Alternative Oscars:Best stunt, Cliffhanger Marc Wolff organised this stunt. His acceptance speech explains how

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: Wolff, Marc
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Manchester (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 19.03.1994
• ISSN: 0261-3077; 1756-3224

Stephen North was the aircraft safety engineer and chief mechanic. We have worked together for 16 years, during which time he has suffered my tantrums and obsessive attention to detail. Steve was standing in the open door of the Lockheed Jetstar with Dickie Beer, stunt safety supervisor, to receive [Simon Crane] from the DC9. Once they were left holding an empty bit of cable after Simon was dragged back out of the door and flung up onto the roof of the Jetstar by a fierce pocket of turbulence. Eileen Kastner-Delago was the prosthetics make-up artist who handcrafted the mask and head-gear worn by Simon. It not only made Simon look like the actor but protected his face from the wind chill. The mask was moulded around a thin protective helmet designed to protect Simon's skull. Thanks are also due to Alan Marshall, the film's British producer who always believed we could pull off the stunt, and to Renny Harlin, the Finnish director, who looked at the first take of the stunt and had the confidence to say, "That's great, let's wrap the stunt and get on with the next set up". Thanks also to Mr Stallone, who donated $1,000,000 of his fee to do the stunt, because he believed it was important to the film.