Stan Winston

Stan Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American visual effects supervisor, make-up artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man and Edward Scissorhands.He won four Academy Awards for his work.

Winston, a frequent collaborator with director James Cameron, owned more than one effects studio, including Stan Winston Digital. The established areas of expertise for Winston were in makeup, puppets and practical effects, but he had recently expanded his studio to encompass digital effects as well.

One of the founders of visual effects companies Digital Domain, Stan Winston Digital and Stan Winston studios.

Only the second special effects artist to be honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Stars.

He studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and graduated in 1968.

He moved to Hollywood in 1968. At first he wanted to be an actor, but no jobs came his way and the following year he became an apprentice in the Makeup Department at Walt Disney Studios.

He has become known primarily as a “creature creator.” His first such assignment was for the TV movie Gargoyles (1972) (TV).

Father of actor Matt Winston and daughter.

Made a living as a stand-up comedian before moving into make-up effects.

Helped out on some Special Effects scenes in The Thing (1982) when Rob Bottin was suffering from exhaustion at the time due to his immensely heavy workload.

Father-in-law of Amy Smallman.

Has four grandchildren.

Has a brother.

While filming Predator (1987), Winston returned to his hotel one day, to find his shower crawling with frogs. Convinced that this was a prank by Arnold Schwarzenegger, he called in the help of members of his special effects crew in catching the frogs in a pillow case and releasing them into Arnold’s bed. Neither Stan nor Arnold dared to bring up the subject the next day. Years later, Winston was on a talk-show and recounted the entire story, knowing Arnold would be a guest in that show the next day. But the next day, Arnold commented on the story by swearing he had nothing to do with the prank, upon which Winston’s crew members finally confessed they had played the prank on him. They knew Arnold was innocent but had decided to let Winston get even with him anyway.

He was awarded the Virginia Film’s Festival Virginia Film Award in 1999 and was a member of the festival’s advisory board.

The Thing from Another World (often referred to as The Thing before its 1982 remake), is a 1951 science fiction film that tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being. It stars Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and Douglas Spencer. James Arness appeared as The Thing, difficult to recognize in costume and makeup. No players are named during the opening credits; the only cast credit is at the movie’s end.

In 2001, the film was deemed “culturally significant” by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry

Trivia:

• It is generally believed that Howard Hawks took over direction during production, and it has always been acknowledged by director Christian Nyby that Hawks was the guiding hand. However, in an interview James Arness said that while Hawks spent a lot of time on the set, it was Nyby who actually directed the picture, not Hawks.
• Partly filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant.
• This film was based on the short story “Who Goes There?” by Don A. Stuart. The credits on this film list the author by his real name, the science fiction editor/writer John W. Campbell Jr.
• Midget actor Billy Curtis played the smaller version of “The Thing” during the creature’s final scene.
• James Arness complained that his “Thing” costume made him look like a giant carrot.

Thing from Another World with James Arness

• Howard Hawks asked the US Air Force for assistance in making the film. He was refused because the top brass felt that such cooperation would compromise the U.S. government’s official stance that UFOs didn’t exist.
• It is believed that Ben Hecht and William Faulkner, both good friends of producer Howard Hawks, contributed to the script. However, long-standing rumors that Orson Welles contributed to the dialog are believed to be untrue.
• Two months prior to principal photography, James Arness was brought in during the design and development of the makeup.
• Close-ups of “The Thing” were removed. It was felt that the make-up could not hold up to close scrutiny. However, the lack of close-ups gave the creature a more mysterious quality.
• James Arness reportedly regarded his role as so embarrassing that he didn’t attend the premiere.
• It took makeup artist Lee Greenway five months and 18 sculptures of the creature before he came up with a design that satisfied producer Howard Hawks.
• When producer Howard Hawks attempted to get insurance for the creature, five insurance companies turned him down because “The Thing” was to be frozen in a block of ice, hacked by axes, attacked by dogs, lit on fire, and electrocuted.
• The famous scene when the crew formed a ring around the flying saucer frozen in the ice, was actually filmed at the RKO Ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 100-degree weather.
• This was the first of only two films made by Howard Hawks’ own production company, Winchester Pictures Corporation. Winchester was Hawks’ middle name.
• The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.
• Veteran stunt man Tom Steele replaced James Arness in the fire scene. Steele wore an asbestos suit with a special fiberglass helmet with an oxygen supply underneath. He use a 100% oxygen supply which was highly combustible. It was pure luck he didn’t burn his lungs whilst breathing in the mixture.
• According to make up artist Lee Greenway, he took James Arness in his car to the home of producer Howard Hawks to show off the make up for the Thing. After months of frustration, Hawkes told Greenway to put a Frankenstein (1931) type of head piece on Arness.
• Scotty mentions being at the execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray. This is a real case. The couple were tried for and convicted of the murder of Snyder’s husband in 1927 and were executed in New York by the electric chair.

