I will not comment on any of the important technical discussion points
above - I know enough to say I don't know squat. The comment about
"the natural progression' of increasing soaring pilot knowledge...Joe
Growing Pilot to always/continually/actively..." seems very apt.

What I can say, knowing a few people in the "arts", is that they find
it *VERY* easy to get someone to be in a commercial or a film. Our
whole culture pushes us to want to be "... world-famous for 15
minutes..." (Andy Warhol). Couple that with a financial incentive
and the desire to try something that pushes our envelope can be
overwhelming. The non-technical producers/directors push for what
they see in their mind's eye - which is exactly what they are paid to
do. They also push for getting it done quickly before they run out of
money, light or both.

The producer/director pushes the responsibilty for the safety of the
stunt on the stunt pilot. The onus is now on the stunt pilot, which
is exactly what the glider pilot was in this situation, to tell the
director what needs to happen, coupled with "no" or "wait a minute -
let's think this through." But people want to please and not get
yelled at by the director/producer for not being cooperative, wasting
time/money, or whatever else is important at that moment. Have you
ever been on a set? There sure seems to be a lot of yelling going on
and what seems to be angry words. Maybe "Hollywood" types are used to
this environment but pilots are not in their realm. The entire
aviation community is a hierarchy in a military sense. The FAA tells
the examiner what to do (how to examine). The examiner tells the CFIG
what to do (to get his rating). The CFIG tells me what to do (for a
bi-annual). And the producer/director tells everyone what to do. It
is in a pilot's human nature to salute and get the job done. "Ours is
not to question why..."

I am reminded of the biography "Hollywood Pilot" of Paul Mantz (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mantz). Fascinating read. While he did do
a few spur of the moment crazy things (like flying into an active
volcano and having his engines sputter), he more often than not took a
great amount of time thinking through what he was going to do. He had
experts around him to advise him. Importantly, he had enough
credibility to make the producers/directors wait for him rather than
the other way around. The unfortunate Cadillac commercial glider
pilot seems to have had neither the needed experts nor credibility.
Or he may just have wanted to please, salute and go forth. Paul Mantz
did die due to his trade in the original "Flight of the Phoenix", so
even the pinacle of the trade can fail at what they do best.

Its a dangerous aviation world out there. Unnecessary risks seem more
and more reckless as I grow older.

Thanks, John