The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to award a new Oscar for Achievement in Stunt Design, starting with the 100th Academy Awards in 2028 (i.e., recognizing achievements in films released in 2027). The corpses of Daryl F. Zanuck, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Robert Towne, David O. Selznick, Irving Thalberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Edith Head, Ben Hecht, William Wyler and Gregg Toland have just turned in their graves…trust me.

This will be the first grunt-level or “meathead” Oscar category in the Academy’s history. For almost a full century every other category — directing, acting, screenwriting, cinematography, makeup, set design, costumes — has represented some kind of truly creative, fine-art aspiration. Even the forthcoming casting Oscar category, which will produce a winner at the 2026 Oscars, represents the kind of achievement that, if done right, truly enhances the art of cinema.

Stunts, difficult as they can be to perform well, are essentially low-rent. The only artful stunts I could point to were performed by Buster Keaton a century ago.

Today’s stunts, of course, are a different deal. They certainly don’t occupy the same station as modern dance or ballet, which have long been practiced by performers who care about creative visions and possibilities. Even trapeze artistry can be regarded as an art form. But not movie stunts. Stunt performers are fine as long as they say on their side of the fence. But they don’t deserve to stand alongside the film industry’s actual artists.

The bad guys in his instance are director David Leitch and stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara of Stunts Unlimited. They’ve been aggressively advocating for a stunt Oscar category, and now the Academy, grappling with the fact that the Oscars are a failing brand, has imperceptibly shrugged and given in.