Read more about “The Thing” Prequel Here!  coming soon!!

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) is an American psychological horror film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. In 2003, the character of Baby Jane Hudson was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 50 Best Villains of American Cinema.

Tagline:  Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe0ymqALj54]

Trivia:

• The curious teenager who lives next door to the Hudson sisters is none other than Barbara Merrill, Bette Davis’s real-life daughter.
• The wig Bette Davis wears throughout the film had, unbeknownst to both leads, been worn by Joan Crawford in an earlier MGM movie. Because it had been re-groomed, Crawford didn’t recognize it.
• During production, Bette Davis had a Coca-Cola machine installed on the set to anger Joan Crawford, whose late husband had been CEO of rival Pepsi-Cola and who herself was on the board of directors of that company.
• During the kicking scene, Bette Davis kicked Joan Crawford in the head, and the resulting wound required stitches. In retaliation, Crawford put weights in her pockets so that when Davis had to drag Crawford’s near-lifeless body, she strained her back.
• While touring the talk show circuit to promote the movie, Bette Davis told one interviewer that when she and Joan Crawford were first suggested for the leads in this film, Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner replied: “I wouldn’t give a plugged nickel for either one of those two old broads.” Recalling the story, Davis laughed at her own expense. The following day, she reportedly received a telegram from Crawford: “In future, please do not refer to me as an old broad!”
• The final scene at the beach was filmed in Malibu, California at the same spot where director Robert Aldrich filmed the final scene of Kiss Me Deadly (1955). When Blanche confesses the truth to “Baby Jane”, you can see in the background that same house that was “blown up” by a mysterious box containing radioactive material in “Kiss Me Deadly”.
• The producers originally wanted Peter Lawford to play Edwin Flagg. Bette Davis also originally objected to Victor Buono’s casting but eventually came around.
• Because she was then a member of the Pepsi-Cola board of directors, Joan Crawford managed to see that product placement shots of the soft drinks appeared in all of her later films. Although nearly imperceptible, Pepsi does show up in this one. During the last sequence, a guy runs up to the refreshment stand on the beach and tries to collect the deposit on some empty Pepsi bottles – a transaction that actually only happened in stores.
• Cracked head of Baby Jane doll featured prominently in ad campaign was a completely different doll than that used in movie – probably because movie was filmed and released so quickly that ad staff had to devise campaign while film was still in production.
• In addition to her trademark number “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy”, the young Baby Jane apparently had other hit songs in her act. When Edwin prepares to play the piano for their rehearsal, we see Jane’s picture featured on old sheet music for songs entitled “Fly the Flag of Freedom”, “She’s Somebody’s Little Girl”, and “I Wouldn’t Trade My Daddy”.
• The scenes from Jane’s early films that show her to be a flop as an actress are scenes from Parachute Jumper (1933) and Ex-Lady (1933). When Bette Davis heard that the crew was looking for poor footage of her from that time, she (half-jokingly) suggested that any of her films from the period would do.
• Joan Crawford was an avid collector of Margaret and Walter Keane’s “sad eyes” paintings and befriended the couple and tried to incorporate their work into her films. In the film, during the interior scenes of the neighbor’s (Mrs. Bates) house, several Keene paintings can be seen displayed on the walls.
• Early in the film, actor Bert Freed playing a film director can be seen wearing a necktie that’s not tied in a knot, but is instead crossed over held on by a tie clasp. That was a trademark look of the movie’s director Robert Aldrich, and was placed there as an inside gag.
• A freeze-frame just as the car enters the driveway in the prologue reveals the secret of who was driving the car the night Blanche was paralyzed.
• Bette Davis had been nominated for Best Actress in her film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), which also starring Joan Crawford. If Bette had won, it would have set a record number of wins for an actress. According to the book “Bette & Joan – The Divine Feud” by Shaun Considine, the two had a life long mutual hatred, and a jealous Joan Crawford actively campaigned against Bette Davis for winning Best Actress, and even told Anne Bancroft that if Anne won and was unable to accept the Award, Joan would be happy to accept it on her behalf. According to the book – and this may or may not be 100% true, but it makes a good anecdote – on Oscar night, Bette Davis was standing in the wings of the theatre waiting to hear the name of the winner. When it was announced that Anne Bancroft had won Best Actress for The Miracle Worker (1962), Bette Davis felt an icy hand on her shoulder as Joan Crawford said “Excuse me, I have an Oscar to accept”.
• According to Bette Davis in her book This N’ That, this film was originally going to be shot in color. Bette opposed this, saying that it would just make a sad story look pretty.
• This film can be seen as a tragic continuation of the story of the film Gypsy (1962). The sibling rivalry of the blond child star Baby Jane (Baby June in Gypsy) and the brunette sister, who has a Hollywood career as an adult.
• In scenes where Jane imitates Blanche’s voice, the voice heard is actually Joan Crawford’s voice, and not Bette Davis’, as Bette could not master Joan’s voice properly.
• This film is considered by many as Joan Crawford’s last important picture. After this film, Joan was typecast in some lesser horror pictures until her last picture in 1970 and her last TV appearance in 1972.
• In 1962, this film was a smash hit, grossing nine million dollars initially. In 2009 dollars, this amount would adjust to approximately $64,279,370.86.
• In her book, “This N’ That”, Bette Davis said she had a lot of control over how her makeup should be done for the film. She imagined the older Jane as someone who would never wash her face, just put on another layer of makeup. When her daughter, B.D. first saw her in full “Jane” makeup, she said, “Oh, mother, this time you’ve gone too far”

