{"id":135,"date":"2024-05-06T01:04:47","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T01:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/?p=135"},"modified":"2024-05-06T02:16:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T02:16:47","slug":"the-fall-guy-five-ways-in-which-the-movie-references-the-original-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/film\/the-fall-guy-five-ways-in-which-the-movie-references-the-original-series\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Fall Guy\u2019: Five Ways in Which the Movie References the Original Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> article written by Kimberly Nordyke<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Warning: Spoilers ahead for\u00a0The Fall Guy<\/em>\u00a0movie.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, The Fall Guy<\/em> is based on a TV series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you weren\u2019t aware of that, it\u2019s likely because you\u2019re of a younger generation that wasn\u2019t alive or old enough to remember the series, which hasn\u2019t exactly re-entered the zeitgeist in the four decades since it went off the air. (An unscientific scan of social media shows more than a few folks who had no idea of the original IP.)\u00a0But for moviegoers of a certain age, there are references to the series that inspire nostalgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show, which aired from 1981-86, starred Lee Majors as a stuntman who moonlighted as a bounty hunter. The movie stars\u00a0Ryan Gosling\u00a0in the lead role, who is also a stuntman. While the movie is not an exact copy of the show, there are several ways in which the film references and pays tribute to the original. Read on to see how \u2014 and where the movie differs from the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Characters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gosling and Majors both played characters named Colt Seavers, who are stuntmen. While Majors\u2019 version of the character worked as a bounty hunter as a side gig, Gosling\u2019s version gets drawn into a criminal investigation at the request of a film producer with whom he\u2019s worked for several years. Meanwhile,\u00a0Emily Blunt\u00a0plays Seavers\u2019 ex-girlfriend, named Jody Moreno, which is a nod to the show\u2019s character Jody Banks, played by Heather Thomas. However, while Blunt\u2019s character is a camerawoman-turned-director, Thomas\u2019 Jody was a stuntwoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Truck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the film version, Gosling drives a GMC Sierra, which is taken directly from the show, in which Majors\u2019 character drives the same vehicle (though, obviously, an older model). In the movie, Gosling\u2019s character borrows the truck from the set of the film that Blunt\u2019s Jody is directing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Stunts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each episode of the series featured a slew of stunts, as you would expect. But one stunt in particular was iconic to the show and was repeated throughout the series: Seavers\u2019 GMC Sierra jumping over various obstacles and barriers while chasing the bad guys. In the movie, Gosling\u2019s character also jumps over barriers in the truck. Director\u00a0David Leitch, himself a former stuntman, has\u00a0said\u00a0that some of the stunts in his film paid homage to those in the show. \u201cThe first \u2026 truck jump in the movie, it\u2019s inspired by the\u00a0Fall Guy<\/em>\u00a0television show,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery episode, you\u2019d see the truck \u2014 the GMC Sierra \u2014 enter the chase from behind a hedge or bushes or over a wall. And it was always sort of this classic, like, here are the bad guys, and they would come in hot pursuit. And so we wanted to sort of do that same sort of jump with the new Sierra.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Theme Song<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t show up until the end of the movie, but the classic theme song, titled \u201cUnknown Stuntman,\u201d does make an appearance, but with some changes. The original was sung by Majors himself (though the end credits amusingly credited \u201cColt Seavers\u201d as the singer). Blake Shelton covers the song for the movie, and it plays over the end credits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the lyrics have been tweaked for a 2024 audience. The original featured references to several of the most popular stars of the \u201980s, including Farrah Fawcett (who was once married to Majors), Bo Derek, Sally Field, Cheryl Tiegs, Raquel Welch, Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood. While Shelton\u2019s cover keeps many of the same lyrics (and both tunes are, at their heart, love songs), the new version does away with the movie-star references. For example, the original song includes these lyrics in the chorus: \u201cI might fall from a tall building \/ I might roll a brand new car \/ \u2019Cause I\u2019m the unknown stuntman \/ That made Redford such a star.\u201d But the new version tweaks the lyrics: \u201cI might fall from a tall building \/ I might roll a brand new car \/ \u2018Cause I\u2019m the unknown stuntman \/ Who\u2019d die to hav\u0435 your heart.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Cameos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As one would expect with a film based on a classic show, there are some familiar faces who pop up (familiar, at least, to those who\u2019ve seen the series). Major and Thomas both appear in a mid-credits scene where moviegoers find out what fate ultimately befalls the bad guys; the actors play officers who show up to arrest them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, the movie is based on a show from the ’80s that starred Lee Majors in the role of stuntman Colt Seavers, played by Gosling in the film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","category-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions\/176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zaynabsiddiqui.com\/finalproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}