He did eight fire burns. That's not the limit.

That's just, was, your

limit or Ben's limit. Yeah, it was Ben's uh,

he, that's all he could take.

Now what is the effect on your skin

after a fire burn for real?

Without doing a thumbs up stunt thing? Is it bad?

Are you pretty crispy?

No, I mean if it,

the thing about a fire stunt is actually,

it's a relatively safe. Safe.

[David] safe thing,

but if it goes wrong,

it goes really wrong fast. Right

So if you're following the protocols,

keeping the heat away from you, using the fire gel,

using the protective clothing.

It can be really safe and effective.

But if winds change, you know your safety guys weren't there

and you can't put yourself out, then it's [snap]

seconds before it turns bad. So-

Ben's gloves and shoes melted onto his hands and feet.

Oh yeah. He was hot. Yeah

[David] This is a lot,

a lot of fire on a person. God.

But let's look.

So this, this is another moment we had Ben,

that's still his face right there, right?

Boom.

That's Ben, and Ben's going to hit the wall hard.

Which is great.

Oh. Oh!

[David] And then here you have Ryan-

But the fire was not on you.

That was added afterwards.

Mhm. Yes.

That fire in there was was added in post.

We used a MoCo shot for that one shot

where we tied Ryan into the fire stunt.

But all of the, the stunt stuff that Ben is doing,

we just use practical fire.

And part of the reason you do practical fire

is that it challenges the visual effects artists

to match when they're adding fire.

And they have things to pull from. It makes it more real.

So again, when the more practical things you can do,

the better your visual effects are gonna end up being.

Generally speaking.

And Emily's performance was firing.

I don't think you used any gel at all,

did you? I didn't need any.

Yeah, no No.

[Ryan] Dave, are these little pieces

of pink tape what's going on? In the movie? Wait.

Is that our movie? or is that-

Her, Jodi's movie. That's Jodi's movie

making the movie. Right.

That's why we kept the wires in.

Obviously you're seeing a moment in Jodi's film

where we're doing a stunt But showing it for real.

Yeah, we're keeping all that stuff in there.

[glass squeaking]

Okay. Okay.

Alright.

So here they are unpacking their relationship.

[radio chatter]

For a little more context, Colt,

Eliana is sort of devastated.

And she starts sort of replaying everything in her head

over and over again.

Did she misread the vibe? Was it just a fling?

Was it a fling? Was it to you?

What was it?

Emily, this is me Ryan now. I'm still there.

Sorry, I'm still there.

There's a scene in Gross Pointe Blank

I think where Minnie Driver is berating

John Cusack, you know on the radio.

Yeah. Publicly.

It was like one of those...

Publicly. It's Amazing.

It was sort of that inspiration.

We're like how do we take that to the next level potentially

and have fun with it in that context.

And so we started to lean in

and as we did, we just got more fun and more fun.

But also heartfelt at times.

And that's what's great about this scene.

It's sort of a microcosm of the movie

and the tone of the movie.

Did she let her imagination run wild again?

Or did he lie to her?

Is he full of shit?

[Emily] That's you getting jelled up.

I love this. I love I love these.

[Ryan] I love these aliens supporting one another.

You don't see enough of that.

[Emily] These guys were stuntmen, 'cause they were

walking on stilts. Yes.

To give them these very long alien legs

and there were so many aliens on stilts just loping

around eating a bit of craft service.

And it was just amazing. They were on fire too.

Internally They were brilliant.

But let me be clear, eventually Eliana did move on.

Alright?

And she started doing Pilates.

Got herself a banging revenge body.

And then she started dating other humans,

one after another.

[Ryan] Emily Blunt brings that blunt force.

Guys. It's not true, ssh, okay?

She can have chemistry with

this keyboard. You could have chemistry

with this pink pen. Watch when she holds

the keyboard.

Suddenly you wanna buy one. Hey, how's it going?

What's your name?

What is it? You're like,

oh wait where can get that? Oh my god.

Dave and his wife Kelly,

she produces his movies, he directs them.

They are married.

There's this beautiful- So loving.

Love story at the

heart of their story. So beautiful.

So it was just like

we were just watching- Just a mirror.

We're just trying

to be you guys. Just a mirror reflecting.

Yeah. We learned it

from watching you dad. No do you remember

when we were doing the donuts.

