Legendary special effects wizard and make-up artist Stan Winston died today at the age of 62. Winston studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia, went on to win 4 Oscars (Aliens, Jurassic Park, and two for Terminator 2: Judgement Day), and was nominated nine times. He first gained recognition for the extraodinary aging make-up for Cicely Tyson in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, winning an Emmy with RIck Baker. Less than 10 years later his reputation as master of his craft was already earning him “Special Thanks” credits on films like The Thing (the first movie I ever saw that seriously scared the living shit out of me).¬† From Edward Scissorhands and Predator, and as recently as Iron Man this summer, Stan Winston advanced the art of awe-inspiring wonderment, and created terrifying cinematic visions that will stalk the halls of visual effects forever.
They order six slices of pizza and can share them equally between them. ,
This is horrible. 2008 is the worst year ever. R.I.P.
Oh no 🙁
2008 is not a good year.. the obituary keeps adding the truly great in this business / art.. Minguella, Leadger.. I worshipped those 2 (still do).
Stan, omg. A true legend. Never a film I’ve seen where he was envolved that he didn’t do greatness. If he gets a nomination for Iron Man, that being this summer’s action film du jour, he might get it. Wasn’t he working on Avatar, for James Cameron??
And so young.. they’re all dying too soon.. Hollywood needs to go en masse to the Vatican, asap
rest in peace, Stan
This is really sad. I would say it was totally unexpected, but I guess being an underrated behind-the-scenes guy, it was never going to be expected when he passed away.
I remember when I was little, waiting for “Jurassic Park” to come out and watching the ‘making of’ docs on TV, they would always have interviews with him about the creature effects and animatronics, and even when I was 7 years old it left an impression on me.
MAN! What a horrible year for deaths. Ledger, Minghella, Pollack, Russert, and now the best visual effects artist of all time. He was great. He is great.
M, that’s just awesome….and the guy seemed down to Earth in all of his interviews. I mean, unlike some gurus who are obviously egotistical in how they know evertything and want to be treated as Gods by the geeks….
Winston though outright admitted he stole an idea of Cameron’s to giving the alien hunter in PREDATOR a mandible….I mean, you think John Dykstra would admit such a thing?
Plus, Winston’s Queen Alien in ALIENS did also inspire that memorable line from ole Sigourney Weaver:
“Get Away from her YOU BITCH!”
Behind all of those frightening effects, Stan was an incredibly giving human being and always went out of his way to help this lowly relative. Stan gave my class a visit to his studio when I was in fourth grade. I have friends that still talk about it over a decade later. His office at the time was a room with a fifty foot T-rex and a desk, and that’s it. Although he has scared millions, he could always make me laugh. I’ll miss you, Stan.
Thanks Ryan for posting this tribute, because Winston was an awesome man who deserves a moment of respect from all of us film fans.
Two of the great movie-going experiences of my childhood (before I was 10) was seeing TERMINATOR 2 and JURASSIC PARK…and kids today just don’t understand how mind-bending it was to see Schwarzenegger literally have half his face shot off, or even see dinosaurs come back to life outside of stop-motion work and traditional cell-animation.
I would even add PREDATOR, where the alien hunter’s suit visually makes perfect sense, and we the audience completely understand every function and tool of his….especially the nuclear self-destruct device he detonates. Plus, his wonderfully designed-face (w/ assistance from James Cameron) gave source to the movie’s greatest line:
“You’re one UGLY mother fucker!”
My personal favorite Winston work though may be Spielberg’s underrated A.I., where his professionalism was full-steam with the persecuted and broken down robots at the Flesh Fair…really, you may not like the movie, but you must admit that Winston did his job pretty damn well.
But really, this news sucks. Hey Grim Reaper, why can’t you go after some lame MTV celebrities instead?
Seriously, first Ledger then Mingella then Pollack then Harvey Korman then Roy Scheider and now Stan The Man Winston?
Fuck you Death. You’re on my Shit List now.
P.S. – Not to sound mean, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Winston gets a post-mortem Oscar nod for Best VFX for IRON MAN….and even win it.
This makes me incredibly sad. His contribution to the industry is incalculable. A wonderful artist and human being. RIP.
This the loss of a legend. In a time where CGI is threatening to destroy the business people like Winston were still keeping it real and doing a great job. R.I.P.