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Chester A. Reynolds Award
Awarded in 2020
John Scott
John Scott is the founder of the Alberta Chapter of Stunts Canada, an association of professional stunt coordinators and performers established in Vancouver in 1974. Nanton rancher and veteran Stunts Canada member Brent Woolsey is regarded as one of the busiest stunt professionals working in film today, and he credits Scott for giving him his first opportunity in the industry.
“I have learned what to do and what not to do by watching him. The movie business is incredibly competitive these days, and if you snooze, you lose. Maybe that’s why Scott doesn’t sleep much,” Woolsey said. From left: Scott organizing a day of filming, buffalo wranglers, and Scott near Drumheller, on the set of Into the West. “John is, and always will be, a cornerstone in the Alberta movie business. He has helped an awful lot of people.”
Keeping his animal actors working—and supporting the Alberta film industry—remains a powerful incentive for Scott, who frequently travels between Los Angeles and Vancouver to secure picture deals for the province. “If I can promote a Western up here, it is to my advantage,” he explains. “It gets these horses and animals working—it’s to everybody’s advantage.” Scott’s years of experience have taught him that if a director shoots a contemporary film in Alberta, the next project may very well be a Western once that filmmaker has experienced the landscape. “If he comes here and sees the country and the kind of potential we offer, it’s good for everyone in the business.”
John Scott is the founder of the Alberta Chapter of Stunts Canada, an association of professional stunt coordinators and performers established in Vancouver in 1974. Nanton rancher and veteran Stunts Canada member Brent Woolsey is regarded as one of the busiest stunt professionals working in film today, and he credits Scott for giving him his first opportunity in the industry.
“I have learned what to do and what not to do by watching him. The movie business is incredibly competitive these days, and if you snooze, you lose. Maybe that’s why Scott doesn’t sleep much,” Woolsey said. From left: Scott organizing a day of filming, buffalo wranglers, and Scott near Drumheller, on the set of Into the West. “John is, and always will be, a cornerstone in the Alberta movie business. He has helped an awful lot of people.”
Keeping his animal actors working—and supporting the Alberta film industry—remains a powerful incentive for Scott, who frequently travels between Los Angeles and Vancouver to secure picture deals for the province. “If I can promote a Western up here, it is to my advantage,” he explains. “It gets these horses and animals working—it’s to everybody’s advantage.” Scott’s years of experience have taught him that if a director shoots a contemporary film in Alberta, the next project may very well be a Western once that filmmaker has experienced the landscape. “If he comes here and sees the country and the kind of potential we offer, it’s good for everyone in the business.”
