Олимпиада задание 1

BEHIND THE SCENES – BEHIND THE STUNTS!
Being a successful stuntman is a strange thing, since the success of stuntmen is measured not by
they act, but by how invisible they are! Filmgoers need to see, and to believe, that it is the character on
screen who is actually jumping from a helicopter or out of a burning car. They don't want to know about
the stuntman double who is actually doing all that!
Dan Bradley, stunt coordinator for films such as Independence Day, Spiderman 1 and 2 and the
latest Bond and Indiana Jones films, is no stranger to danger. Now his job may be behind the scenes,
creating and developing stunts, but he's had his share of seemingly death-defying stunts in the past.
Bradley's stunt scenes over the years have involved wrecking more cars than he can remember. He
admitted, however, that the only one of those cars (including Mercedes, Alfa Romeos and Porsches) that
he ever really wanted for himself was the Volkswagen Touareg, the one used in the car chase of the
thriller The Bourne Ultimatum. For the purposes of the film stunts only, he even got Volkswagen
engineers to reduce its excellent safety features so that the stunts could be performed successfully.
What, then, are some of the key factors involved in coordinating great stunts? Firstly, he
explained, you have to plan them out carefully in advance. Then there needs to be a lot of time spent on
choosing the correct camera angles for the shots of the stunt. Finally, the stuntmen themselves need to
be trained and directed just as if they were actual actors in the film. When he was directing the stunts for
The Bourne Ultimatum, he was very keen to find exactly the right location for a particular stunt, in this
case the start of the high-speed car chase. Since he wasn't able to get permission to use any New York
streets for filming the stunt, he had to find somewhere else just as good. He ended up finding an area
where there were garages and low buildings that could be used for some of the pretty incredible stunts
we can see in the film, like reversing off a roof!
In Bradley's view, stunts are generally more exciting and more effective if they are cleverly
worked into the plot and fit in with what the audience knows about the characters, rather than just being
stuck in for the sake of a bit of dramatic and dangerous action. Perhaps this very fact is the reason
behind the global success of his stunt scenes with cinema audiences!
If you fancy your chances at creating stunts, then all you have to do is use the special online
simulator that Volkswagen have developed, based on the stunts in The Bourne Ultimatum. Here, you
can create your own combination of crashes, cars, music and camera angles just as they do in the films.
Through the simulator, you can get hands-on experience of what it means to create stunts. Why not try
it? It's not dangerous in the slightest!
1. What does the writer find unusual about being a successful stuntman?
A. The most successful stuntmen are those you don't see.
B. They perform dangerous stunts.
C. They are often very strange.
D. They pretend to be someone else.
2. Don Bradley’s previous work had involved
A. starring in major films.
B. doing dangerous stunts
C. training other stuntmen.
D. taking part in the latest Bond films.
3. What does the writer say about the Volkswagen Touareg?
A. It had been used in several thrillers.
B. It didn't get wrecked.
C. It wasn't any better than a Porsche.
D. It had a few changes made to it.
4. How does Bradley create a stunt scene?
A. The stuntmen direct themselves.
B. He depends on good camera work.
C. He takes a lot of dangerous risks.
D. He researches the story and characters.
5. What was special about the area Bradley chose for the start the high-speed car chase?
A. It was in New York.
B. It was handy