And we looked over and we saw mom and dad sitting there?

Yeah. And she was sitting

on his knee and we were like-

look at these guys! We were like this.

This is the movie. Oh it was so cute.

Alright, I'm hittin' play.

[all laughing]

And then she started other humans.

One after another.

And she had so many mind blowing far superior experiences.

You wouldn't even believe it. Right girls?

You know what I mean? [actresses agreeing]

It was like a sushi train.

Oh.

It was like a sushi train.

It was like a sushi train. Your accent even elevates

the term sushi train. Yeah it was like

a sushi train, it was.

I'm not even sure I understand that.

I don't think I wanna know.

Have you never been to

a sushi train? That was a-

You get one after another. Really?

And they're mind blowing.

[all laughing]

Lots of wasabi. Super spicy.

All right, move on.

[Vanity Fair Crew] Emily, you talked about

how Greta Gerwig was like

an inspiration for your- Well I was asked

whether I thought Jodie was more Nolan or Greta Gerwig.

And I said I think she's probably

a little more Greta Gerwig.

And then it became a story that I based it on Greta,

which is probably not true.

I do wear a pink jumpsuit in it,

which was a little ode to Greta Gerwig.

It was like Chris Gerwig.

What's That?

It was like a Chris Gerwig.

I'm like Chris Gerwig. Yeah.

[all laughing]

I'm gon' be sick.

And do you know what we're gonna go again Colt.

'Cause there was a little buzz on that one.

[Movie Crew] Okay load 'em up!

And you know what? I don't think there was a buzz.

Do you guys know what a buzz is?

Would people understand

what a buzz- I don't think they would.

Out of focus. We quite liked adding all

of this little vernacular into it.

Yeah, we had, there's a lot of stuff

that maybe you wouldn't understand but I think you kind of

gleaned from context. Get it. There's a bit of

a secret language. But a buzz is when

the focus puller didn't quite lock the focus.

And when you're a stunt performer,

that's like the worst thing you want to hear.

Because it's like, I have to do this again.

Yeah. You've done something extraordinary and dangerous.

And the focus didn't quite- Yeah, it means you have to

get set on fire again. Oh, I have to get set

on fire again.

And obviously she's using it to mess with Colt here.

[Movie Director] Come on everybody, action!

[explosions]

Oh.

It's just feeling so withheld so,

how about some dialogue?

Yeah, that's all right darling.

I'm gonna go straight to the source.

Hey Colt, if Space Cowboy had to say something,

if he was forced to say something, what would he say?

As a stunt performer, no one's ever,

no director's ever given me context of my character.

Which, you know, it's a little bit of a stretch,

but it's very, very funny. Which I think is limiting.

You know, maybe it could have

helped you. It might help you

hit the rock better. Yes, it could've.

It could helped me double Jean Claude better.

Do the splits better.

I don't know, if I knew really

what it, y'know. Did you double

Jean-Claude Van Damme? I did.

Is this the fall guy?

Like are you,

is your tent in there? Oh yeah.

'Cause this happened a lot while we were shooting,

which was pretty funny.

Which is that this is like where the monitors are.

Basically David was, had a mirroring setup.

[Emily] So what was great about our movie is,

usually on a movie you hear people going,

Hey, guys, you're in the back of the shot.

You're in the back of the shot and

Can you move please? Yeah.

And in our movie, it didn't matter if our

crew was in the back of the shot.

So my question is, I mean I know this,

this is one of our actors. But what about this tent?

Is this your tent David?

Yes. We were using a lot of our stuff as set deck.

And listen, you guys,

you might have had a go at that sunhat.

Look how many people have

hats on like me. I know.

Guy's it's kind of

a set thing. They're very popular.

You know, they were- It's a set thing.

It really was a set

thing in Australia. It was quite a set thing.

I loved the sun hat. I love my sun hat.

So much so that I-

It became the pinnacle of that scene.

[David] Again, it's a movie about making movies.

And it was meta. Everyone wants to remake IP.

Obviously a Fall Guy, IP we're like,

what would Jody's IP be?

So we were looking through the universal list of titles

and Kelly zeroed in on Metal Storm and so we

looked it up and we watched

the trailer for Metal Storm and I'm like,

this is a great- Perfect.

