Visual Effects supremo Stan winston has died.

[Battlestar]

from AICN



http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37106

Published on Monday, June 16, 2008 - 12:46pm
We have reports that Stan Winston died last night...
Hey guys. Quint here with some absolutely horrible news. We had an unsubstantiated email come in about 20 minutes ago telling us that Stan Winston passed away last night. I couldn’t find any reference to it online at the AP wire, Variety, CNN or anywhere, so I figured it wasn’t true.

Then a second email came in, which made my heart drop into my stomach, a new person saying the same thing, without any backup. I asked for clarification and got it, so I got on the phone with a friend of mine who knows Winston and got the confirmation.








The father of the dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK, of THE TERMINATOR, of PUMPKINHEAD and PREDATOR and the Monsters in MONSTER SQUAD and, of course, ALIENS, has passed on.

The man is a legend and created legends. He himself a God in his own right, sculpting Icons that will be remembered as long as people with imagination deem it prudent to tell stories to an audience.








He was a leader in practical effects work, having given opportunity to all top effects leaders today. Winston idolized the people that came before him in the field, like Ray Harryhausen, and sought to make his own iconography, inspiring yet more to follow in his lead.

The picture below is of Ray Harryhausen getting his star on the Hollywood walk of fame, something that Winston was instrumental in making happen. Also pictured is another effects legend, Rick Baker, and director Frank Darabont.








I have one quick anecdote to share. I’m a big MONSTER SQUAD fan and have spoken with many people involved, including Tom Woodruff who worked with Winston on the effects and was even the man in the Gillman suit, as well as the cast and crew and a funny story involving Winston came out of that.

Apparently, he oversaw the film, but gave his sculptors freedom to create the creatures, so as a gag, they sculpted up Wolf Man to look exactly like Stan. Now, I never heard if he saw himself in it, but I do know that he loved it and the final version in the movie IS werewolf Stan Winston.








He won Oscars for his make-up and visual effects work on ALIENS, TERMINATOR 2 and JURASSIC PARK and was nominated for his work HEARTBEEPS, PREDATOR, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BATMAN RETURNS, THE LOST WORLD and AI.

And he wasn't done yet. His practical work on IRON MAN is a huge part of what made the film a success.

There’s a part of me that really hopes all this is some kind of giant misunderstanding. I hope this report is in error, but I’ve gotten too many confirmations now to not mention it.

We can only hope that his memory is done justice by Stan Winston Studios and they keep creating icons for generations to come.

My thoughts are with Mr. Winston’s friends, family and fans.

[CrazyHorse]

What the...??!!??

Can't quite believe this, but it does appear to be true.

Absolutely gutted! I've been a long time admirer of his work, from his earlier prosthetic make-up to the development of incredibly life-like animatronic creations. Winston was a huge talent and a gifted artist and technician.

A very sad loss.

[PoochJD]

Hi,

This does appear to be true, and strong news seems to be that the man died from Cancer of some kind, earlier today (June 15th).

If this turns out to be true, and I think it probably is, nothing other than the word "genius" can do justice to describing this man, and the legacy of work he has left behind, and all of the effects he has created for some of the most legendary movies of all time. I cannot describe my feelings, and all I can say is that my best wishes go to Mr Winston's immediate family, relatives and friends. He will be sorely missed, and I hope that a fitting tribute will be prepared as a permanent memorial of some kind to a man who's work has had a lasting affect on so many moviegoers around the globe.

Stan Winston - All the members, moderators and readers of the AV Forums hereby salute you for your work. May you Rest in Eternal Peace, and that the after-life is the happiest and most pleasurable special effect you shall ever experience.

For those of you who haven't heard of, or seen Mr Winston's work, examples can be seen in:

- The 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special
- Heartbeeps
- The Thing
- The Terminator
- Friday The 13th Part 3D (aka Part III)
- Aliens
- Edward Scissorhands
- Predator
- Alien Nation
- The Monster Squad
- Leviathan
- Predator 2
- Pumpkinhead (He was director of the film as well)
- A Gnome Named Gnorm
- Batman Returns
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Jurassic Park
- Interview With The Vampire
- The Ghost And The Darkness
- Congo
- Ghosts
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Small Soldiers
- Lake Placid
- End Of Days
- Pearl Harbour
- AI: Artificial Intelligence
- Jurassic Park III
- TV Movie Remakes of "Earth Vs The Spider", "How To Make A Monster", "The Day The World Ended", "The She-Creature", and "Teenage Cave Man"
- When Darkness Falls
- Big Fish
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- Wrong Turn
- Constantine
- Iron Man
- Jurassic Park IV (To be confirmed)
- The Suffering (To be confirmed. Movie to be based on the horror video game.)
- Black Mountain (To be confirmed.)
- Avatar (To be confirmed.)
- Terminator 4 (To be confirmed.)


