Hooper (film)
Encyclopedia
Hooper is a 1978 action-comedy motion picture starring Burt Reynolds
, based loosely on the experiences of director Hal Needham
, a one-time stuntman in his own right. It serves as a tribute to stuntmen and stuntwomen in what was at one time an underrecognized profession.
Co-starring in the film are Sally Field
, Jan-Michael Vincent
, Brian Keith
, Robert Klein
, James Best
and Adam West
.
), known in Hollywood as "the greatest stuntman alive," is currently working as Adam West
's stunt double on the fictitious action film The Spy Who Laughed At Danger.
Hooper's on-set antics and wisecracks are a trial for egotistical director Roger Deal (Robert Klein
), and even more so for Deal's bossy assistant Tony (Alfie Wise), who gets Hooper in trouble with the Humane Society over a stunt involving a dog. Added to which the years of self-abuse on and off the set are fast catching up with Hooper, with the numerous stunts—and an addiction to painkillers—beginning to take their toll on his body.
Hooper lives with his girlfriend Gwen Doyle (Sally Field
), whose father Jocko (Brian Keith
) is a retired stuntman himself. Upon coming home from work one evening, Hooper is goaded by a friend into performing at a weekend benefit show. It is there that he first meets Delmore "Ski" Shidski (Jan-Michael Vincent
), a young newcomer who makes his entrance in spectacular style, much to Hooper's chagrin.
Hooper and Ski become friends that night after a barroom brawl with a pack of rowdy out-of-towners, including football great Terry Bradshaw
. Later everybody goes to an after-hours party at Hooper's place where he shows his stunt reel (including footage from Reynolds' 1972 film Deliverance
), and Hooper invites Ski to begin working for Hooper on the new film.
Unknowingly, they begin an escalating but friendly rivalry with the stunts becoming more and more spectacular—and dangerous. After a freefall from a record 224 feet, Hooper becomes more aware of his own mortality, and surreptitiously consults with his doctor about his condition. The doctor tells Hooper that one more bad jolt in his neck could render him a quadriplegic.
The pompous Roger decides to re-write the film script, adding even more stunts to the film, not the least of which is a climactic earthquake at the film's end, complete with explosions and fires. Hooper and Ski would need to race through the carnage to a gorge with the bridge self-destructing before they can cross it.
Roger initially suggests the duo rappel down one side of the gorge and up the other to safety, but Ski comes up with another idea: Fly a rocket car over the gorge. Roger immediately takes a shine to this, ignoring the fears of the producer and the chief engineer that Sonny and Ski might not survive.
That evening, Hooper meets up with Gwen at the hospital; Jocko has suffered a stroke. Seeing the old stuntman laid out in a hospital bed jolts Sonny's thinking, and he confides in Gwen that this will be his last movie.
Hooper and Gwen return home to find Sonny's pal and assistant Cully (James Best
) waiting for them. Slightly intoxicated, Cully reveals he has been fired from the movie due to budget cuts; Hooper and Ski were to split a $100,000 bonus for the final stunt. Cully then reveals to Gwen the rocket car stunt and Hooper's visit to his doctor, both of which Sonny was keeping secret from Gwen.
Hooper later tells a disgruntled Roger that he's backing out of the rocket car stunt, but Max Berns, the producer of the film and Hooper's friend, persuades Sonny to return and do the stunt—no one else is available, or willing, to do it. Hooper leaves for the studio, with Gwen, in a futile last-ditch attempt to change Sonny's mind, saying she wouldn't be there when he comes back.
Sonny and Ski perform the massive stunt perfectly and, as expected, they land hard in the rocket car at the other end of the gorge. Ski emerges okay, but the impact is more of a shock to Sonny's system. Gwen tearfully pushes her way through the crowd as the film crew frantically pries open the passenger door to get Hooper out. Gwen is terrified that the jolt is finally one too many, but Sonny slowly comes out of his temporary unconsciousness and takes Gwen in his arms as the crowd cheers wildly.
Max promptly fires Tony. And just for the hell of it, Hooper lands a hard punch to Roger's face, then walks off with Gwen, Ski, Cully and a crutch-bound Jocko by his side.
, second only to Star Wars
in box office success the year before. Hooper grossed just over $51 million domestically, less than half of the $126 million grossed by Smokey in '77. http://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/0HNEE.php
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound (Robert Knudson
, Robert Glass
, Don MacDougall
and Jack Solomon
).
The work of James Best
accelerated his acting career, and he was selected to portray dimwitted Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in The Dukes Of Hazzard
television show in 1979.
The film inspired a successful television series, The Fall Guy
which starred Lee Majors
.
