Stan Winston (1946 -- 2008)

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It's true -- Stan Winston is gone. I don't know what happened -- the man was only 62, for God's sake -- but man...early! What a legend in his realm -- the top godfather-creator of cool-ass Hollywood monsters, predators, dinosaurs and various other grotesqueries for the last 20-plus years. Pretty much the dean of the school since the creation of the first Terminator in '84 up until to his stellar work on Ironman.

The idea of a brilliant, energetic, super-creative guy leaving the earth at the beginning of his third act (as poor Tim Russert just did a few days ago) is, of course, offensive and appalling. Here's the official site for Stan Winston Studios, but it's...I don't know what to say except that death can be an extremely rude and untimely visitor.

For me, for everyone, Winston's legacy rests upon his animatronic, makeup and model-design work in two franchises -- the Terminator films (he'd been working on the latest -- McG's Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins) and the Jurassic Park films. You can point lots of other creations and go on and one about them (liek his work on Edward Scissorhands), but Winston's work on these two famous franchises are the foundation of his rep.

Whenever I think of Winston I think of (a) the "sick tryke" -- the wheezing, breathing Triceratops lying on its side -- in the first Jurassic Park, (b) that horrific army of razor-tailed, bullet-headed monsters in James Cameron's Aliens, and the T2 skeleton with the red eyes -- the first life-form seen in Cameron's T2: Judgment Day.

Winston won Oscars for his make-up and visual effects work on Aliens, T2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park, and was nominated for his work on Predator, Edward Scissorhands, Heartbeeps, Batman Returns, The Lost World and Steven Spielberg's deeply loathed AI.

I never knew Winston; never even met him. I do know that I spent lots and lots of money on action figures based on Winston creations for my kids in the early to mid '90s. I still have a couple of good-sizen alien figures based on his Aliens work. I'm particularly enamored of the big black queen. I also know that suddenly I feel like watching The Lost World again. That film got a bad rap when it opened, but I'd rather watch it ten times than sit through A.I. once.

Eight Months Ago<< previous | next >>Almost Doesn't Matter

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 16, 2008 at 12:40 PM

comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

"Deeply loathed A.I.", which anyone who actually had his ear to the ground would know wasn't true, but which is also irrelevant to this piece. You're a classy guy, Wells.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 16, 2008 1:52 PM

comment #2

Ben C says ...

The doctors call that Masochism, Jeff.

Posted by Ben C at June 16, 2008 1:55 PM

comment #3

sutter kane says ...

I got a tour of winston's special effects studio a few years ago and even saw him (but didn't get introduced, unfortunately), and it really was awe-inspiring to stand next to the full-size Arnold-Terminator model, and even more so the Predator. Jurrasic Park remains one of the most joyful moviegoing experiences I've had, not for a deeply moving or even intelligent story, but because it awakened in me the feelings of being eight years old again and knowing that dinosaurs were the coolest things that ever walked the earth. That was due as much to Winston as it was to Spielberg. His work on Carpenter's The Thing and, of course, Aliens is also legendary with horror fans like myself, and his directing work on Pumpkinhead is not without its merits. Very sad to hear of his passing.

On a slightly unrelated note, while taking that tour of his studios, we were given free reign to take photos of anything except works in progress and a full size model of the decomposing Lestat from Interview with the Vampire. Apparently this was a very specific request from Tom Cruise (or his people) and had something to do with controlling the use of his likeness. This was long before the guy went publicly off the deep end, but I was already halfway off his bandwagon thanks to that incident.

Posted by sutter kane at June 16, 2008 2:05 PM

comment #4

quitstaringatme says ...

This really bums me out. Looking at his list of credits is like looking at a list of the all-time great spectacle movies, at least during my lifetime.

Posted by quitstaringatme at June 16, 2008 2:11 PM

comment #5

Tibu0083 says ...

Sad, but what does the future hold.

Posted by Tibu0083 at June 16, 2008 2:13 PM

comment #6

Geoff says ...

I'd take THE LOST WORLD over A.I. any day.

But THE LOST WORLD is pure comedy. Goldblum is a caricature of himself. Everything is funny. Such a horrible film.

Posted by Geoff at June 16, 2008 2:13 PM

comment #7

monetnj says ...

Jeff,
EOnline.com is reporting the following as his cause of death:

"The Oscar-winning visual-effects and makeup guru died Sunday of multiple myeloma. He was 62, and had been battling the plasma cancer for seven years."

Sounds like he had been sick for some time.

Posted by monetnj at June 16, 2008 2:14 PM

comment #8

Howlingman says ...

Fuck cancer. Fuck it.

Posted by Howlingman at June 16, 2008 2:18 PM

comment #9

mrchriswell says ...

Not a well remembered movie, but Winston's make up for The Wiz was pretty extraordinary for its time. I mean, he couldn't turn Diana Ross into a 12-year-old girl, but even giant talents like Winston have their limits

Posted by mrchriswell at June 16, 2008 2:30 PM

comment #10

Rich S. says ...

One of my favorite Winston/Cameron stories was the fact that Fox would only give them the money to build something like 6 Aliens, including the Queen. Cameron and Winston, coming from the low budget indie ethic, were able to make those 6 Aliens look like hundreds.

Stan was one of the giants, right up there with Rick Baker, Ray Harryhausen, Jack Pierce and the like. His work on Iron Man shows that he had it right up to the very end. He will be sorely missed.

Posted by Rich S. at June 16, 2008 2:41 PM

comment #11

thorsen1nk says ...

This just blows, however you cut it.

Posted by thorsen1nk at June 16, 2008 2:47 PM

comment #12

giantman says ...

The man's work was an inspiration and his name associated with even the worst project, meant that at least the creature would be something to see. How many people can we say that about?

