This $1B Franchise Director Started Out as Keanu Reeves' Stunt Double in The Matrix
This action franchise is a masterpiece, and the reason is 20 years of experience.
Summary:
- Chad Stahelski, director of John Wick, was a stunt double for Keanu Reeves, whom he met on the set of The Matrix.
- Stahelski then became the stunt coordinator for the Wachowski films and needed a partner. He called David Leitch, the future John Wick producer, who was Brad Pitt's stunt double at the time.
- Leitch and Stahelski went on to found 87eleven, which created stunts for films such as Zack Snyder's 300, Guy Ritchie 's Sherlock Holmes and The Hunger Games.
- When Leitch and Stahelski decided it was time to make their own movie, Keanu Reeves brought them a script by Derek Kolstad called John Wick.
All installments of John Wick were produced by an established team of the same people – a rare case for a major studio film. For producer David Leitch, director Chad Stahelski and screenwriter Derek Kolstad, their first collaborative action film was an instant breakthrough – but they had been working toward this success for nearly 20 years.
Chad Stahelski Was Keanu Reeves’ Stunt Double
The future directors met during the making of The Matrix. Stahelski was Keanu Reeves' stunt double and martial arts instructor – he graduated from the martial arts academy of Dan Inosanto, the only student of Bruce Lee whom the actor allowed to teach his style of kung fu to others.
His first film work was as a stunt double for Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee in the infamous 1994 film The Crow. At the same time, the Wachowskis were looking for the perfect double for Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, and Stahelski came in for an audition.
Stahelski thought he wasn’t hired, but a month later he was finally approved – and played Neo alongside Keanu Reeves. The actors became such good friends on the set that Stahelski became the actor's permanent double and worked with him in the sequels to The Matrix and Constantine.
David Leitch Was Brad Pitt’s Stunt Double
In addition, Stahelski became the stunt coordinator for the Wachowski action films, and for this work he needed a partner– David Leitch. Prior to working on The Matrix sequels, Leitch was Brad Pitt's stunt double on the set of Fight Club and Ocean's Eleven.
In the early 2000s, action filmmakers tried to simplify stunts to save on filming costs. Instead of choreographed combinations filmed in one shot, directors filmed each punch and fall separately and then edited these scenes, essentially eliminating the point of the stuntman's work. Stahelski and Leitch took a different approach.
Stahelski And Leitch Founded 87eleven
They founded the company 87eleven and gathered the best stuntmen in Hollywood. The team learned what action movies were being prepared for release, then they developed an original chain of stunts for that movie that could not be filmed using the principle described above.
These were complex, staged fights and chases that they filmed at their own expense, and then sent the videos over to the studios.
That's how former stuntmen convinced Zack Snyder to hire them for the movie 300. The result was a hit that grossed almost half a billion dollars.
87eleven has worked on productions of The Hunger Games, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, Jurassic World, and that's just the beginning. Directors admired Leitch and Stahelski for not just staging stunts, but developing characters through action.
After ten years of successful work at 87eleven, the former stuntmen realized it was time to make their own movie. In 2013, Keanu Reeves brought them Derek Kolstad's script titled John Wick. And the rest is history.