The film is heavily referenced in episode 209 of the cartoon Frisky Dingo
, in which main character Xander Crews suffers from a severe neck injury similar to Hooper's.
The final stunt run in which Hooper and Ski drive their car through the collapsing town was replicated as a level in the 2002 video game Stuntman
.
reel credit crawl. The technique, originated by Needham, showed a smaller screen of outtakes from the film to one side while the film's credits scroll slowly up the other side. Needham refined this technique for later films such as Smokey and the Bandit II
and the Cannonball Run
movies. (In Hooper the credit reel was mostly a montage of many of the stunts performed in the movie itself, owing to the film's tribute to the stunt industry.) It was later adapted into other films, including the CGI
animated Toy Story 2
and A Bug's Life
, for which the bloopers were intentionally created, and in TV series including The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
and Home Improvement. Most of Jackie Chan's films also feature blooper reel credit crawls.
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, based loosely on the experiences of director Hal Needham
Hal Needham
Hal Needham is an American stuntman and film director.-Early years:Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Edith May and Howard Needham. He was raised in Arkansas and Missouri...
, a one-time stuntman in his own right. It serves as a tribute to stuntmen and stuntwomen in what was at one time an underrecognized profession.
Co-starring in the film are Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
, Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...
, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Robert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor.-Early life:Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, and was raised in a "prototypical 1950s Bronx Jewish" environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein planned to study medicine...
, James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
and Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
.
Plot
Veteran stuntman Sonny Hooper (Burt ReynoldsBurt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
), known in Hollywood as "the greatest stuntman alive," is currently working as Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
's stunt double on the fictitious action film The Spy Who Laughed At Danger.
Hooper's on-set antics and wisecracks are a trial for egotistical director Roger Deal (Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Robert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor.-Early life:Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, and was raised in a "prototypical 1950s Bronx Jewish" environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein planned to study medicine...
), and even more so for Deal's bossy assistant Tony (Alfie Wise), who gets Hooper in trouble with the Humane Society over a stunt involving a dog. Added to which the years of self-abuse on and off the set are fast catching up with Hooper, with the numerous stunts—and an addiction to painkillers—beginning to take their toll on his body.
Hooper lives with his girlfriend Gwen Doyle (Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
), whose father Jocko (Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
) is a retired stuntman himself. Upon coming home from work one evening, Hooper is goaded by a friend into performing at a weekend benefit show. It is there that he first meets Delmore "Ski" Shidski (Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...
), a young newcomer who makes his entrance in spectacular style, much to Hooper's chagrin.
Hooper and Ski become friends that night after a barroom brawl with a pack of rowdy out-of-towners, including football great Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
. Later everybody goes to an after-hours party at Hooper's place where he shows his stunt reel (including footage from Reynolds' 1972 film Deliverance
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...
), and Hooper invites Ski to begin working for Hooper on the new film.
Unknowingly, they begin an escalating but friendly rivalry with the stunts becoming more and more spectacular—and dangerous. After a freefall from a record 224 feet, Hooper becomes more aware of his own mortality, and surreptitiously consults with his doctor about his condition. The doctor tells Hooper that one more bad jolt in his neck could render him a quadriplegic.
The pompous Roger decides to re-write the film script, adding even more stunts to the film, not the least of which is a climactic earthquake at the film's end, complete with explosions and fires. Hooper and Ski would need to race through the carnage to a gorge with the bridge self-destructing before they can cross it.
Roger initially suggests the duo rappel down one side of the gorge and up the other to safety, but Ski comes up with another idea: Fly a rocket car over the gorge. Roger immediately takes a shine to this, ignoring the fears of the producer and the chief engineer that Sonny and Ski might not survive.
That evening, Hooper meets up with Gwen at the hospital; Jocko has suffered a stroke. Seeing the old stuntman laid out in a hospital bed jolts Sonny's thinking, and he confides in Gwen that this will be his last movie.
Hooper and Gwen return home to find Sonny's pal and assistant Cully (James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
) waiting for them. Slightly intoxicated, Cully reveals he has been fired from the movie due to budget cuts; Hooper and Ski were to split a $100,000 bonus for the final stunt. Cully then reveals to Gwen the rocket car stunt and Hooper's visit to his doctor, both of which Sonny was keeping secret from Gwen.
Hooper later tells a disgruntled Roger that he's backing out of the rocket car stunt, but Max Berns, the producer of the film and Hooper's friend, persuades Sonny to return and do the stunt—no one else is available, or willing, to do it. Hooper leaves for the studio, with Gwen, in a futile last-ditch attempt to change Sonny's mind, saying she wouldn't be there when he comes back.
