Remembering Stan Winston: Cameron, McG, Favreau, Wright, Darabont
The passing of Stan Winston hit everyone off guard yesterday, including the many people who have worked with the legend over the years.
McG has posted a statement on the Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins website, declaring his intention to dedicate the fourth Terminator film to the memory of Stan. Here is an excerpt: “Stan was a good guy who was in it for all the right reasons. He loved what he did. Stan confided in me once, that he created imaginary monsters as a child to keep him company. He said he felt like the only kid in the world who did this. Little did he know his childhood friends would come to be the heroes of millions. You are not alone Stan, the fruit of your imagination will be with us forever.”
Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright blogged: “A real genius. And a sad loss.”
Meanwhile, AICN has done an awesome job of gathering statements from some of the filmmakers who have worked with him over the years. Here are some highlights.
James Cameron: “We’ve lost a great artist, a man who made a contribution to the cinema of the fantastic that will resound for a long long time. I don’t need to list the indelible characters he and his team of artists brought to the screen. Readers of your site know them. We all know Stan’s work, the genius of his designs. But not even the fans necessarily know how great he was as a man. I mean a real man — a man who knows that even though your artistic passion can rule your life, you still make time for your family and your friends. He was a good father, and he raised two great kids. His wife of 37 years, Karen, was with him in the beginning, helping him make plaster molds in their garage for low budget gigs on TV movies, and she was with him at the end.”
Jon Favreau: “He was a giant. I was blessed to have known him. I worked with him on both Zathura and Iron Man. He was experienced and helped guide me while never losing his childlike enthusiasm. He was the king of integrating practical effects with CGI, never losing his relevance in an ever changing industry. I am proud to have worked with him and we were looking forward to future collaborations. I knew that he was struggling, but I had no idea that he would be gone so soon. Hollywood has lost a shining star.”
Frank Darabont: “One of the blessings of being in movies is when you meet icons whose work you deeply admire and they turn out to be fantastic people. They’re the ones you’re honored to encounter along the way, the people who are kind and gracious and inspiring in addition to being superbly talented. They exhibit genuine humanity and touch your heart in various ways, and you foolishly figure they’ll always be around to get to know better as the years go on. But then they are taken far too soon, and you’re left with the deep and lasting regret of not having gotten to know them nearly as well as you’d wanted or expected to. I’ve met and lost a number of extraordinary people who fall into this category, among them Roddy McDowell, John Frankenheimer, Sidney Pollack, Dave Stevens, and John Alvin. Stan Winston now sadly joins my list.”
Read the full letters, including more from Joe Dante, Rick Baker, Monster Squad director Fred Dekker and others on AICN.
Lynda Carter Biography
Born in Phoenix, the youngest of three children, Lynda made her professional singing debut at fifteen in Tempe, Arizona. She attended Kenilworth School, then the Arcadia Titans High School and the Arizona State University. She studied classical dances for seven years in the School Ballet of Phoenix. She also studied chanting and piano, and had her dramatic training with Laura Zucker, Stella Adler, Charles Conrad, Milton Katselas, Lieux Dressler, and Greta and Sandra Seacat. In 1973, she won the Miss World-U.S.A. title and shortly thereafter outdistanced hundreds of other actresses for the part of “Wonder Woman,” a character she infused with such depth and humor that it has become one of the most indelible characters in TV history.
She is the only star who achieves top TV ratings in both musical and dramatic specials. Her fourth variety special, “Lynda Carter, Street Life,” with George Benson and Tony Orlando guesting, aired on CBS in March and won the rating derby. Her Emmy-winning CBS special, “Lynda Carter Celebration,” was one of the highest-rated musical variety offerings of 1981. In the field of dramatics, she again has consistently proved a ratings and review winner by tackling significant subject matter. “Born To Be Sold,” her most recent motion picture for television, not only was a major Nielsen winner for NBC, but did it against such formidable opposition as the season premieres of “M.A.S.H.,” “Lou Grant” and “House Calls” and one of the most attractive Monday night NFL games. It did so while tackling a subject of deep social significance, the plight of children sold illegally for adoption. Similar success was achieved by Lynda’s first television movie, “The Last Song,” a highly-suspenseful CBS film which candidly addressed the perils of uncontrolled chemical pollution and garnered a 37 share of the audience. The title song from the movie, as performed by Lynda, was produced by entertainer extraordinaire, Kenny Rogers.
Within the past two years, she hosted three other dynamic television variety specials, starred in two dramatic telefeatures, headlined London’s famed Palladium, and became the first entertainer to associate herself with a major women’s professional tennis tournament. Lynda Carter has proven a truly international star. In the world of sports, she is a premier attraction as well. Lynda hosts such premier professionals as Chris Evert Lloyd and Martina Navratilova in the annual $125,000 Lynda Carter/Maybelline Tennis Classic which has been held in Deer Creek, Florida. Appointed Beauty and Fashion Director of Maybelline Cosmetics, Lynda appears in advertising as well as serving as a consultant in the development and marketing of new products. Her achievement in this area startled even the flamboyant cosmetics industry. In the 18 months following her association with Maybelline products, the company’s sales tripled, skyrocketing from $70 million to over $200 million.
Lynda has been the recipient of an unprecedented number of honors, including, from the London-based International Academy of Beauty, the title of “The Most Beautiful Woman In The World.” She has, in addition, been named one of Mr. Blackwell’s “Ten Best Dressed Women In America,” Gallup poll’s “Ten Most Admired Women In America,” one of Helene Curtis’ “Ten Best Tressed Women In America,” and one of the International Bachelors Association’s “Ten Most Exciting Women In The World.” Her personality print, for which she received the coveted million-selling Gold Poster Award, continues to be one of the most popular posters in America. In addition to Mexico’s Ariel Award, she also received South America’s coveted Gold Two Award as most popular actress and performer.