Stuntmen

IT is the start of the summer movie season, when theater screens are filled with all manner of mayhem, when Hollywood movie stars electrify audiences in high-speed car chases, elaborate fight sequences and deafening explosions that send bodies hurtling through the air. But two stuntmen who provide such thrills and chills admit they are lucky to be alive today.

Johnny Depp's stunt double in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films has sued the Walt Disney Co. and producer Jerry Bruckheimer for negligence stemming from a practice stunt that landed him in the hospital with serious injuries. The accident occurred in July 2005 as stuntman Tony Angelotti was rehearsing a "human yo-yo stunt" designed to simulate Depp's character, Capt. Jack Sparrow, falling and rolling in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Two stuntmen suffered burns during an accident on a set on the Universal Studios back lot, officials said Monday. One person was burned on the hands and legs and another on the back, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla. Both victims, whose identities were not released, were taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital, he said. One was listed in serious but stable condition, and the other in stable condition at the hospital's Grossman Burn Center, said hospital spokeswoman Debbie Groveman.

An explosion near Little Tokyo left three stuntmen with minor burns, authorities said Saturday. Witnesses described "a sudden ignition of a ball of flame" near the stuntmen, who were being filmed in the 1200 block of East Palmetto Street, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Ballton. Two men, 38 and 40, suffered minor first-degree facial burns, and another man, 41, had first-degree burns to one of his wrists. Ballton did not know what television program or movie was being filmed.

Robert Nagle Stunt Driver Current assignments: "Collateral," which was released on DVD last month; "Herbie: Fully Loaded," the upcoming remake of "The Love Bug." Kicking the tires: "Typically speaking, the stunt coordinator is the one who brings the stunt drivers [on a project]. If there are just one or two people involved there might not even be a stunt coordinator. If it's just myself, I am the coordinator and stunt driver.

Allan Graf Football coordinator, stunt coordinator, second-unit director. Current assignments: "Friday Night Lights," out on DVD and VHS, and "Man of the House," which opened last month. Playbook: "I have done 10 football movies, and I've done a lot of other big features -- 'We Were Soldiers,' 'Wayne's World.' I love action.

The Academy Awards announced Wednesday that it was tightening its rules designed to clamp down on the number of Oscar statuettes given out to producers for best picture and also turning down a request by Hollywood stuntmen to create an Oscar category for stunt coordinators. The producers decision was hailed by the 2,000-member Producers Guild of America, which has been lobbying for years to curb the number of undeserving "produced by" credits on films.

It is a chilly evening on the set of the Warner Bros. television pilot "Supernatural" as 70-year-old Hollywood stuntman Eddy Donno climbs behind the wheel of a black Chevy Impala, adjusts his goggles and revs the engine. Wearing a mop-haired wig to double for an actor, Donno waits for the director to call "Action!"

A 35-year-old stunt coordinator on the "Smallville" television show was in serious condition at a Vancouver hospital after falling at least 25 feet while filming a stunt for the show in Canada, officials said Wednesday. Christopher Sayour suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries in the accident Tuesday morning, his family said in a statement. "Smallville" stars actor Tom Welling, 28, in a version of the Superman story. Welling plays farm boy Clark Kent.

Jack Gill was standing on the street in his police officer blues, his eyes obscured by mirrored sunglasses. He was taking a lunch break from pursuing the actor Jack Black around the Long Beach waterfront, a popular location for staging chase scenes for at least half a century. Gill was explaining why he sometimes feels that his personal campaign to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize movie stunt coordinators with an Oscar category has been going on almost as long.