Sonny and Ski perform the massive stunt perfectly and, as expected, they land hard in the rocket car at the other end of the gorge. Ski emerges okay, but the impact is more of a shock to Sonny's system. Gwen tearfully pushes her way through the crowd as the film crew frantically pries open the passenger door to get Hooper out. Gwen is terrified that the jolt is finally one too many, but Sonny slowly comes out of his temporary unconsciousness and takes Gwen in his arms as the crowd cheers wildly.
Max promptly fires Tony. And just for the hell of it, Hooper lands a hard punch to Roger's face, then walks off with Gwen, Ski, Cully and a crutch-bound Jocko by his side.
Cast
- Sonny Hooper - Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
- Gwen Doyle - Sally FieldSally FieldSally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
- Delmore "Ski" Shidski - Jan-Michael VincentJan-Michael VincentJan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...
- Jocko Doyle - Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
- Roger Deal - Robert KleinRobert KleinRobert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor.-Early life:Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, and was raised in a "prototypical 1950s Bronx Jewish" environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein planned to study medicine...
- Max Berns - John MarleyJohn MarleyJohn Marley was an American actor who was known for his role as Phil Cavalleri in Love Story and as Jack Woltz— the defiant film mogul who awakens to find the severed head of his prized horse in his bed—in The Godfather...
- Cully - James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
- Tony - Alfie Wise
- Adam WestAdam WestWilliam West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
as Himself - Brawler - Terry BradshawTerry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
Reaction
Hooper enjoyed moderate success at the box office; it was one of the top ten films of 1978, but ultimately the film was deemed a letdown in comparison to Reynolds' Smokey and the BanditSmokey and the Bandit
Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. It inspired several other trucking films, including two sequels, Smokey and the Bandit II, and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3...
, second only to Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
in box office success the year before. Hooper grossed just over $51 million domestically, less than half of the $126 million grossed by Smokey in '77. http://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/0HNEE.php
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound (Robert Knudson
Robert Knudson
Robert Knudson was an American sound engineer. He won three Academy Awards for Best Sound and was nominated for seven more in the same category...
, Robert Glass
Robert Glass (sound engineer)
Robert Glass is an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for five more in the same category. He has worked on over 100 films and since 1948.-Selected filmography:...
, Don MacDougall
Don MacDougall
Don MacDougall is an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for four more in the same category. He worked on over 130 films between 1974 and 1999.-Selected filmography:...
and Jack Solomon
Jack Solomon (sound engineer)
Jack Solomon was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Sound Recording and was nominated for five more in the same category...
).
The work of James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
accelerated his acting career, and he was selected to portray dimwitted Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane in The Dukes Of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
television show in 1979.
The film inspired a successful television series, The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
which starred Lee Majors
Lee Majors
Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy ....
.
The film is heavily referenced in episode 209 of the cartoon Frisky Dingo
Frisky Dingo
Frisky Dingo is an American animated cartoon series created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson for Adult Swim. The series revolved around the conflict between a supervillain named Killface and a superhero named Awesome X, and much of the show's humor focuses on parodying superhero and action movie...
, in which main character Xander Crews suffers from a severe neck injury similar to Hooper's.
The final stunt run in which Hooper and Ski drive their car through the collapsing town was replicated as a level in the 2002 video game Stuntman
Stuntman (video game)
Stuntman is a video game for PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance that was produced by Reflections Interactive and published by Infogrames and Atari. The game focuses around the career of a motion-picture stuntman. It takes the player through various movies in which they perform dangerous stunts as...
.
The "Blooper Reel" credits
Hooper was also one of the first movies to make use of the blooperBlooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
reel credit crawl. The technique, originated by Needham, showed a smaller screen of outtakes from the film to one side while the film's credits scroll slowly up the other side. Needham refined this technique for later films such as Smokey and the Bandit II
Smokey and the Bandit II
Smokey and the Bandit II is a comedy film released on August 15, 1980 in the United States. It is the sequel to the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit. The film stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and Dom DeLuise...
and the Cannonball Run
Cannonball Run
Cannonball Run may refer to:* Erwin Baker's 1933 NYC to LA drive* Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an outlaw automobile race, memorializing Erwin Baker's drive.* Films inspired by the race;...
movies. (In Hooper the credit reel was mostly a montage of many of the stunts performed in the movie itself, owing to the film's tribute to the stunt industry.) It was later adapted into other films, including the CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animated Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
and A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, for which the bloopers were intentionally created, and in TV series including The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
and Home Improvement. Most of Jackie Chan's films also feature blooper reel credit crawls.