RCMP LAY MURDER CHARGE IN SUSPICIOUS DEATH PAGE A4
FLAMES TAKE DOWN CANUCKS PAGE B1
WEEKEND EDITION
Red Deer Advocate SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 2016
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
$1.25
FROM RED DEER TO DEADPOOL CHAMPION BATON TWIRLER MICHELLE CHRISTA SMITH PLAYS STUNT DOUBLE FOR GINA CARANO IN DEADPOOL You will never see her face in that camera could get it ready. So Deadpool — the record-breaking box I did it multiple, multiple times, office hit now playing in soldout the- before she even got to camera, and atres around the world — but you will then I just stand aside and coach her certainly see this Red Deer original’s through or be there for moral support amazing death-defying moves. for her.” Thirty-one-year-old MiAn example of her chelle Christa Smith, born stunt work involves and raised in Red Deer wearing a harness, and where she learned to be a being hooked up to a world baton twirling chamwire line, a machine pion, was the stunt double that pulls a stunt perin the movie for actress Gina son with high force into Carano. Carano plays Angel obstacles like cars and Dust — the bad guy’s rightpoles, or to the ground. hand lady — in the adult So when mutants Ansuperhero movie starring gel Dust and Colossus Ryan Reynolds. Angel Dust are fighting, they are does brutal battle with suboth so strong that when per hero Colossus. they hit each other, MARY-ANN At the moment, the Lind“They go flying”, said BARR sey Thurber ComprehenSmith. sive High graduate — now “They are not goBARRSIDE acrobat, professional stunt ing to let Gina do that. woman and instructor — is There’s a couple of working on the set of anothtimes I had to. … (Angel er movie being filmed in Vancou- Dust) would get hit in the face and go ver, Scorched Earth, starring Carano. flying backwards on this wire, and Again Smith is Carano’s stunt double. crash into the ground, and another The two have become friends, sup- one where Colossus grabs her by the porting each other through the trials neck, lifting her up, she has to jump. I and tribulations of a tough industry. jump, kick my feet up and then I have “My job (on Deadpool) happened to land on my shoulders and back.” a lot in rehearsal. I was practising There’s definitely a technique to wirepulls, a lot of fight choreogra- hitting the ground, riding the wire, phy, because my actress is actually a landing on the ground, she said. “But professional fighter in real life, aside that is our job, the risk we’re underfrom being a real actress.” taking.” “I did a lot of wires, crashing in“I’m the one you call to do choto things, rehearsing the fight. And reography … wires, fires, definitely then when we get to set, I of course weapons. It came from baton. … Stick do all the hard hits, anything hitting weapons, swords, knives comes really the ground, or hitting set pieces or quite easily to me.” objects around, that’s going to be my It is no easy job. Smith said she job,” said Smith, who is also an acro- spends time weekly getting massages batics and baton instructor. and at the chiropractor. Her biggest “Usually I would do most of the issue has been whiplash. “Multiple fights in other projects I worked on whiplashes on whiplashes, and that’s but on this particular one, Gina was not fun.” very capable of doing her own fight. My job was to do all the lineups so Please see STUNT on Page A2
WEATHER 40% flurries. High -2. Low -11.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Business . . . . . . . . . B7-8 Canada . . . . .A4, A5,A8 Classified . . . . . . . . D6-7 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . C4-5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B4-6
Harper Lee passes away at age 89 To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee died Friday morning. She was 89.
TH 40TH ANNUAL
PLEASE RECYCLE
Story on PAGE C4
FEBRUARY 12-21, 2016 WESTERNER PARK, RED DEER Sunday-Thursday 10-6 • Friday-Saturday 10-8
7452945B20
ONE TIME ENTRY $5 per vehicleDAILY ADMISSION General: $5 Senior: $4
Children 5 & Under: FREE! Family of 4: $15.00 Pay at the Door | Tax Incl.