Guy Norris and son Harrison direct the Suicide Squad VR experience

Guy Norris on-set with the stunt double for Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney).

Aussie stunts legend Guy Norris (The Lord of the Rings, the upcoming Ghost in the Shell) got involved in Suicide Squad, DC's supervillain blockbuster starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, through a connection to the film's producer Charles Roven (Warcraft, The Dark Knight).

"Chuck Roven and I had worked together on three projects in the last 30 years and we were always trying to look to work together," Norris told IF. "After shooting Mad Max: Fury Road, Chuck had Suicide Squad in his hands and asked me to come and be involved." 

The production became a family affair when Norris, the film's action-unit director and stunt coordinator, enlisted his son Harrison, who "has literally grown up on sets", said Norris.

"He was involved in Fury Road as a stunt performer and became involved on Suicide Squad as the action pre-visualisation artist. Harrison finished high school at the age of 15 and graduated from Bond University in 2015 after becoming the youngest student to be accepted into the film program. He always had a strong passion for VR and developed a concept for a new VR camera."

The pair have now started their own VR company, PROXi VR, as a result of wanting to continue what they started with the Suicide Squad VR Experience, which takes viewers inside one of the film's action setpieces: an office-block gunfight.

The VR experience, which debuted last week at Comic-Con, was co-directed by father and son, and Norris calls the collaboration a "fantastic experience". 

"Harrison really understands the VR space. He understands how to best use the camera and choreography to get the best out of the scene."

The stunt veteran describes the Comic-Con response as "incredible".

"Over the course of 6 days at Comic Con, over 10,000 people saw the experience. They had lines that were 8 blocks around the streets of people waiting, where people had been lining up since 5am that same morning. Warner Brothers and Samsung were blown away from the whole experience." 

Suicide Squad is released worldwide this Friday, August 5 (Thursday 4 in Oz), with the VR experience going live simultaneously on the Samsung VR app.

www.proxivr.com