Tribute to the ‘father’ of T-Rex
V. GANGADHAR
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Special effects expert Stan Winston, who won accolades for his creations in films such as ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘Aliens’ and ‘Predator,’ passed away recently.
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Special effects: (Clockwise from top) Stan Winston shown working on a dinosaur for Jurassic Park, and some of his handiwork such as T-Rex and the Terminator.
Was Stan Winston the greatest-ever Hollywood special effects expert? Well, the records say so: Four Oscars for special effects and the only man in his field to be honoured with a star in the Hollywood Boulevard.
He created some of the most fearsome and fantastic creatures which kept audiences at the edge of their seats. He was the ‘father’ of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex and many of its terrifying companions which stepped out of the pages of the palaeontology texts into Hollywood history.
Brought to the screen by Steven Spielberg in ‘Jurassic Park,’ it fetched an Oscar for Winston who died at his Malibu, California home, recently. He was 62. Winston used foam rubber, modern electronics and powerful motors, to create scary creatures (for which he received more Oscars) for films such as ‘Aliens,’ ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’
Nominations and awards
Winston was also nominated for films such as ‘Predator’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence.’ Working for the TV earned him five Emmy nominations and two awards. Winton’s greatest quality, as pointed out by Spielberg, was that he understood exactly what the director wanted and delivered it. His innovation was wonderful but never went beyond the needs of the plot and the approach of the director. Though considered to be innovative and imaginative, Winston was more of a modeller, technician or engineer.
A modest man, Winston put story-telling above everything including technical gimmicks. He once explained, “Technology is not about everything. It’s about writers writing wonderful stories with fantastic characters and me able to create a visual image that is beyond what you would expect.” But the hint of genius was always there in his creations. The unexpected would leap on the audience from out of the screen, in his films. Remember the extraterrestrial assassin who hunts hero Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Predator’ or the Penguin, from neck up in ‘Batman Returns’?
As a boy, Winston was fascinated with puppets, monster movies and special effects. Disneyland was a favourite haunt. Winston, after getting a degree in Art from Virginia University, set out to Hollywood and qualified for the Walt Disney apprenticeship programme.
He became a make-up artist, winning Emmy Awards for ‘Gargoyle’ and ‘The Autobiography of Jean Pillman’ where the lead character was shown ageing from 19 to 110! In the early 1980s, Winston worked for James Cameron, director of ‘Aliens’ and the ‘Terminator’ movies and his creepy creations inspired many imitations.
Directed a film
Winston, in 1988 directed his own film, ‘Pumpkinhead.’
His successful association with the dinosaurs continued in ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park,’ and ‘Jurassic Park III.’ Winston was versatile. For HBO, he produced five films. His ‘Creature Features’ was a tribute to the pioneers of cheap horror movies of the 1950s and he also started the Stan Winston Creatures Toy Company. But continued, the more recent ones being, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. As for unreleased movies, these were, ‘Terminator Salvation,’ ‘The Future Begins,’ ‘G.I. Joe’ and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar.’
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