Seeing Double

[FrankenFan]

I posted these images of the principle Buffy cast and their stunt doubles back in the old EZBoard days, and thought they also deserved a place here in Whedonville:

 

[Migwit]

Interesting pics, Frankenfan. Thanks for sharing! Love the pic of all the "Willows".

 

[Anzik]

What!! they didn't do their own stunts?! What slackers!!

 

[The Craw]

i like how joss started out with a few stunt fighters for buffy in the first season but then narrowed it down to just the same one for all the remaining seasons so that the buffy character would have a consistent fighting style. great idea on his part.

 

[FrankenFan]

What!! they didn't do their own stunts?! What slackers!!

That's what got Jeff Pruitt in trouble!

i like how joss started out with a few stunt fighters for buffy in the first season but then narrowed it down to just the same one for all the remaining seasons so that the buffy character would have a consistent fighting style. great idea on his part.

Actually, it was one primary double in seasons 1-4 and two in S5-7.

In the first pic, that's Sophia Crawford on the left, who was SMG's stunt-double in S1-4. She is married to Buffy stunt-coordinator/second unit director Jeff Pruitt (he also doubled for Nick Brendon early on; I think that may be him in the pic with Nick). Pruitt worked on the show during S2-4, and it was he and his then girlfriend Crawford who developed Buffy's signature fighting style. He was dismissed from the show at the end of S4, and posted a tirade on the web he called "Parable of the Knight," a thinly-veiled and rather vicious attack on pretty much the entire Buffy cast and crew, with some particularly pointed criticisms about SMG. Crawford was let go soon thereafter.

Waitman doubled for SMG along with Melissa Barker on S5 - S7. They also doubled for SMG in the Scooby-Doo films.

 

[The Craw]

That's what got Jeff Pruitt in trouble!


Actually, it was one primary double in seasons 1-4 and two in S5-7.

In the first pic, that's Sophia Crawford on the left, who was SMG's stunt-double in S1-4. She is married to Buffy stunt-coordinator/second unit director Jeff Pruitt (he also doubled for Nick Brendon early on; I think that may be him in the pic with Nick). Pruitt worked on the show during S2-4, and it was he and his then girlfriend Crawford who developed Buffy's signature fighting style. He was dismissed from the show at the end of S4, and posted a tirade on the web he called "Parable of the Knight," a thinly-veiled and rather vicious attack on pretty much the entire Buffy cast and crew, with some particularly pointed criticisms about SMG. Crawford was let go soon thereafter.

Waitman doubled for SMG along with Melissa Barker on S5 - S7. They also doubled for SMG in the Scooby-Doo films.

maybe thats why the show started going downhill after season 4.

 

[Eukalyptus]

Hehe, reminds me of:

 

[Migwit]

Those are some doubles I didn't need to see...

 

[Migwit]

Sorry, gotta see if this works...


Woot! Signature pic works! Big shout out to uscmhicks for setting this up for me! Tay is The Man!!! I finally have my buffy avatar and signature!!! Yay!!!

 

[olvidadero]

I had not seen those pictures. Thank you frankenfan! I hated Spike's double's hair, it so made you notice when it was him and not James. Giles' double smiles just like him!

 

[Sire]

That's what got Jeff Pruitt in trouble!


Actually, it was one primary double in seasons 1-4 and two in S5-7.

In the first pic, that's Sophia Crawford on the left, who was SMG's stunt-double in S1-4. She is married to Buffy stunt-coordinator/second unit director Jeff Pruitt (he also doubled for Nick Brendon early on; I think that may be him in the pic with Nick). Pruitt worked on the show during S2-4, and it was he and his then girlfriend Crawford who developed Buffy's signature fighting style. He was dismissed from the show at the end of S4, and posted a tirade on the web he called "Parable of the Knight," a thinly-veiled and rather vicious attack on pretty much the entire Buffy cast and crew, with some particularly pointed criticisms about SMG. Crawford was let go soon thereafter.

Waitman doubled for SMG along with Melissa Barker on S5 - S7. They also doubled for SMG in the Scooby-Doo films.

Do you have a link to this 'parable of the knight' thing. I'd love to read it!

 

[FrankenFan]

I had not seen those pictures. Thank you frankenfan! I hated Spike's double's hair, it so made you notice when it was him and not James. Giles' double smiles just like him!

Marsters always gave his double, Steve Tartalia, a lot of credit, saying that Tartalia was as much Spike as he (Marsters) was. To me, the most obvious difference between the two was their physical presence. Tartalia was taller and much huskier than Masters and tended to "lumber" when he attempted to mime Spike's swagger. The difference is really glaring at the end of "Older And Far Away" as the gang is filing out the front door of the Summers home, and you see Tartalia from the back. I guess walking out a door is more dangerous than it appears — Tartalia made it look so easy! . FYI, here's a link to an interview with him: Of Danger, Lumpies and Leather Coats

You're right, olvidadero — ASH and his double really do look alike in that pic!

Do you have a link to this 'parable of the knight' thing. I'd love to read it!

Here you go, Sire:

The Parable of the Knight

The Players:
The Knight: Jeff Pruitt
The Handmaiden: Sophia Crawford
The King: Joss Whedon
The Princess: Sarah Michelle Gellar
The General: ??? David Solomon ??? David Greenwalt ???
The Sheriff: ??? David Greenwalt ??? David Fury ???
The People of the Bronze/Land of the Bronze: Members of The Bronze posting board.

Enjoy!

 

[Darklord Dave]

Thanks for that - I'd never read the Tale of the Knight before. Having no first hand experience or any other commentary about the situation, it sounds to me that that guy was really into himself and a tad paranoid. But I can see both Sarah and Joss acting like that.

