“Well, I’m not a kiss-and-tell type, but I’ve been seen with Farah, I’ve never been under nine, so it’s okay…”;
With the song “The Unknown Stuntman” began the episodes of the classic series The Fall Guy – in nostalgic Brazil known as Duro na Queda. A classic of open TV reruns, especially on Rede Globo in the 1980s and 1990s, Duro na Queda premiered on November 4, 1981 in the US, aired on ABC – but supported by 20th Century Fox Television. In other words, the action-adventure series just celebrated its 40th anniversary of release in 2021.
Long destined to become a feature film blockbuster on the big screen, the series never left its role to become a film; but now it’s closer than ever with names like director David Leitch and actor Ryan Gosling linked for a new release. Check out a CinePOP tribute below, reminiscent of the expensive and nostalgic classic production, along with information on the upcoming new release.
As said, Duro na Queda (The Fall Guy) made its debut in 1981. The program would be such a success that it would remain on the air for five seasons, until 1986. At the head, we had a true icon of American television. Lee Majors made a name for himself in the annals of television drama and pop culture as Col. Steve Austin on the equally classic show The Six Million Dollar Man – another Hollywood project tried to take off in the form of ‘a movie, without enjoying. With this series, Majors became a television star, in the role of a soldier who after an accident receives cybernetic components in his body, becoming half-machine, half-man. Fever in the 1970s as one of the most popular series, the series lasted from 1974 to 1978, and even generated a spin-off (spinoff): The Bionic Woman (1976-1978).
The majors would not return until three years later, but over the next decade to star in a new series of immense popularity, although at first he was hesitant to star in a series about a stuntman working during his time. free as a bounty hunter. What definitely sold the idea to the star was the presence of seasoned producer Glen A. Larson, the creator of the concept. An industry veteran, Larson was behind such hits as Battlestar Galactica (the 1978 original), The Supermachine (1982-1986) and Magnum (1980-1988). In other words, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse for Lee Majors. And it worked out really well, scoring another “big goal” for the duo.
Enjoy watching:
In Hard in the Fall, Lee Majors plays Colt Seavers, a Hollywood movie stunt double. Hence the original title Fall Guy, something like “the guy who falls”, roughly summarizing the role of the stuntmen. The title in Portuguese can also be associated with the role of the protagonist and also with his second work. In addition to his daily job on film sets, where he does the “dirty work” of the stars, Colt makes a living in his spare time as a bounty hunter, hunting down criminals that justice cannot catch by them. themselves. His behind-the-scenes death “scam” work makes him the right guy for dangerous and incredible stunts. Another factor that helped the majors in the role was that their early career took place precisely in this environment. The actor knew a lot of stuntmen and eventually began to work as one. In Duro na Queda, Lee Majors made a point of directing as many stuntmen as possible, giving them all the jobs.
The Colt Seavers character also featured his sidekick Howie (Douglas Barr) – the mastermind of the trades – and pretty blonde Jody Banks, another stuntman who was an added attraction in his operations. Jody was played by the beautiful Heather Thomas, who, after the series premiere, would star the following year in the comedy A Mix Special (Zapped !, 1982) – which would also mark her career.
The protagonist trio: Colt (Lee Majors) in the center, sidekick Howie (Douglas Barr) and his fellow stuntman Jody (Heather Thomas).
The theme song mentioned at the start of the article, which served as the opening for the program, was actually sung by Lee Majors himself. Also idea of the mega producer. The majors didn’t think he was right for the job, but he decided to go with them. The song’s lyrics even draw a strong parallel between the character Colt Seavers and Lee Majors himself, as if the two are one. An example of this is the part that says “I was seen with Farah” (I was seen with Farah), referring to Farah Fawcett, star of The Panthers (1976-1980), who had been married to the Majors . The actress even made an appearance in the pilot episode, in order to demonstrate to the public that the divorce between them happened amicably, contrary to what many tabloids reported at the time.
Movie stuntmen are cool again and popular with audiences. Proof of this are films like the John Wick franchise, a true paradise for professionals like these, films created entirely with choreography. Aside from that, in his most recent work Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Quentin Tarantino made the character of Brad Pitt, a stuntman shine, putting him to debunk the plans of the psychopaths of the Manson family and even beat the Bruce Lee shit. Now is the most appropriate time for Colt Seavers and Duro to return in the fall. And it looks like it’s closer than ever to happening.
Muse of the 1980s, Heather Thomas was at the peak of her beauty in Duro na Fall (1981-1986).
For years, as stated, Hollywood has been trying to pull this project off the shelf. The first attempt came with the producers who brought the project to Dreamworks, where Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) would direct. After that, in 2013, Dwayne Johnson was the name trying to film a version that would be directed by McG (The Terminator: Salvation), which would have the writers of X-Men: First Class (2011). But also, nothing was done.
Now, it seems, the project has found its way into Universal Pictures. The studio has reportedly won the rights to an adaptation in an auction competition, overtaking Hollywood giants like MGM, Lionsgate and Sony. According to sources, the figures reached the amount of US $ 125 million for the project. No streaming platform entered the fray, as one of the requests was a big screen release for this production. In this context, Universal would have stuck two names to the next film: Ryan Gosling and David Leitch. Interestingly, both have experience in the stunt world.
This has happened a lot. Because it was a stunt series, cars flew and were constantly being destroyed.
Director David Leitch emerged from this segment, working for years in Hollywood as a stuntman and stunt coordinator in films such as The Matrix (1999) and the Bourne franchise. Leitch has made a more than satisfying transition to the directorial chair, having directed films such as John Wick – Back to the Game (2014), Atomic (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Hobbs & Shaw (2019). In other words, he’s an expert in action and blockbusters. Ryan Gosling, quoted to star in Duro na Queda, also did a previous work where he played a double stuntman: Cult Drive (2011). The duo’s union for the film version of the series is already arousing great interest, and not just nostalgic ones. On the other hand, while in the action and adventure genres, the show also made heavy use of the generally notorious 1980s ‘hammer’ humor, described as an action drama about stuntmen.
Ryan Gosling is expected to star in a film adaptation of the Duro na Fall series.
Star Lee Majors remains active, working at the peak of her glorious 82 years. The actor was recently seen in the cult series Ash vs. Evil Dead, which continued on the small screen the saga of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films, where he played Brock, the father of Bruce Campbell’s protagonist, in the second and third seasons – in 2016 and 2018.
Duro na Queda, although a little less well known, is part of the pantheon of “macho” adventure programs that permeated the 1980s and serves as a companion to timeless classics such as Squadron Class A, Miami Vice, MacGyver, Anjos da Lei and the aforementioned A. Supermachine and Magnum.
