The film featured over twice as many stuntmen as it did actors. Held the world record for the biggest ratio of stuntmen/actors. Reportedly, over eighty stuntmen worked on the movie. Stunt coordinator Terry Leonard and second unit director Buddy Van Horn, oversaw the task of integrating the scope of stunt people working to produce the action. Describing a stunt-related sequence early in the film performed by Eastwood himself, Van Horn who had been a stunt associate for almost 35 years, took the opportunity to commend the actor on his contributions saying, “Clint likes to do everything live, “When you read the script, you know everything is going to be pretty much live action. Sometimes you have to talk him out of something that just might be a little too risky. Not that he couldn’t do it, but if something even minor should happen, you couldn’t afford to suspend the production.” 

The sequence which Van Horn alluded to, was a scene that involved Eastwood behind the driver’s seat racing a Chevrolet Blazer through stop and go traffic, while swerving to avoid upcoming cars from the opposite direction. The scene included 20 other stunt drivers operating a carefully rehearsed formation through a head on collision course. According to Van Horn who engineered the sequence with Leonard, he noted, “The whole thing is like a football play, “We all sit down and figure out where the cars are, where Clint makes the break out of traffic, where the other cars are going, and just the whole cause and effect for how and why he pulls into (the intersection) and decides to head on through. That’s all worked out ahead of time.” Leonard added, “In a situation where your rehearsal time is extremely limited, it becomes that old expression: experience, “It becomes a seat of the pants kind of thing, about 20 drivers and Clint who know where the close calls are going to be and who’s going to be in what position when. But once you get going, there’s always the element of surprise, where maybe a car is 10 feet closer than it was expected to be, and a driver must react to that.”

The movie was to be directed by Craig R. Baxley starring Matthew Modine and Gene Hackman in 1988 but the production was stopped by the Screen Actors Guild strike. This is interesting to note because he is the son of legendary stuntman/stunt coordinator/second unit director/ director Paul Baxley, cousin of stuntman/stunt coordinator/second unit director Gary Baxley father of stuntman/stunt coordinator/second unit director Craig Baxley Jr.. and grandfather of stunt performer Cash Baxley, was a Past member and President of Stunts Unlimited and started out in front of the camera as a stuntman himself, then worked his way up to a successful stunt coordinator and second unit director on films like Predator (1987), Reds (1981), The Long Riders (1980) and The Warriors (1979). He has since directed over 30 movies, TV series and mini-series.

The Rookie was directed by Clint Eastwood for Malpaso.

Things to look up (go to IMDB ):

The Rookie

Clint Eastwood

Charlie Sheen

Craig R. Baxley

Buddy Van Horn

Terry Leonard

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