Harrison Ford’s stunt double in the latest “Indiana Jones” hit the SAG-AFTRA picket lines with his own stunt: lighting himself on fire, to advocate for stunt workers.
Before dozens of guild members in Atlanta, Mike Massa, a stunt coordinator, performer and union board member, strutted onto an outdoor stage wearing a suit and waving a picket sign, with his fist in the air, as flames engulfed the back of his torso and legs.
“We are tired of being burned by the AMPTP,” Massa wrote in an Instagram post that showed the stunt, referring to the failed talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streaming companies at the bargaining table with the union.
Leading up to the strike, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing about 160,000 actors and other performers, made several proposals on behalf of stunt workers.
Tom Cruise, who famously does his own stunts in films such as the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, Zoomed into negotiations in June to lobby for the guild’s requests.
Among the proposals were better pay for stunt coordinators, being granted residuals from network reruns and high-budget streaming shows, and overtime or rest between work days “to address abusively long hours on set.”
The guild had also proposed that off-camera stunt performers also get residuals, but AMPTP rejected this request and presented counteroffers for stunt workers that fell short of what the guild had asked for.
The rally took place on Monday in front of Covert Camera Vehicles, an Atlanta-based company that provides tracking vehicles for film and TV stunts, such as car chase sequences.
Actor and stunt performer Elena Sanchez spoke during the protest, accusing the studios of being “opposed to us sharing the rewards of a successful show because we don’t bear any of the risks,” according to Atlanta local TV news network WANF.
“Tell that to my friend John who lost his life working on one of your TV shows,” said Sanchez, referring to John Bernecker, who died in 2017 during an on-set accident while filming “The Walking Dead” in Atlanta. “Tell that to any of us who have literally broken bones and bled for you.”
Massa posted a separate photo on Tuesday, thanking the stunt crew behind the fiery protest, captioning, “We wanted to make a statement and I think we did! It was great to see such a great turnout from our local Stunt community.”
Aside from serving as the stunt coordinator for Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and as Ford’s stunt double in the film, Massa has worked on Netflix hit series “Stranger Things,” “Fast & Furious” films, “Blade Runner 2049,” “Star Trek” and “The Italian Job.”
