Hollywood Wizard Stan Winston Dies
From The Terminator movies to Iron Man, Stan Winston made the magic that make movies magic.
The Oscar-winning visual-effects and makeup guru died Sunday of multiple myeloma at his Malibu home. He was 62, and had been battling the plasma cancer for seven years.
“The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my bestfriends,” said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom Winston helped make an iconic killing machine of in The Terminator and its two sequels.
Long Hollywood’s go-to creator of creatures great and occasionally frightning, Winston won four Oscars for his wizardry on Jurassic Park, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which earned him two statuettes, one for makeup and one for visual effects. He was nominated a total of 10 times.
His handiwork can be seen in the current summer hits Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and Iron Man, for which Winston’s namesake studio built the hero’s high-tech armored suits.
Stan Winston Studio is also set to work on the upcoming Terminator 4, the big-screen, live-action G.I. Joe and James Cameron’s Avatar.
Although Winston tended to work on films that were heavy on special effects, he maintained his life’s work was about building characters, not gadgets.
“I don’t do special effects. I create characters, and I use the tools of special effects necessary to do it,” Winston told the BBC in 2003.
Winston’s career began in 1969 when, according to his company’s website, the aspiring actor took a would-be day job as an apprentice to a Disney makeup artist. Just a few years later, he scored his first major awardan Emmy for his makeup work on the 1972 TV movie Gargoyles.
Throughout the 1970s, Winston created makeup looks for everything from low-budget horror films to a Diana Ross TV special. In the 1981, he earned his first Oscar nomination for using makeup to make a robot of Andy Kaufman in the 1981 comedy, Heartbeeps.
In 1984, he began a storied association with Cameron and the T-series cyborgs of The Terminator movies.
Moving beyond makeup, Winston was responsible for creating the futuristic effects for the relatively low-budget sci-fi thriller. While he didn’t rate an Oscar nomination for the film, he established himself as a special-effects specialist. He and Cameron would later go on to help found Digital Domain, the special-effects house.
After Terminator, Winston seemingly had a creative hand in every popcorn movie to pop out of Hollywood, including: Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park movies, for which he created the large-as-life dinosaurs; Cameron’s Aliens; Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence: A.I.; Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands; Predator; Interview With a Vampire, even Tank Girl.
In 2001, Winston received an honor usually reserved for faces in front of the camera: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2003, Winston told the Los Angeles Times that he’d become so associated with creating creatures that the calendar date Oct. 31 drove him underground.
“There’s no way I could do anything on Halloween that would live up to what anyone would expect of me. If I were going to a costume party, what would I do? It would just be disappointing,” Winston said with apparent humor. “Halloween has become the tragic day of the year for Stan.”
This Week in DVD - Jumper, The Bucket List, The Signal, and More
This Week in DVD is a new column on compiling all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry’s.
THE SIGNAL
Good horror films are a rarity nowadays, so whenever a notable entry in the genre comes out I like to make sure it gets noticed. The Signal is one such a film. It’s a brutal excursion into three very tonally different tales (combining elements of comedy and satire) detailing the takeover of a mysterious transmission that’s being sent through every cell phone, radio and TV and is turning people into psychotic killers. Not everyone will be able to look past its problems though (such as the weak ending), as proven by the somewhat mixed audience/critic reaction.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: An audio commentary, an alternate beginning, and deleted scenes.
N/A
$19.99
$13.99
$19.99
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? 2-Disc Deluxe Edition
Where? Best Buy
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Bonus access to behind-the-scenes footage.
Where? Circuit City
THE BUCKET LIST
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman team up in director Rob Reiner’s tale of two dying geezers who head off on a road trip to enjoy all the wild experiences they missed out on when they were young and able. It’s said to be schmaltzy, predictable, and not just a little bit manipulative, and yet the film’s undeniable charm and two terrific performers manage to supersede any of the film’s shortcomings. Think of it as the male equivalent of a chick flick.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Not much, disappointingly. Just a John Mayer music video and an interview with the film’s screenwriter, Justin Zackham.