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Roger Corman’s ‘A Bucket of Blood’ movie poster

A Bucket of Blood is a 1959 comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Dick Miller. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman’s work. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a dark comic satire about a socially awkward young busboy at a Bohemian café who is acclaimed as a brilliant sculptor when he accidentally kills his landlady’s cat and covers its body in clay to hide the evidence. When he is pressured to create similar work, he becomes murderous.

A Bucket of Blood was the first of three collaborations between Corman and Griffith in the comedy genre, followed by The Little Shop of Horrors and Creature from the Haunted Sea. Corman had made no previous attempt at the genre, although past and future Corman productions in other genres incorporated comedic elements. The film works as a satire not only of Corman’s own films, but also of the art world and teen films of the 1950s. The plot has similarities to Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). However, by setting the story in the Beat milieu of 1950s Southern California, Corman creates an entirely different mood from the earlier film.

A Bucket of Blood was remade in 1995 as a made-for-television film for the Showtime network. The character name of Walter Paisley has been adapted by actor Dick Miller as an in-joke in productions such as The Howling and Shake, Rattle and Rock!, which credit otherwise unrelated characters played by Miller under the character name.

Dick Miller in a scene from Roger Corman's 'A Bucket of Blood'

One night after hearing the words of Maxwell H. Brock (Julian Burton), a poet who performs at a café called The Yellow Door, socially awkward busboy Walter Paisley (Dick Miller) returns home to attempt to create a sculpture, in the face of Carla (Barboura Morris), a girl frequently hanging out where he works that he has a crush on. As much as he tries, he cannot form the clay to resemble a human face. He stops when he hears the meowing of Frankie, the cat owned by his inquisitive landlady, Mrs. Surchart (Myrtle Vail), who has somehow gotten himself stuck in Walter’s wall. Walter attempts to get Frankie out using a knife, but accidentally kills Frankie when he sticks the knife into his wall. Disgusted with himself, Walter cries himself to sleep and hears the poetry of Brock pour through his tormented mind, giving him a radical inspiration. Instead of giving Frankie a proper burial, Walter covers the cat in clay, even leaving the knife stuck in it.

