MUMBAI: It was a night of big bangs and louder than life explosions. The fourth edition of the Taurus World Stunt Awards took place at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles a few days ago.

In the US the event will air on Spike TV on 26 May. In India the show will air on AXN later in the year.

Keanu Reeves was given an award for action movie star for his work in The Matrix Reloaded. Jonathan Mostow received the action movie director of the year award for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which has grossed over $400 million in worldwide box office receipts.

The best fight award went to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The best work with a vehicle award went to Michael Bay's Bad Boys II.

Interestingly a pyrotechnic stunt performed created a fireball far bigger than had been planned. The finale of the show resulted in the almost total destruction of the platform stage at Paramount. All those involved escaped unhurt. The audience saw co-host Carmen Electra pull a cigar from host Dennis Hopper, and throw it towards a pre-determined area where it was to ignite in a mock explosion.

Instead, the pyrotechnic explosion produced a huge ball of fire that produced heat that was felt in the first row of the crowd. The stunt thrilled the crowd, none of whom knew what they were seeing. A relatively ordinary stunt saw Brendan Fraser leapt off a 10-story building through a glass ceiling to present the award for best high work. The 1500 strong audience included California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.