Content area
Full Text
It's a $10 million extravaganza of burning rubber. Fiona Purdon goes behind the scenes of Queensland's newest tourist show
WORLD-renowned stuntman Gavin Coleman is tearing through the Gold Coast hinterland at breakneck speed in a charged-up Chrysler 300C, missing foliage by centimetres as he is chased by four Hummers filled with M16-wielding baddies.
Coleman -- Hollywood star Ethan Hawkes' stunt double in the vampire movie Daybreakers which was shot on the Gold Coast last year for a 2009 release -- is buzzing with adrenalin.
The film director calls cut and then Coleman relaxes and wonders how he can bring the excitement of making a fast-paced action movie to a live theatre show.
"It was a big chase sequence," Coleman says. "You can't make a mistake. We were missing trees by centimetres. You get goosebumps and then the director calls cut.
"We had two months of filming and it was very exciting. You can't believe the energy you can have out there while filming and I was thinking this would make a great live-action show. I wanted to share the buzz.
"It was incredible because within three months I had got a call from Michael about doing a Hollywood-inspired stunt show."
Michael is Warner Bros Movie World's creative director Michael Croaker, who co-incidentally had the same idea. The result is the $10 million show Hollywood Stunt Driver -- one of only three shows of its kind in the world -- which has a soft opening this week followed by the official launch on Boxing Day.
As the stunt show's driving co-ordinator, it is Coleman's job to bring that "edge-of-your-seat" exhilaration and fast-paced energy from a movie set to a daily live-action show.
Croaker and Coleman are aware there are big expectations after Hollywood Stunt Drivers' predecessor Police Academy enjoyed a record-breaking 17-year reign with more than 18,000 shows attracting an audience of 25.2 million.
The seating capacity has increased from 1400 with Police Academy to 2000 for Hollywood...