Winston was also nominated multiple times and won several Academy Awards.
1982: Oscar Nomination For Best Makeup: Heartbeeps
1987: Won Oscar For Best Visual Effects: Aliens
1988: Oscar Nomination For Best Visual Effects: Predator
1991: Oscar Nomination For Best Makeup: Edward Scissorhands
1992: Won 2 Oscars - Best Visual Effects & Best Makeup: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1993: Oscar Nomination For Best Makeup: Batman Returns
1994: Won Oscar For Best Visual Effects: Jurassic Park
1998: Oscar Nomination For Best Visual Effects: The Lost World: Jurassic Park
2002: Oscar Nomination For Best Visual Effects: A.I.


Pooch

[raigraphixs]

is this for real

OMG no way he's a legend, im in shock. Only 62.

I have one of his books The Winston Effect: The Art & History of Stan Winston Studio on my table as i love his work and dedication to fx.

I hoping this is not true. RIP stan if it is.

[PoochJD]

Hi,

Alas, it does now appear to be true. Stories are starting to appear on US news websites. Just found this.


Pooch

[raigraphixs]

Originally Posted by PoochJD

Hi,

Alas, it does now appear to be true. Stories are starting to appear on US news websites. Just found this.


Pooch

yes its on all those 'movie' sites, BUT not on any US news 'entertainment' websites, that is strange.

[Hugh]

Very sad news indeed

The man was a legend. At least we will have his films. One of the few guys where you followed his work, regardless of the film's director. It was always a "The new Stan Winston film."

He'll be sorely missed.

[DVD-Man]

Not often it's said that people have died and it ain't true so thinking the worst.

Stan was a Legend and always will be, the people who worked with him hopefully can carry on a little of his magic.

Liam

[BULL3T_OR_BLADE]

Sad news indeed, both him and Jim Henson were legends. Hope his workshop carries on like Hensons did....

[PoochJD]

Hi Raigraphixs,

Originally Posted by raigraphixs

yes its on all those 'movie' sites, BUT not on any US news 'entertainment' websites, that is strange.

Probably because a) most news sites don't know (or don't care) who Stan Winston is/was, or b) because he wasn't a celebrity, it's not significant enough news for them to bother reporting his passing.

I suspect that most media agencies (BBC, CNN, Teletext, Associated Press will mention his passing (if it is true) tomorrow, in one form or another, once it has been officially confirmed in some way, by Mr Winston's family, business organisation, or agent. (Do SFX peeps have agents dealing with this kind of PR stuff?! )

Certainly, the major movie sites (IMDB, et al) will have it confirmed by late tonight, or by early tomorrow morning, because of its significance to movie fans around the world. Mr Winston was one of very few SFX guru's who could really, really do some jaw-dropping stuff (Other names might include Tom Savini, Phil Tippett, and/or Rick Baker). Bear in mind, the US is about 5-8 hours behind us, so with his death being first mooted around 7pm British Summer Time, it probably won't make most major US websites till very late tonight, in our country.


Pooch

[raigraphixs]

CNN, USAToday and Variety, LA Times are running the sad news.


Seems to be suffering from the cancer 'Multiple myeloma' (also known as myeloma or plasma cell myeloma) is a progressive hematologic (blood) disease. It is a cancer of the plasma cell, an important part of the immune system that produces immunoglobulins (antibodies) to help fight infection and disease.



http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/...ton-obit_N.htm

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/....ap/index.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ente...inston-de.html

[stuart1976]

A true Wizard taken before his time.

RIP.

[Paul_T]

Sad news indeed.

RIP Stan, you will be missed.

[raigraphixs]

Im hoping like Dark Knight and Ledger that Terminator 4 is dedicated to Stan, and other upcoming projects he has started.

Im sure when things are clearer, Arnold will have some words to say, as the news must off hit Stan Winston's close friends hard.




If you havent already, i recommend getting his 336 page book which showcases is amazing work.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winston-Effe.../dp/1845761502




.

[MrFurious]

R.I.P Stan.

thanks for your great creations and scaring me through my childhood and teen years

gutted