THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED
SYNOPSIS
SAG-AFTRA members play a wide variety of roles in the entertainment industry, but we don’t always have a chance to take a closer look at all the different categories of work. If you have ever wondered what a day on set is like for a stunt performer we will be getting an inside look from some of the industry’s best. It’s not just jumping off buildings and getting hit by cars – a lot of preparation and planning goes into coordinating and performing stunts, both large and small. Join us for an entertaining and informative discussion on the art of stunts.
PANELISTS BIOS
Rick Avery
Rick is an award winning Stuntman, StuntCoordinator, Actor, Director, Helicopter Pilot, and Aerial Coordinator, with over 600 feature film, television and commercial credits, including; "Men in Black 2/3", "Captain America", Four Batman Movies, "Ant man", "American Sniper", "Titanic", "The Prestige", "Star Trek Insurrection", "The Abyss", "Gangster Squad", "The Crow", and "Charlie Wilson's War." Rick won the Screen Actors Guild Cast Award for “Traffic”, the Best Stunt Ensemble Award in a Motion Picture for “Batman Dark Knight” and the 2009 Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Vehicular Work in “Batman Dark Knight. Avery has also been nominated for one other Screen Actors Guild Award. He just received the 2016 Icon award at the Action on Film Festival.
Corey Eubanks
Bio Coming Soon
Thekla Hutyrova
Thekla Hutyrova is a world champion in sport martial arts. Her extensive background in Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts, Tumbling and acrobatics, and Sport Karate and tricking - a combination of the two had landed her many stunt jobs and motion capture jobs in the short time she has been in the industry. In less than two years in LA Hutyrova has worked on such productions as Logan which recently came out, Deadpool 2, Pacific Rim 2, and numerous video games and TV shows in between.
Marissa Labog
Marissa Labog, nicknamed “Mighty” by her peers, is committed to her strong belief in the transformative power of storytelling. Indicated by her nickname, as a stuntwoman, actor, and dancer, Marissa is fearless and powerful in her pursuit for creative adventure earning her such awards as the Lester Horton Award for “Outstanding Performer,” the Solo Award, an Ovation Award Nomination, and Best Actress Award. An extremely active kid, Marissa loved anything physical. She delved into multiple avenues of movement from martial arts, tricking, and parkour, to gymnastics, and several disciplines of dance, including ballet, contemporary, and breakdance.
As a stuntwoman, Marissa is extremely proud of her most recent work as the young female X-23 stunt double in the much anticipated Wolverine movie “LOGAN” and in the award winning film “LA LA LAND” as a dancer and stunt performer. She also performed in films such as “Colombiana,” “The Last Word,” “Cooties,” “Raze” and “Act Of Valor” as a stunt actress. In addition, Marissa has worked on TV shows such as “School of Rock,” “Stuck in the Middle,” “Henry Danger,” “Jessie,” and “Game Shakers” to name a few.
In addition to her life as a performer, Marissa has created UP PRODUCTIONZ. U.P. an acronym for “undeniably powerful,” “unapologetically present,” “universal play,” is a company that produces content in both film and theater.
William Leong
William has been a SAG-AFTRA member for over 25 years and has performed stunts/action in well over 350 commercials, hit television shows and feature film productions with a safety record that is impeccable. He has seen production companies push the envelope with union rights and hard earned salaries using SAG rules against members in many instances, totally ignoring the SAG rules in itself. He has filed many claims on his behalf and on his stunt team’s behalf and has won claims and judgements. In one case he filed a commercial claim on behalf of the stunt team and won a $20,000 judgement for one of the claimants. He has studied and used SAG to uphold member rights and argued the rulings and interpretation many times.
Moderator - Jane Austin
Jane is the national secretary-treasurer and the Los Angeles Local president for SAG-AFTRA. Before Austin’s election to both offices in 2015, she served on the boards of Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for 12 years and the merged SAG-AFTRA National Board for two years. Austin’s many years of board service include four turns on the TV/Theatrical Negotiating committee, member of the Communications Committee, Disciplinary Review Committee and the National Executive Committee. In her work as national chair of the Stunt & Safety Committee, Austin spearheaded the successful effort to have stunt performers and their work recognized at the SAG Awards. Austin is venerable force in the stunt community. Her career as a stuntwoman began in 1988 on the television series Tour of Duty, where she earned her SAG card. Austin has done stunt work on feature films such as Wayne’s World, Naked Gun, Star Trek Generations, Red Eye, Elizabethtown, Poseidon and Scent of a Woman; television shows China Beach, The District, Law & Order, Justified, Key and Peele, True Blood and on three seasons of V.I.P. to name a few. Austin has driven for numerous car commercials and specializes in aerials stunts and fireburns. Biggest stunts to date include a 650-foot descender and an 80-foot high fall.
