JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Stunt coordinators discuss the process of getting hit by cars

John Wick: Chapter 4 featuring some pretty crazy and impressive stunt work that wowed the audience. There was one sequence in particular that was particularly challenging it was the car traffic scene that took place at the historic Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

The scene features so many cars and there was a lot of footage of people getting hit by those cars during the action sequence! If you thought those people hit by cars were CGI… you’d be wrong! Those were real stuntmen taking those shots! It was all 100% real!

The film’s main stunt coordinators, Scott Rogers AND Stephen Dunley, recently talked about this sequence in an interview with /Film, and Rogers explained how everything was visualized and what went into making it happen. Is there a way to shoot these kind of dangerous stunts safely so that people don’t die. He said:

“I guess that was one of the hardest things, making sure things are safe. It’s ‘John Wick’ and all the stuntmen want to be in the movie, everyone wants to work on it, they want to do it. But it’s dangerous. Eventually, you get run over by a car. We have the luxury of visual effects so we can make padded cars; we can put padding on cars, we can put padding on the ground and that can protect your brain, but you can still bruise your shoulder.

Regarding some of the injuries from filming these scenes, Rogers said, “And we sprained our ankle, and one guy hurt his shoulder a little bit, but that was it.” Not bad for some of those brutal looking scenes. “It also helps that the stuntmen are wearing padded suits. It still looks crazy! The CGI used in these scenes basically removes all the padding that protects the stuntmen.

Plus, you need super skilled drivers in those cars! Not only must the actors hit the mark, but the drivers must also be precise in their driving. Those pilots have to hit the mark too! If they get it wrong, someone could get seriously hurt. Rogers also explained:

“[T]The drivers of the cars are some of the best in the world and they are sliding towards the edge. So you as a fighter, you get to this point and this car is getting to this point, so it looks worse than it is, as long as everyone hits the mark. And I’m very proud of how we did it and what we did and the fact that most everyone walked away unscathed. And like I said, I think we sprained our ankle and hurt our shoulder. Other than that, everyone’s gone and we’ve had some great successes.”

It’s so cool! I would really like to see a behind the scenes documentary on how these types of stunts are actually done. I’m fascinated by this sort of thing and have nothing but the utmost respect for those stuntmen and stuntwomen who do this sort of thing for our entertainment!