$16.99
$15.99
$13.99
$13.99
JOHN ADAMS
The acclaimed seven-part HBO mini-series is coming to DVD, giving an inside look at the life of John Adams, which includes everything from the lead-up to the American Revolution to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And with Paul Giamatti in the role of John Adams, and Laura Linney as his wife Abigail, the film’s impressive cast only further propels this insight into U.S. history to greatness.
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: Included on this three-disc set are an interview with David McCullough (the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography on which the series is based), a behind-the-scenes documentary, and an on-screen historical guide for each episode.
$34.99
$34.99
$34.99
$49.99
JUMPER
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Editions)
You’d think an action sci-fi flick exploring teleportation abilities from the director of The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith would equate to fun times, but alas, Jumper has proven that is not the case. It’s an incredibly slapdash effort, with minimal action sequences, cringe-worthy dialogue, and the worst performance you’ll ever see from Hayden Christensen (and that’s including his work on the Star Wars prequels). Skip it.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The single disc edition comes with an audio commentary and two making-of featurettes, whereas the 2-Disc Special Edition also holds six deleted scenes, two additional featurettes, an animated graphic novel, and a digital copy of the film for download.
$16.99
$15.99
$13.99
$13.99
*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (excluding Circuit City, where it costs $21.99).
WITLESS PROTECTION
With each progressive Larry the Cable Guy movie, the box office intake seems to be getting lower and lower, so hopefully the end of his worthless career is near. In the meantime, here’s his latest shitfest, Witless Protection. You can tell how funny it will be based on that knee-slapper of a pun in the title. Almost as clever as Made of Honor.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Three featurettes.
$19.99
$17.99
$17.99
$19.99
FUNNY GAMES
Michael Haneke’s extremely pretentious shot-for-shot remake of his own movie is just as much a middle finger to American audiences as the original film was, except this time you don’t need the subtitles on to understand how condescending it is. Outstanding performances from Naomi Watts and the two psychopath characters aside, this film adds up to nothing more than a worthless, miserable two hour torture session against the viewers (and their patience). Haneke would say that’s the point, but that doesn’t make him any less of an asshole for making it. Twice!
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: None.
$19.99
$19.99
$19.99
$19.99
Also available this week…
The Other Boleyn Girl – High Noon (2-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition) – The Grand – The Boondocks (Season 2) – The List – Home Improvement (Season 
– Soap (The Complete Series) – Hawaii Five-0 (Season 4) – The Odd Couple (Season 4) – Otis – 7th Heaven (Season 6) – Army Wives (Season 1) – American Gangster (Season 2)
What are you planning to rent or buy this week?
Exclusive: Exclusive bonus disc with The Other Boleyn Girl. Deluxe Edition has production notes, exclusive package artwork, and more. $22.99
$10 – 300, Knocked Up, Ocean’s Thirteen, National Treasure (2-Disc Edition), The Pursuit of Happyness, and more…
$7.50 – Batman Begins, Old School, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and more…
Exclusive: CD audio book included with purchase of The Other Boleyn Girl.
$12.99 – Charlie Wilson’s War, I Am Legend, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Across the Universe (2-Disc Deluxe Edition), Superbad (2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition), Spider-Man 3, 3:10 to Yuma, and more…
$6.99 – The Departed, Casino Royale (2-Disc Edition), Shooter, Mr. Brooks, Apocalypse Now (The Complete Dossier), Troy (Director’s Cut), Zodiac, and more…
Exclusive: 2 free movie tickets to see The Happening with purchase of any 2 of the following $7.99 movies…
$7.99 – I, Robot, 28 Days Later, Transporter 2, The Day After Tomorrow, X2, Fantastic Four, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Die Hard: With A Vengeance, Predator, and more…
$5.99 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Matchstick Men, Syriana, Sleepers, and more…
$6.99 – The Hitcher, Meet the Parents, American Pie, The Chronicles of Riddick, and more…
$8.99 – There’s Something About Mary (Collector’s Edition), The Transporter, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and more…
Jessica Alba Brightens Up Today
Jessica Alba Brightens Up Today
It’s no wonder we spotted Jessica Alba in Manhattan yesterday. She’s in town to do press for her new movie “The Eye,” which comes out this Friday.
