Makeup and visual effects visionary Stan Winston died yesterday after a battle with multiple myeloma. He was 62 years old.
The best way to explain Winston's impact on the cinematic landscape is to list just a few of his most notable projects...
The Thing, The Terminator, Aliens (Academy Award), Predator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (two Academy Awards), Pumpkinhead, Edward Scissorhands, Jurassic Park (Academy Award), A.I., Constantine, Iron Man, and of course, the Mr. Roboto mask from Styx's Kilroy Was Here album and tour.
On a personal note, well, it's hard to overstate Winston's impact on my childhood. I spent all of junior high school (and much of high school) planning to be a special makeup effects artist when I "grew up"... a goal mostly inspired by Winston, Rick Baker, and Tom Savini. The Thing remains, in my eyes, one of the finest cinematic achievements of the last fifty years, and much of the credit goes to Winston's astounding creature effects. And beyond these fanboy proclamations of admiration, there is the undeniable fact of his influence on how movies look today. Just take a gander...
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