Bull Session

Hollywood stunt double Kathy Jarvis jumped off an 80-foot cliff for "Six Days, Seven Nights" and staged a fight in "The Big Lebowski." She's put life and limb at risk for cinematic brawls, blasts and blazes.

But if she could do one thing -- and one thing she thinks is more treacherous -- it would be to compete in this weekend's Professional Bull Riders finals at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"I don't think people know how dangerous it is," Jarvis told me last weekend, during the first weekend of PBR. "All I do is jump out of buildings and get set on fire. These guys get trampled by bulls.

"It's the greatest thing in the world."

Stunt people can make a career last 15 to 20 years, even with all the backbreaking, knee-twisting work.

Bull riders' careers last "10 years -- if they're lucky," Jarvis says.

It takes amazing athletes to get on a two-ton bull and try to ride out its crazy turns and bucks for a mere eight seconds.

For PBR athletes to make it to the finals makes them the toughest of the toughest.

"It's the Super Bowl for these guys," Jarvis says.

Jarvis thinks the sport deserves more respect among nonfans. She kept telling taxi drivers and other people on the Strip she was on her way to last Saturday's PBR, and she was met with confused responses.

"You say you're going to PBR -- they look at you and go, 'Huh?' "

PBR is getting more exposure. This weekend's events will be broadcast Sunday on ABC, just as last weekend's rides were nationally televised.

Jarvis and her Hollywood producer husband, John Corser, ended up on TV without meaning to.

The couple (who live in Utah and commute to L.A.) were named "fans of the night" at PBR on Halloween night for wearing zombie makeup with their original wedding tux and dress from six years ago.

Corser wasn't a fan of PBR until his wife got him into it. Corser -- who produces commercials and produced videos for Snoop Dogg's "Boss Life" and Rihanna's "Shut Up and Drive" -- can't even ride a mechanical bull.

"I did it at a bar one time, and I fell right off," he says.

Corser is impressed by the technical work that goes into PBR.

"It's like the Olympics."

His wife says if any women wonder why they should go, the cowboys are hot, but the bull riding is hotter, and after a while, you may get to like the bulls even better. Among her favorite bulls are White Magic, Sure Fire and Charmed I'm Sure -- she rattles off names and stats like a true believer.

She only wishes she could mount one of the beasts. You'd think she could. She and another stunt double once jumped side-by-side, 22 feet, in the dark, into a 3-foot-wide, 3-foot-deep bit of water for the movie "Bats."

But she can't even attend this weekend's finals. She has to work on set.

"I'm crashing a car."

Doug Elfman's column appears Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. E-mail him at delfman@ reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.