Barboura Morris

The next morning, Walter shows the cat to Carla and his boss Leonard (Antony Carbone). Though Leonard is dismissive of the oddly morbid piece, Carla is enthusiastic about the work, and the piece goes on display in the café, where Walter gets newfound respect from the beatniks and poets who hang out in the café. He is approached by an adoring fan, Naolia (Jhean Burton), who gives him a vial of heroin to remember her by. Not knowing what it is, he sticks it in his pocket, and is followed home by Lou Raby (Bert Convy), an undercover cop. Lou attempts to intimidate him into confessing being a narcotics mule by brandishing his gun. When Lou attempts to arrest Walter, Walter in a blind panic accidentally smashes his frying pan into Lou’s head. The fracas alerts his landlady and Walter fast talks her out of the apartment as he tearfully tries to hide the body. Meanwhile, Walter’s boss finds out the secret behind Walter’s “Dead Cat” piece. The next morning, Walter uneasily works while plainclothes police case the coffeehouse, much to the chagrin of the stoners and barflies. Leonard starts sarcastically praising Walter until Carla and the others come to his defense. Walter haltingly tells them he has a whole new piece, which he calls “Murdered Man.” Knowing Walter’s secret, Leonard is horrified. While attempting to call the police, Leonard is approached by an art collector who offers him $500 for “Dead Cat,” and so, he hangs up the phone. Both Leonard and Carla come with Walter as he unveils his latest work and are simultaneously amazed and appalled at the sight of it. Walter is very uneasy as well but his mood improves as Carla critiques it as “hideous and eloquent” and deserving of a public exhibition. Leonard is aghast at the idea, even as he realizes the potential for wealth if he plays this right. He and Carla quarrel over giving Walter a show, a prospect that delights the simpleton, especially as Leonard gives him a paltry cash advance to keep quiet. Once they leave, Walter gleefully shows off the statue to his horrified landlady.

The next night, Walter is treated like a king by pretty much everyone, except for Alice (Judy Bamber), who has been out of town for the last few nights. Despite being pinup gorgeous and pop-culturally savvy for the time, it is clear she is not very much liked. Seeing Walter at the table with Brock, she wonders what the busboy is doing sitting with them. As Brock explains that a great artist is in their midst, Alice goes mercenary and preens a bit at Walter, declaring her fee outright. Leonard tries to interdict any notion of him doing more figure work, even despite Carla’s insistence. The stoners put their two cents in and eventually the bristling Alice escalates the conversation into an argument that seriously angers Walter and he leaves in a huff.

scene from Roger Corman’s ‘A Bucket of Blood’

Walter later follows her home, trying to apologize and getting the door slammed in his face. His reaction is one of seething rage but he calms down and persists, explaining that he wants her to be his model and is willing to pay her price. At that notion, she is all ears and eager to work. At Walter’s apartment, Alice strips nude off camera, and poses in a chair. Walter suggests she put back on her scarf and, in a pretense of adjusting it to look right, uses it to strangle her. The latest work is brought to Brock’s house, where the gang is gathered for a sumptuous organic breakfast. Once unveiled, the statue of Alice renders them awestruck and Carla is so pleased that she kisses Walter on the lips. Brock is so impressed, he throws a party at the Yellow Door in Walter’s honor. Costumed as a carnival fool, Walter is wined and dined to excess. Leonard keeps an eye on him, worried that he will make some mistake that will blow this deal. Brock composes a poem especially for Walter that provides him more twisted inspiration.

In the middle of 1959, American International Pictures approached Roger Corman to direct a horror film, but only gave Corman a $50,000 budget, and a five-day shooting schedule. Corman accepted the challenge, but was uninterested in producing a straightfoward horror film. Corman and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith developed the idea for producing a satirical black comedy horror film about the beatnik culture. Corman and Griffith proceeded to research the film at various coffeehouses along the Sunset Strip, developing the film’s plot structure by the evening’s end, partially basing the film’s story upon Mystery of the Wax Museum.

