Two of Hollywood’s greatest tough guys, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, were among the many celebrities who paid tribute to the action genre at the Taurus World Stunt Awards on Monday. Arnold, the chiselled leading man of classics Terminator and Conan The Barbarian, opened the show and was also on hand to present an honorary award to Rush Hour star Jackie Chan.
The awards ceremony, headed up by the World Stunt Academy, features such daredevil categories as Best Fire Work and Best Work With An Animal. The latter category – along with the Hardest Hit prize – was won by A Knight’s Tale, starring Heath Ledger.
High-octane The Fast And The Furious took home Best Driving and Best Fight went to Jackie Chan’s knock-down-drag-out comedy fest Rush Hour 2. The Hong Kong-born actor is busy filming in Prague, and accepted his honorary gong live via satellite.
Among the eclectic mix of presenters were Billy Bob Thornton, Charlie’s Angels actress Lucy Liu, John Cleese and Charlton Heston. Halle Berry, Pierce Brosnan and Bruce Willis, who couldn’t be there in person for the event, made special videotaped presentations.
All eyes weren’t on the stars, however, as there was no shortage of action at the Santa Monica, California, event – Arnie performed a live stunt falling from a helicopter and Dennis Hopper stunned the audience by crashing a limo. Comic book hero Spider-Man literally dangled on stage for a rare personal appearance, and one unidentified stuntperson caused a few gasps when he strolled up the red carpet with his tuxedo on fire.
The programme will be broadcast Stateside on May 31.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