 

[FrankenFan]

Thanks for that - I'd never read the Tale of the Knight before. Having no first hand experience or any other commentary about the situation, it sounds to me that that guy was really into himself and a tad paranoid. But I can see both Sarah and Joss acting like that.

It is an interesting read, isn't it?

While there is no argument that when Pruitt came aboard as stunt coordinator in S2, that the action sequences were suddenly super-charged, and under his direction Sophia Crawford's raw power took Buffy's fighting skills to a level of super-heroics not seen before, it seems he ultimately became too self-involved and began to believe his part in the show was more responsible for its success than it really was, and could not understand why SMG and JW got all the accolades while he and Crawford toiled in relative obscurity. I don't think he got the mystique that is often created for actors to imbue them with the qualities and abilities of the characters they portray to further enhance the audience's perception that they are watching a "real" person. He really went out of his way to let everyone know that it was not SMG doing all that fighting. *Duh*

And that's not to slight Sophia Crawford, as it took two women to replace her when she left. She was invaluable in that she could fight as well as perform a variety of other stunts . One of the reasons the action sequences in S2 - S4 were so seamless and energized, was that they were being performed by one person rather than a double who could fight, then CUT! Bring in the double who could be slammed against a wall, then CUT! Bring back the double who could fight.

Pruitt was also romantically involved with Crawford and that may have also have driven him to distraction.

Anyway, this was Joss' reply to Pruitt's Parable, the night it was posted:

joss says:
(Wed May 17 12:11:11 2000 205.188.200.36)
I had meant to do a quick lurk, but I see the board has heated up. (Hi, Fury. Isn't not breaking story FUN?)

I read the Parable of the Knight. Felt I aught to comment on the situation. Yes, Jeff is leaving. It's sad. Jeff was a huge asset to Buffy -- he took it to a new level of action and grace with Sophia, and his style will always be a part of the show. But this isn't a fairy tale. Or a thinly veiled 'parable'. It's a hard, gruelingly hard job, ten months a year, thirteen hours a day, with fifty or more people straining, working, getting in each other's face, stepping on each other's toes, driving each other crazy. It happens. And the only thing that keeps it together is the effort people make to work together. Doesn't always happen. There are conflicts, raging egos -- and even occasional backstabbing, I'm sorry to say. There are very few 'plots', and as far as I can tell, no jousting of any kind. People just wear on each other and eventually sometimes you have to make a change. No one's to blame -- or everyone is. But either people get into a groove of working as part of the whole or they don't. And seeing yourself as a noble knight being plotted against by evil courtiers really doesn't help. Remember that.

If you want to read more, check out the Pruitt's May 17, May 22, and June 22 posts at The Bronze the night of, and the days after, his departure.

And for more from the cast and crew, the Bronze VIP Archive, featuring posts by Joss, David Fury, Alyson Hannigan, Amber Benson, Marc Blucas, and others!

 

[Anzik]

This guy is a little too self important and melodramatic.

I think Buffy will go down as one of the finer examples of TV writing, but not the high point of stuntwork and fighting.

 

[Darklord Dave]

... it seems he ultimately became too self-involved and began to believe his part in the show was more responsible for its success than it really was, and could not understand why SMG and JW got all the accolades while he and Crawford toiled in relative obscurity.

This seems to hit it right on the head and is the feeling I got from the "parable". Joss' reply is pretty diplomatic and seems to support this as well.

At the recent Sci-fi grandslam I saw James Marsters who was asked about kissing John Barrowman on Torchwood. He said kissing a guy you like is easier work than kissing a woman you don't. I think the whole audience assumed he meant SMG.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

I was never interested in Buffy until about 2 years ago, so i knew (and still know) very little about the series. So when I started watching the show from 0 (bought the über-DVD box), I thought that Sarah did all her fighting and jumping herself. I had read somewhere that she was into martial arts, so, it seamed possible. But after a while, I noticed that the person being thrown around, looked slightly different than the actress, and then there was no doubt that she had stunt doubles. Thanks for posting these pix, it's good to see WHO is beaten around the set, in stead of the actors!

 

[FrankenFan]

At the recent Sci-fi grandslam I saw James Marsters who was asked about kissing John Barrowman on Torchwood. He said kissing a guy you like is easier work than kissing a woman you don't. I think the whole audience assumed he meant SMG.

That's too funny! Check this out:

JM said once that SMG had to tell him that the kisses were not supposed to be real and that he was having problems \"pretending\"

James Marsters on filming Smashed - He said Nick was much nicer about the naked scenes then Sarah ever was and that she was stood at the side giggling.

I had read somewhere that she was into martial arts, so, it seamed possible.

That's what Pruitt was so bent out of shape about:

(Jeff Pruitt) She is a little ticked off over some new blonde from BRING IT ON that is doing some fights on the show now as a new character. So she's sort of been making a fool of herself recently by trying to do as many shots as the new girl does. Sarah never had a brown belt. What happended was that she was auditioning for the Cordy part on the show and she wanted to be Buffy. So that was a little exageration to help with that. Later she was introduced to the crew as the new Buffy and they were told that she was a Martial artist. Quickly it was discovered that was not completely true. Or even partially true. For the past three years she has picked up only very basic movements that she can perform for the camera. But no real Martial artist (who is honest) could really say that she was one of us.

The above comes from a post on the Angel section the MediaBlvd forums. Lots of dishy dirt about SMG. I suppose I should post this link in the "Hatred on the Buffy set" thread, but I am not the type of person that spreads or condones gossip.

Sarah Michelle Gellar: The Diva
Random and unsorted snippets

 

[Anzik]

Thank God for Shannon Doherty to keep SMG looking somewhat human.