Michelle Rodriguez narrates the documentary that details the work and fights of stuntwomen on 'Wonder Woman,' 'John Wick,' 'Black Panther,' 'Total Recall' and more.
In the opening moments of the trailer for director April Wright and Shout! Studios' Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, one stuntwoman boldly declares, "I wanted to be respected, and I didn't want to be respected for a girl."
Wright's latest inside look at the movie business tackles the on- and offscreen battles of the women who do one of Hollywood's most dangerous jobs. Based on Mollie Gregory's book of the same name, the documentary mixes interviews and archival footage as it follows the film's narrator, actress Michelle Rodriguez, as well as numerous veteran and high-profile stuntwomen, through their daily lives on and off the set.
In addition to capturing the experiences of those working in the present stunt industry, the trailer also gives viewers an inside and intimate look at the long history of stuntwomen in Hollywood, dating back to the silent film period.
"They fought so hard for us to get here, that now we don't have that luxury of not being able to do something," says one stuntwoman.
Directors like Paul Feig and Anne Fletcher talk about the significance of stuntwomen on their own films, while film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies Ben Mankiewicz dissects clips of stunt work in early cinema. Sequences of the stuntwomen, their training and projects visually detail the intense and often dangerous conditions they return to day after day. In one scene, a stuntwoman relays that "there's no way to practice a car hit besides getting hit by a car," before a clip shows one stuntwoman practicing it.
Alongside stars like Rodriguez, the more-than-two-minute trailer sees a host of female stuntpeople unpacking how they make movie magic possible on a host of projects, including Kill Bill, John Wick, Charlie’s Angels and The Fast & the Furious franchise.
The thrill, talent, and dedication of stuntwomen is on full display as they recount their numerous injuries, and touch on their fight not just for space in the stunt community but for a chance to be seen as equals and leaders.
Wright has previously directed movie-business documentaries Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace and Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie. The documentary is produced by Stephanie Austin, Michael Gruskoff and Marion Rosenberg, with Rodriguez, Alex Hamilton, Jay Strommen, Larry Nealy, Robert Hickman, Lynwood Spinks, Ryan Bury, and James Andrew Felts all attached as executive producers.
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story debuts on digital platforms on Sept. 22.
Article by: Abbey White for the Hollywood Reporter.
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