seaneth

Credit: Empireonline.com

Stan Winston – one of the true greats of special effects – has died of cancer at the age of 62.

The legendary Winston passed away at his home on Sunday night, as first reported by AICN, following a seven-year battle with multiple myeloma.

"Stan died peacefully at home surrounded by family," said a spokeswoman for his company, Stan Winston Studio, in a statement released to the Los Angeles Times.

Winston was, quite simply, responsible for some of the most iconic practical FX creations of the past 30 years.

To reel off a list of Winston creations is to produce a shopping list of some of the biggest and best creatures in movie history, from the Terminator exo-skeleton (who can forget that first shot of the terrifying machine rising from the flames?) to the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and its sequels, the Predator, the Alien Queen, Edward Scissorhands, the astonishing Teddy (from A.I. Artificial Intelligence), and of course, Pumpkinhead, the titular star of Winston's directorial debut. He was, and we can say this without fear of contradiction, a genius.

Most recently he, through his studio, was heavily involved in the creation of the Iron Man suit, while he was also working on Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Perhaps his greatest achievement, along with the likes of Rick Baker, WETA’s Richard Taylor and Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger over at KNB, was in fighting for and ensuring that practical effects had their place in an industry where the emphasis is placed increasingly on flashy CG bells and whistles.

Winston was born on the 7th April, 1946, in Richmond, Virginia. He moved to Hollywood in 1968, initially with designs on becoming an actor. However, when no work was forthcoming, he became an apprentice in the Make-Up Department at Walt Disney Studios.

Quickly adjusting to his new career, he founded Stan Winston Studio in 1972, winning an Emmy for his work on the TV movie, Gargoyles. He was nominated for his first Oscar in 1982, for the movie Heartbeeps. He went on to win his first Oscar in 1987, for his amazing work on James Cameron’s Aliens (his connection with Cameron had, of course, been established several years before). In total, he won four Oscars – two for Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and one for his groundbreaking work on Jurassic Park.

He was also only the second special effects artist to have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and was, by all accounts, a great guy to know. This reporter interviewed him only once – in 2001, for A.I. – but found him to be gracious, charming and, importantly, humble, often making it seem that the work he was pulling off was somehow easy.

His loss will be keenly felt throughout the industry. Rest in peace, Stan

Kinzdone

That is sad news. Very sad. We've lost one of the true pioneers and geniuses of not just cinema, but of our time as well. He, and later with his studio, worked on so many films that define people's generations and movie experiences like, but not limited to, 'Predator 1/2', 'Aliens', 'Terminator 1/2/3', 'Jurassic Park 1/2/3' and of course 'Iron Man'.
He also worked on many films, as a helping hand, that until recently I had no notion he was involved with, like 'The Thing'.
It seems ironic that he would pass away during a project that echoes his first major triumph, 'Terminator'. I think its' title 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins' speaks a lot for the beginning of a new future in effects guided in no small part by Winston's legacy, tenacity and vision.

It still seems incredible to me that when I mention to people that someone has worked on this film and that film and his influence is felt, that most people just watch the movie and have no idea who did what and what those people's relation is to cinema as a whole or to other movies. They just watch the film and thats it. Paying no attention to even the director at times.
They don't recognise the stylistic, content or theme cohesion of films and just can't see the connection between films like Verhoeven's 'Total Recall' and 'Robocop'.
Which to me is wierd because they are so obviously set in the same kind of 'world'.

What I am trying to say is a lot of people I know are just going to say, "oh...he died, eh? Who's he then..?" -

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"...the movie you see isn't my movie or the director's movie, its the viewer's movie. How they see it and interpret it from what we have done..." Rutger Hauer.

seaneth

^^ Totally agree, and I've had the same response from everyone who I have told. "Who's Stan Winston?" It's a shame, and personally I think an injustice, that people know the character (Predator, Alien etc) But don't know who created/designed it.

Another great point, although I think the passing of Stan is another blow for practical FX. CGI will one day be the sole way to create effects; just look at the new Indiana Jones: they even CGI'ed ants..

Stan and his amazing visions for effects will be greatly (and visibly) missed.

RIP Stan.

Cinexcellence

R.I.P.

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Kinzdone

Yeh, well I guess you can't blame the general public for not being inclined to get that deeply into films, but it is a shame, you're right.
"just look at the new Indiana Jones: they even CGI'ed ants.. "
Seriously, 'cos real ants are so hard to find!
Still, I don't know what context they were used in, wether it be eating a person or just running over the ground.

__________________
"...the movie you see isn't my movie or the director's movie, its the viewer's movie. How they see it and interpret it from what we have done..." Rutger Hauer.

Escape

Fu*king cancer seems to be getting everyone these days.

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"Of course, he was a Harvard graduate. That might be grounds for justifiable homicide."

Kinzdone

Thats true. I don't know the real figures, but it seems to be on the rise.

__________________
"...the movie you see isn't my movie or the director's movie, its the viewer's movie. How they see it and interpret it from what we have done..." Rutger Hauer.