In the Quentin Tarentino movie, Death Proof, in Grindhouse, Zoe Bell plays one of the characters pursued by psycho Stuntman Bob (Kurt Russell). Her character name: Zoe Bell...she plays herself, a stuntwoman working on a movie.
Being a fan of Quentin Tarentino movies, but not a raving/geek/Tarentino fan, I didn’t go into Grindhouse knowing who Zoe Bell was. Now that I have seen the movie, I know who she is. She is a real live working stuntwoman. And she has doubled Uma Thurman, Sharon Stone, and Lucy Lawless in Kill Bill, Catwoman, and Xena...among others.
One of the major attractions to Death Proof was the car chase scene(s). One of which involved the “character” of Zoe Bell talking one her stuntwoman girlfriends into participating in something called Ship’s Mast. This is an extreme “sport” involving sitting on the hood of a fast moving car and holding on to a couple of belts strapped to the door frames. In this movie, Zoe Bell does exactly that on the hood of a borrowed 1970 Dodge Challenger...and she does it all herself, in real time speed, without computer generated special effects. It is, without a doubt, the wildest, most dangerous, continuous stunt you’ll ever see in a movie. Now, factor in psycho Stuntman Bob and his attempts to run them off this country road in his 1968 Dodge Charger. It’s simply incredible to watch and worth the price of seeing Death Proof again as well as buying the DVD when it comes out.
Now, factor in Zoe Bell herself. She is an extremely appealing, engaging, fresh-faced, hot actress as well...in her first dramatic role (save for a couple of minor acting parts in two other movies). She is a tall, slender, very athletic, pretty blonde from New Zealand. From a distance, she looks a lot like Uma...hence, her role doubling Uma in recent films.
In the majority of the chat rooms and forums concerning Grindhouse, it is Zoe Bell who is receiving most of the “buzz”. The movie itself is fun, witty, thrilling, and gross all at the same time. But this Zoe Bell is something else.
What sort of dramatic future does she have, it’s anyone’s guess? She and Tarentino have a lot of movie history together, they both like each other (though she has a boyfriend in NZ), and will undoubtedly work together again in the near future. That is inevitable.
Her acting is pretty good. Her visual appeal is undeniable. She is a sweet-looking, tom-girly, treat who could kick your ass without breaking a sweat. Her background comes from gymnastics and martial arts. Wow!
Zoe Bell...Zoe Bell...Zoe Bell. You gotta see what she does in Grindhouse to believe it!