Perfect, like sci-fi. Perfect.

I remember sending you- Yeah.

The poster and you're like, oh my god.

You were a little harder to get on board.

Listen, I just like...

Okay, all I'm gonna say is here's what happened.

What happened.

I think if you're an English person,

if people pitch you too hard on something,

your natural instinct is to recoil

and say, I'm not sure about it.

And you guys were so- We came in too-

Passionate about...

You came in so hot about Metal Storm.

We did. We really wanted you

to love Metal Storm. I was like

Is it the movie she should love?

Listen, I ended up loving it. You did!

It's a sci-fi epic love- You know who loves

Metal Storm? Story of cosmic proportions.

Who?

Chris Nolan.

I know! Chris Nolan and you guys-

Are the only people- As soon as he loved it

then suddenly you loved it. Suddenly I was in.

That's interesting. I just need a stamp

of approval for everything really.

How would he justify this year she's spent

spinning out over this. What could he say?

It's a puzzler, isn't it? But have you got any thoughts?

[Ryan] Maybe he- Nigel can you,

can you get him a ball bullhorn? I can't hear him.

I think bullhorns would be good in couples therapy.

If you really wanna be heard. This was an idea

you guys had. You know.

Get the bullhorn out. Yeah.

I don't think it's being used enough.

I remember when we were talking about the script

that the bullhorn, I can't remember,

it might've been Emily's idea.

Like it's better that they're further apart

and they're doing this whole thing through the bullhorn.

That was just an example of how things always got

elevated when we started to riff on them

more and more on set. Yes.

[Adam] Traveling

I, the best. Pause it. Oh, this run.

Oh. Best run in the movie.

Adam. That is the best-

No, no. Let's rewind.

Pause it, pause it.

So much to unpack here.

It's the best first AD run,

which is just a little bit scared.

He probably hasn't peed in hours.

[Ryan] Pause, pause, pause.

Can we just talk about

the backwards glasses? Glasses on the back

of the head.

The character choices

Adam made. No stone unturned!

He was great. Adam made such good choices.

[David] He's got his script in the back,

leather bound script. Leather bound script,

[Emily] Like a mini script,

which is so efficient. Oh god just amazing.

And he's running fast, but he's a little stiff

and a little like uncomfortable with this situation.

No wasting time. Watch how he handles

that track, watch.

[In Unison] Ooh!

Like a gazelle. [Emily laughs]

Best run. Yes.

Best run. I can't think of a better run.

[bullhorn siren]

Come again Colt. What was that?

It's already on. In this movie,

do the aliens and the humans ever talk in private?

No, not really.

[Ryan] No private conversations?

No. They don't like doing private.

Like they like to keep it very public, very open.

[Ryan] I'll tell you what, elevated the comedy.

This guy.

This guy just showed up to put on an alien suit,

he became- He was just supposed to

sit there and listen, but he was just so.

The way he was listening and- Here.

We should watch.

Have you ever been in one of those situations

where you want to say something

and it's so important that you can't mess it up?

[all laughing]

Yep. Yeah, absolutely. He's like, I sure have.

And we're like, whoa.

He was a background artist

who was just giving it.

And so this was after like take two, take three.

I remember Ryan goes, we should-

We gotta hand hand it. Hand it to him.

And like, this is a moment right now.

Let's just try it and see what happens.

You want? [bullhorn screeching]

I had a similar situation

when I fell in love with my wife's sister.

Okay...

[all laughing]

It's the Australian accent with

the alien voice. The way he said it yeah.

I had a similar situation when

I fell in love with my wife's sister

[Emily laughs]

And it was all we could say for days.

It's just like steals the scene.

Then we, we loved it so much. Yeah.

That he became a big part of the third act.

Yeah. Emily has this amazing

fight scene with him. I have a fight scene

with him. And I mean,

not with that extra- That costume,

[David] This scene sort of crystallizes

the tone for the movie.

There's really fun bits of action.

There's irreverent comedy

and like subversive stuff and like Gonzo stuff.

But then there's like this beating heart in the middle

and it is really about their relationship.

And I think that it's actually one

of my favorite scenes in the movie.

I'm glad we got to unpack it a little bit today.

Hopefully it's a moment that

everyone can relate to in some way,

even though there's normally not bullhorns involved.

[David and Emily laugh]