This is yet another sad and terrible day, too soon by far damn you death.

Posted by giantman at June 16, 2008 2:47 PM

comment #13

D.Z. says ...

Makes me wish I had shown up to see him at the Shrine a while back. R.I.P. to Winston and quality creature-shop FX.

Posted by D.Z. at June 16, 2008 2:48 PM

comment #14

dangovich says ...

Winston's T-Rex blew those CGI dinosaurs off the screen. What a great artist. RIP.

Posted by dangovich at June 16, 2008 2:52 PM

comment #15

dixiedugan says ...

Cancer does suck, and multiple myeloma...no thank you.

He did such a good job on Aliens that when my boyfriend (now husband) took me to see it I actually went and hid in the bathroom for fifteen or twenty minutes. I was grossed out and had that pit of the stomach just a little unnerved shit going on. He did a damn good job. Two years later I finally watched it all the way thru and marveled at his work.

Innovators are few and far between - he and his skills will be missed.

Posted by dixiedugan at June 16, 2008 2:53 PM

comment #16

Dan Revill says ...

He will be missed. RIP good sir.

Posted by Dan Revill at June 16, 2008 3:33 PM

comment #17

GonePostal says ...

This is rough news to hear. I remember first watching The Terminator as a kid and having close to no idea what it was about. All I know is that when we first got a look at what was underneath Arnie's fake skin, I was terrified. That metal skull with the mirthless, evil skull was as iconic to me as as Vader's helmet. As sad as his passing is, we should be thankful that such an imagination was around for us to witness, and we can be sure that he inspired potential FX wizards and storytellers. While his loss will be felt deeply, he left a mark that will last for a long, long time.

Posted by GonePostal at June 16, 2008 3:37 PM

comment #18

Howlingman says ...

One of the most memorable screenings I ever attended was ALIENS at Toronto's Uptown theater -- every Saturday night they'd run old genre flicks for the midnight crowd.

The scene where Ripley and Newt are locked inside the medical room with two facehuggers, the shot, when Newt backs into a corner screaming and we (not she) see a facehugger crawling towards her from behind, a woman two rows down started shrieking bloody murder, and actually RAN screaming from her seat.

That is why Stan Winston rocked and why he will be missed. Great craftsmanship in service of story.

Posted by Howlingman at June 16, 2008 3:38 PM

comment #19

joemart says ...

Very sad news indeed.

I had the opportunity to meet Stan several times. One time we discussed A.I. SPOLIER ALERT ---------- I asked him about the ending, "---where the aliens come upon a frozen HJO and revive him.

"Aliens!", said Stan. "Those weren't aliens, they were robots. You're the hundredth person to make that same mistake. Steven wanted them to look like aliens, but figured everyone would know they were robots. I tried to get him to change his mind but he wouldn't budge. Since Steven doesn't test his movies, by the time it was released and people mentioned the "aliens", Steven finally realized his mistake."

RIP Stan.

Posted by joemart at June 16, 2008 4:17 PM

comment #20

KeithNYC says ...

Terrible news,

I'll never the forget the experience of watching "Aliens" when I was 11 years old. It was on of the most visceral movie-going experiences of my life and Winston was a big part of it.

Then in 93, the first time I saw the T-Rex and that roar. Just an indelible moment.

What a magician. Rest in Peace.

Posted by KeithNYC at June 16, 2008 5:44 PM

comment #21

Drew says ...

Stan was amazing. One of my first jobs in the industry was as an on-set assistant on EDWARD SCISSORHANDS while it was shooting in Florida, and I got to watch Winston work every day. Amazing.

One correction, sutterkane: Winston didn't do THE THING. That was Rob Bottin, another true genius in this field.

Posted by Drew at June 16, 2008 6:09 PM

comment #22

Rich S. says ...

Sorry, Drew. Check out the documentary on the new deluxe edition of The Thing. Stan Winston did indeed help out with some of the special effects. If I remember correctly, he primarily did the possessed dog in the kennel.

Bottin was the SFX supervisor, though.

Posted by Rich S. at June 16, 2008 7:20 PM

comment #23

theprisoner6 says ...

James Cameron wrote to Harry Knowles about Stan passing away:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37109

Posted by theprisoner6 at June 16, 2008 8:47 PM

comment #24

messiahcomplexio says ...

you made movies better.

R.I.P. Sir.

Posted by messiahcomplexio at June 16, 2008 10:16 PM

comment #25

theprisoner6 says ...

The same link now has messages from Frank Darabont and Jon Favreau:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37109

Posted by theprisoner6 at June 16, 2008 10:17 PM

comment #26

moorish says ...

Rest in peace, Mr Winston. What an amazing body of work to leave behind, and a true legend. Such a shame.

Err, Jeff, just because I'm a pedant: Iron Man is two words. Sorry.

Posted by moorish at June 17, 2008 1:22 AM

comment #27

DavidF says ...

Rich S beat me too it above but it's amazing that the "horrific army" in Aliens was actually like 6 guys in suits.

The good news, for what it's worth is that Winston wasn't some obscure, unsung hero. People who care at all about these movies or FX know who he was and all the amazing things he did.

The fact that so much of his stellar work was with people like Spielberg and a perfectionist like Cameron is just more proof (as if it's needed) of how talented and revolutionary he was.

Posted by DavidF at June 17, 2008 7:27 AM

comment #28

Edward says ...

Stan, thanks for all the scares, chills and thrills. You left the world a better place by your craft and art.

Posted by Edward at June 20, 2008 11:57 PM

comment #29

dd says ...

Rest in peace, Mr Winston. What an amazing body of work to leave behind, and a true legend. Such a shame

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Posted by dd at May 10, 2010 11:24 PM

comment #30

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comment #31

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comment #32