This morning, the “Dark Angel” babe was at NBC studios charming the folks over at The Today Show. And it seems that anchor Matt Lauer took a real liking to the expecting actress.
Regarding her adjustment to being pregnant, Jessica told Matt, “I’m good now. I’m past the nauseous stage. It wasn’t morning sickness, it was definitely all day sickness. And I was shooting a comedy at the time! You definitely have to go with the flow. You definitely have to surrender. But it’s a shock to a system. Again, I’ve never been one to emphasize anything on my looks or anything. It was just the polls, the magazines, they do it. It was never my thing. So I really don’t care.”
And with “The Eye” marking Alba’s first time wading into the waters of horror films, she confessed that she loved it. “I love horror movies. I love psychological thrillers. I love the fact nobody is being mutilated. Thirteen-year-olds can go and watch this movie. It’s a good, classic ghost story.”
With a baby on the way, the “Awake” actress revealed that she’s eagerly awaiting motherhood. “I’ve always loved kids and I’ve always wanted kids. It’s kind of perfect.”
SXSW Movie Review: Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie
Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, a documentary directed by Jay Delaney, is, true to the title, not about Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch, a.k.a. Yeti), the mythical apelike giant that first chronicled in the 1920s in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and, more recently, the American Midwest. Bigfoot has appeared in stories, novels, horror films, and on television in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. More than eighty years after the first sightings and despite the efforts of researchers, Bigfoot’s existence remains uncorroborated, a mystery to some, a myth to others, and the life work for others. Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie follows Wayne Burton and Dallas Gilbert, middle-aged friends, Portsmouth, Ohio residents, and amateur researchers who claim to have seen and photographed Bigfoot.
Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, however, is less about the search for Bigfoot (although there is that), but a dual character study of two men who feel life slipping by without recognition or achievements they can call their own. For Dallas, finding evidence of Bigfoot’s existence has been a ten-year obsession. He’s developed a web site where he posts photographic and video evidence (most of it murky and open to interpretation). Dallas’ source of income, if any, isn’t disclosed. Given his age and poor health, he probably lives on Social Security. Burton, a presumably younger man in better health, works at a car wash to eke a living. He lives next door with his wife in a house they own. Burton, however, faces serious financial difficulties, including the inability to pay back a loan that might cost him and his wife their home.
While Dallas seems motivated by the desire for recognition, Wayne seems motivated by both a desire for recognition (he expresses regrets for his failures) and the desire for a windfall, selling evidence of the Bigfoot’s existence to the highest bidder, making repairs on his house, buying a new car or van, and saving the remainder for his retirement. Alas, Dallas and Wayne’s efforts prove fruitless, even after a professional Bigfoot researcher arrives from California. Dallas gets recognition of sorts: a plaque from a Bigfoot group for his efforts. Unfortunately, Wayne gets nothing. In fact, Wayne misspeaks during an Internet radio interview to discuss a photograph he took. His mistake makes him and, by extension, Dallas look like attention-seeking frauds.
Unfortunately, Not Another Bigfoot Movie is far less compelling and engaging than director Jay Delaney thinks it is. Dallas and Wayne aren’t particularly good storytellers. More often than not, they end wandering off-subject to discuss their uneventful lives. Delaney overindulges Wayne, including footage of Wayne visiting his elementary school and high school, while lamenting the absence of blue-collar jobs in a de-industrialized city. Ultimately, Delaney half-succeeds in making Dallas and Wayne, men facing bleak futures with little hope, men who find meaning in a quixotic pursuit, sympathetic figures. It’s a pity, though, that Delaney wasn’t able to make Dallas and Wayne’s story more compelling or engaging. Maybe a broader scope, maybe more context or background would have helped, but Delaney seemed more interested in Dallas and Wayne as amateur Bigfoot researchers (a novelty that wears off fast) than as victims of globalization and the outsourcing of blue-collar work to other countries.