The film was shot under the title The Living Dead. According to actor Antony Carbone, “[The production] had a kind of spirit of ‘having fun,’ and I think [Corman] realized that while making the film. And I feel it helped him in other films he made, like [The Little Shop of Horrors]—he carried that Bucket of Blood ‘idea’ into that next film.” Actor Dick Miller was unhappy with the film’s low production values. Miller is quoted by Beverly Gray as stating that “If they’d had more money to put into the production so we didn’t have to use mannequins for the statues, if we didn’t have to shoot the last scene with me hanging with just some gray makeup on because they didn’t have time to put the plaster on me, this could have been a very classic little film. The story was good, the acting was good, the humor in it was good, the timing was right, everything about it was right—-but they didn’t have any money for production values, and it suffered.”

American International Pictures’ theatrical marketing campaign emphasized the comedic aspects of the film’s plot, proclaiming that the audience would be “sick, sick, sick—from laughing!” The film’s poster consists of a series of comic strip panels humorously hinting at the film’s horror content. When Corman found that the film “worked well,” he continued to direct two more comedic films scripted by Griffith, The Little Shop of Horrors, a farce, and Creature from the Haunted Sea, a parody of the monster movie genre.

The film is in the public domain and has been widely distributed on home video from various companies. The film’s negative was acquired by MGM Home Entertainment upon the company’s purchase of Orion Pictures, which had owned the AIP catalog. MGM released A Bucket of Blood on VHS and DVD in 2000. MGM re-released the film as part of a box set with seven other Corman productions in 2007. However, the box set featured the same menus and transfer as MGM’s previous edition of the film.

Cast – in credits order  (verified as complete)
  Dick Miller … Walter Paisley
  Barboura Morris … Carla
  Antony Carbone … Leonard de Santis
  Julian Burton … Maxwell H. Brock
  Ed Nelson … Art Lacroix
  John Brinkley … Will
  John Shaner … Oscar
  Judy Bamber … Alice
  Myrtle Damerel … Mrs. Swickert
  Burt Convy … Lou Raby

Bob Mark was the makeup artist for the film. He also did the makeup for many, many films and TV shows like Lost in Space, Angel and the Badman and Rio Grande

Source(s): Wikipedia, IMDB

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8GHdIx8sGE] 

K.N.B. EFX Group background:

In 1988, Robert Kurtzman along with Gregory Nicotero and Howard Berger, formed K.N.B. EFX Group, a special effects studio which has gone on to work on over 600 film and television projects. K.N.B. has won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award in 2001 for their work on the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert’s Dune.  They were awarded an Academy Award in 2006 for achievement in makeup for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

In 2002, Kurtzman left K.N.B. EFX Group. Kurtzman and his wife, relocated their family to Crestline, Ohio, and started their own production company, Precinct 13 Entertainment. Founded in 2003, Precinct 13 is described as a Film/Television and Radio Commercial/Visual Effects production facility.

From the current K.N.B. website: http://www.knbefxgroup.com/

Transformers, Pulp Fiction, Dances with Wolves, Land of the Dead, The Green Mile, Sin City, Spy Kids, The Chronicles of Narnia, Army of Darkness; The Island….These aren’t merely the names of great genre films; they’re iconic interpretations of some of the most imaginative and groundbreaking special makeup effects ever created.  KNB EFX Group is the force behind some of the most memorable effects put on film.  With work on over 600 films, including 5 Oscar winners, and dozens of awards; including an Oscar of their own, one Emmy, one BAFTA award, and a whole host of Saturn’s, KNB is the culmination of two decades of creative passion for making real what was previously unreal and unimagined.  Over the last 20 years, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger’s company has grown and matured within the ever changing landscape of makeup and creature effects.  KNB’s principal philosophy has remained consistent: deliver ground breaking visually spectacular EFX while breathing life into the illusion of what is seen on the screen.

K.N.B. EFX Group Howard Berger and Gregory Nicotero