Cameron, Spielberg Remember Winston at Funeral
Stan Winston wasn’t just a monster mogul. He was also a kid at heart, a Beatles fan and a Hollywood visionary.
That’s according to colleagues who gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday to remember the Oscar-winning special-effects master, who died June 15 at age 62 after a seven-year battle with cancer.
“He inspired a generation of fans,” James Cameron, one of the F/X maestro’s closest collaborators, said at a private memorial service at the Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.
“I think that just maybe the words of a bunch of people who didn’t even know him personally may be his best tribute,” Cameron continued before reading aloud a number of online tributes from fanboys at Ain’t It Cool News. The Titanic helmer also revealed that he spoke to Winston the day before his death and proclaimed their mutual love.
Winston, who died of multiple myeloma, earned Academy Awards for creating the out-of-this-world monsters in Cameron’s Aliens and Terminator movies, as well as the eye-popping dinos populating Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
For his part, Spielberg hailed Winston’s extraodinary ability to turn artists’ imaginations into reality.
“What Stan did is that he took our dreamshe took all of our dreamsand he blended them with his own dreams,” said Spielberg. “He then workshopped those dreams with pencil, clay and, later years on, the computer. He would basically give life to all of our ideas. He would make them come to life.”
Other showbiz associates and friends in attendance: Aliens star Sigourney Weaver; actor Robert Patrick, who played the T-1000 cyborg in T2; Iron Man filmmaker Jon Favreau; and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his True Lies sidekick Tom Arnold.
Son Matt Winston recalled that after a tearful goodbye to his family, filled with kisses, hugs and laughter, the last song his father heard was the Beatles’ “All My Loving.”
Terminator Salvation Director McG To Dedicate Movie To Stan Winston
Following the death of the Oscar-winning special effects, creature and make-up artist Stan Winston, there have been tributes from people such as James Cameron, Jon Favreau and Frank Darabont. Now McG, director of Terminator Salvation: The Future has updated the films official blog with a tribute, as well as revealing that he intends to dedicate the movie to his memory.
Stan Winston passed away this past weekend. What an unbelievable talent.
Think of everything that came from the mind of that man. Aliens. Jurassic Park. Iron Man. Terminator.
I wish all of you could go check out the shop that he built. There’s a
meeting room where all of his creations encircle you. It feels like the
first time you went to Disneyland or saw Star Wars. It’s an unforgettable
moment.Most of all, 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.It is a real honor to have had the opportunity to work with Stan Winston. I
intend to dedicate this film to his memory.McG
Stan Winston dead at 62
One of the pioneers on the technical side of the movie and TV industry has died. Stan Winston did makeup and special effects for several TV shows and TV movies over the years, including Amazing Stories, Roots, Manimal, Get Christie Love, and Gargoyles, as well as dozens of classic movies, including Iron Man, all three Terminator films, Edward Scissorhands, The Thing, Pearl Harbor, Batman Returns, The Wiz, Predator, Jurassic Park III, The Relic, Congo, Aliens, Invaders From Mars, Leviathan, Galaxy Quest, and many others. He also directed several movies, including Pumpkinhead and Ghosts, which he also wrote. He also created the costumes for the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978. Winston won several Oscars and other awards for his work.
Winston died of cancer in Los Angeles last night at age 62. He had battled multiple myeloma for several years and died at his home. At the time of his death he was working on the next Terminator sequel, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.
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.