Typical Day
Loony Mooney is up and at 'em at 5:00AM for a 6:00AM call. Yeah, those movie folks get things started early. He drinks a cup of coffee, half a Red Bull, and a Five-Hour Energy and he is rarin' to go. Upon arriving on set, he checks in with the Production Assistant and then heads to wardrobe. He's currently doing stunt work for a cheesy buddy cop movie starring Liam Neeson and Andy Samberg. (Together at last.)
His first order of business is to leap out of a moving police car and over the side of a bridge. There's been a lot of controversy behind the scenes about this one—the studio's insurance people felt the shot of the guy falling all the way from the car to the river below was unnecessary—showing him falling and then a separate shot of him landing in the water would work just as well.
But, ultimately, the director had that picture in his mind of the audience being able to follow the guy all the way through the fall…and the director's vision will not be compromised. (The studio's insurance people may want to get him saying that on tape.)
Once he's in costume and back on set, it's a couple hours of waiting while the crew finishes setting up for the first shot of the day. Directors and producers really like making people wait around. Probably a power trip thing.
Finally, it's time for Loony's stunt. It takes four takes to get the timing right (once a plane flew overhead just as he was leaping out of the vehicle, and another take was ruined when a bird took an unexpected dump on the windshield). Once the director is satisfied, Loony heads back to wardrobe to change for his next stunt. In the meantime, another scene is shot between Neeson and Samberg, in which Samberg attempts (to uproarious effect) to communicate with the station via police radio.
Soon afterward, Loony (who has been cast partly because of the physical similarities he bears to Samberg) arrives back on set wearing the exact same costume as the comic actor. This time the job is a bit simpler. He just has to run alongside Neeson down a sidewalk until his head smacks into a piece of wooden signage that he has to appear not to notice, and then he has to completely bite it. Man—this Samberg guy really doesn't do any of his own stunts, does he?
There's far less risk in this one than in most of the stunts he has to perform, but he does still have to make it look like he's really hitting that thing without giving himself a concussion. He also has to carry himself roughly like Samberg, because it has to be believable to the audience that this is the same guy.
After six takes of that, Loony is wrapped for the day. He changes back into his street clothes, gets in his car, and peels out of there. He makes it all the way home without once leaping out of his vehicle.