Dwayne Johnson & Dany Garcia Film 'Stuntman' Wins The Audience Award At LAFF

By: Oct. 02, 2018
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Seven Bucks Productions and Driven Pictures announced today that their independent documentary film "Stuntman" took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The feature is executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Brian Gewirtz on behalf of Seven Bucks Productions alongside Driven Pictures producers Steven Golebiowski, Eddie Braun and Kurt Mattila.

The 80-minute feature directed by Kurt Mattila offers a rare glimpse inside the life of veteran Hollywood stunt performer Eddie Braun, as he prepares for retirement in his mid-50s and reflects on having survived multiple car crashes, explosions and death defying leaps over the course of his 30+ year career in film and television. Following in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Evel Knievel, he attempts one of the most dangerous stunts in cinematic history - recreating his hero's infamous Snake River Canyon jump in a steam-powered rocket. In 1974, Knievel narrowly escaped death and famously vowed never to attempt the jump again.

Without any industry backing, Braun poured his life savings into his dream of completing the stunt and along the way enlisted the help of Scott Truax, THE SON of the NASA rocket scientist who built Knievel's original rocket. Together, the two embark on an emotional journey to clear the Snake River Canyon, redeem the Truax family name and to honor Knievel's legacy.

"It is an incredible honor to be recognized among so many great films this year and to be selected as the audience's choice," said director Kurt Mattila. "We're thrilled that Eddie's story and the film's overall message resonated with so many of the festival's attendees and we're thankful to our producing partners at Seven Bucks and to our amazing crew for guiding us on this journey."

One of the most anticipated films at this year's festival, the acclaimed documentary opened to a sold-out crowd and received a standing ovation on opening night. Due to demand and subsequent buzz around the film, a second screening was added to the festival's programming schedule and quickly sold out. Deadline noted that the audience award "gets the most attention and is most representative of a particular film's success." Nerd REACTOR called the film an "edge of your seat and moving look at Eddie Braun's journey to honor Evel Knievel" and an "amazing film that should be seen on the big screen." Press Pass LA listed the film as one of their top six 'must-sees' and WhySoBlu named the film as "Best Documentary."

About Seven Bucks Productions

Co-founded by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, Seven Bucks Productions is a multi-platform Production Company pioneering original content for television, film, emerging technologies, and digital networks. Crossing all entertainment verticals, Seven Bucks Productions creates innovative content rooted in authenticity, strong storytelling, and passion.

Seven Bucks Productions has an ever-expanding slate including tent-pole movies such as Disney's Jungle Cruise, Universal's Hobb's & Shaw, Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Legendary's Skyscraper, New Line's Rampage, Universal's Red Notice and Warner Brothers The King. The company also produces original television programming including HBO's "Ballers," NBC's "The Titan Games," BET's "Finding Justice," Paramount Network's "Rock the Troops" and HBO Documentary Films' "Rock and a Hard Place."

About Driven Pictures

Driven Pictures is an independent Production Company co-founded by Steven Golebiowski, Eddie Braun and director Kurt Mattila. Their first film, Stuntman, is a documentary that follows Braun, a veteran stunt performer, on his journey to recreate the infamous Snake River Canyon rocket jump originally attempted by his childhood idol, Evel Knievel in the 1970s. Stuntman offers a rare glimpse into the entertainment industry's most dangerous profession.



Videos