To coincide with our hosting of the shnit worldwide shortfilmfestival (Aug 22-27), for the next two weeks FOMO is celebrating filmmaking itself. We’re screening a special program for cinephiles built around movies about movies. We’ll look at filmmakers, actors, movie obsessives, collapsing productions, Hollywood mythology, French and Persian New Wave, and the strange process of turning an idea into something that ends up on a screen.
Some films are about making movies and the people who dedicate their lives to them. Others are about the places where we watch them and why cinema matters in the first place. It’s our own small celebration of the people, chaos and obsession behind the movies we love.
THE STUNT MAN
Richard Rush | 1980 | USA | 2h11m | Presented in the original English audio with English subtitles
THE STUNT MAN turns the chaos of a film shoot into a psychological game between a desperate fugitive and a director who's willing to risk anything for the perfect shot.
Steve Railsback plays Cameron, a fugitive who stumbles onto the production of a World War I film and is quickly absorbed into the crew as a stunt double. The production is controlled by Eli Cross, a brilliant but manipulative director played to perfection by the always amazing Peter O’Toole. And what is Eli's special talent? Turning every accident, argument and near-disaster into material for the film.
From there, THE STUNT MAN keeps collapsing the line between fiction and reality. A scene that looks genuinely dangerous suddenly reveals itself as part of the shoot. A stunt feels like an accident. An accident might actually be a stunt. Cameron gradually loses any clear sense of whether Eli is protecting him, exploiting him, or simply willing to risk anything if it means getting the shot he wants.
Peter O’Toole is the film’s great force of nature. Eli Cross appears to float above the production, issuing instructions from cranes, manipulating actors and controlling the emotional temperature of the set. He’s funny, charismatic and deeply unsettling, the kind of director who can make madness look like method.
THE STUNT MAN fits perfectly into our two-week celebration of filmmaking itself, running alongside FOMO’s hosting of the shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival this August 22-27. Across the programme, we’re looking at directors, actors, movie obsessives, collapsing productions and the peculiar machinery behind the images that eventually reach a screen.
If BE KIND REWIND celebrates the handmade joy of making movies, THE STUNT MAN looks at the other side of that obsession: the ego, risk and almost irrational commitment required to capture something extraordinary on camera.
Funny, paranoid and constantly playful with perspective, THE STUNT MAN is one of those films that turns the filmmaking process itself into the thriller.
FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 02:00, serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol from outside allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!
LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
