In Contention

Tag: Rick Baker

  • COMIC-CON: It all ends

    Well, like I said. Another year, another Con.

    For a convention I expected to be a bit more laid-back than usual, it sure was anything but. I guess I put that on myself by hustling back to LA for a concert and back down again to wrap things up, but even having covered just a sliver of the event (compared to the thorough coverage from outlets with multiple on-hand correspondents, who do it so well), boy am I glad it’s over.

    If you’ve read the coverage then you know my extended thoughts, but here’s a recap nevertheless.

    The highlight of the entire weekend was, for me, finally seeing Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” The film is an invigorating experience, an artful meditation that takes the most simplistic of narratives and turns it into a thorough character study.

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  • COMIC-CON: Rick Baker, a fan like the rest

    My first panel of this year’s convention was a delightful focus on makeup artist Rick Baker, who is coming off his seventh Oscar win for last year’s “The Wolfman.” He drew a nice crowd of die-hards at the Hilton Bayfront’s Indigo Ballroom, which let out a massive cheer when moderator Geoff Boucher of Hero Complex quipped, “Congratulations for not being at the ‘Twilight’ panel.”

    Ostensibly Baker was on hand as a bit of early buzz-stirring for Sony’s “Men in Black III,” and we got some great glimpses of the makeup work on the film. Baker said he was “so glad” to get the call from Barry Sonnenfeld, but when it came to expanding on the work he’s already done on the series, it took some thinking.

    “Everyone always says, ‘We want to see aliens like we’ve never seen before,’” he said. “But it’s a little hard now. Back when I did the ‘Star Wars’ Cantina scene, it was a lot different.”

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  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The makeup of ‘Barney’s Version,’ ‘The Way Back’ and ‘The Wolfman’

    As we have noted a number of times, the makeup branch is one of the Academy’s most independently minded. While many people have criticized them in the past for bestowing the moniker “Oscar nominee” on many mediocre (or worse) films, the makeup artists clearly seem to take the work into account regardless of perceived film “quality.”

    This year, they proved their originality once again by nominating three films which did not manage nominations in any other category. The graceful and realistic aging in “Barney’s Version,” the ultra-realistic results of a battle with nature in “The Way Back” and the transformation of Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins (not to mention a plethora of blood) in “The Wolfman” made up the slate.

    I recently spoke with makeup department heads from all three of the nominated films – “Barney’s Version”’s Adrien Morot, “The Way Back”’s Edouard Henriques (nominated with Greg Funk and Yolanda Touessing), and “The Wolfman”’s Rick Baker (nominated with Dave Elsey).

    For Baker, a 12-time nominee and six-time winner, the journey on “The Wolfman” began very early. “I did something I don’t normally do,” he says. “When I heard Universal was going to do a remake of ‘The Wolfman,’ I kind of begged. I said, ‘I really have to do this movie.’ It didn’t make for the best negotiating position but I was one of the first hired on the film.”  The chance to update his own take on the genre 30 years earlier in “An American Werewolf in London” was clearly too difficult to pass up.

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  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Makeup

    The makeup branch of the Academy has often been criticized for making “Oscar nominees” of artistically dubious films. But I submit that it’s one of the bravest and noblest branches, sticking properly by the point of their task: to single out the greatest achievement in their field, no matter the other factors.

    This year’s line-up is a clear indication of as much. Each nominee is unique to this category, having not been recognized in any other field. The variety of work is also compelling, including realism and fantasy in equal measure. But the branch once again turned its back on a number of more gruesome makeup depictions this year, which seems to be a hurdle yet to be cleared.

    The nominees are:

    “Barney’s Version” (Adrien Morot)
    “The Way Back” (Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng)
    “The Wolfman” (Rick Baker and Dave Elsey)

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume II

    As I said last week (and have said several times before), no category is year-in and-year-out more perplexing than Best Makeup. Each year, this branch finds ways to turn otherwise dubious awards contenders into bona fide Oscar nominees — dubious because often nominees might be abysmal or relatively obscure.  The branch seems to have its favorites – like Greg Cannom and Rick Baker – but nevertheless manages to snub them sometimes when they seem sure bets.

    The category remains the sole remnant of the bake-off system, where the field is narrowed to seven and the nominees chosen from that collective.  Year after year, shocking omissions occur in both rounds.

    As I stated last time, despite the general weirdness of this category, we can put some traits as more likely to be embraced than others – aging, prosthetics and illness likely top the list. Also, while the category technically rewards both hairstyling and makeup, it rarely seems to concentrate on the former (“The Young Victoria” last year is a notable exception).  So all that having been established, what do I expect to see in contention this year?

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Makeup — Volume I

    Makeup and hairstyling builds characters by transforming actors with realism or imagination that would otherwise be lacking on the screen. With the announcement that the Best Visual Effects is expanding to include five nominees this year, Best Makeup now remains the sole category to have three nominees, chosen from a “bake-off” of seven finalists which are revealed in advance of the January nominations announcement.

    This award tends to cite so many different aspects that it is difficult to pin down exactly what the branch looks for. However, aging and illness are certainly well regarded, as are the creation of blood and injuries, disfigurement and turning actors into monsters and other fantastical beings.

    It should be remembered that this category awards both makeup and hairstyling. However, last year’s nomination for “The Young Victoria” is a rare example of where the hairstyling portion of the category apparently played a significant role. Traditionally, facial and body makeup is far more important.

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  • Rick Baker ‘Wolfman’ featurette

  • 2/12 Oscarweb Round-up

    Rick Baker• Steve Weintraub sits down with likely the only major Oscar play for forthcoming flop “The Wolfman,” Rick Baker. [Collider]

    • Guy Adams on “Crazy Heart”‘s crazy trip to the screen. [The Independent]

    • Harvey Weinstein is pretty damn sure “Inglourious Basterds” is winning Best Picture. [Notes on a Season]

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  • ‘The Wolf Man’ moves to 2010

    Benicio Del Toro in The Wolf ManThis is kind of a bummer.  I was actually really looking forward to “The Wolf Man,” starring Benicio Del Toro in the classic monster role and sure to be a showcase for makeup artist Rick Baker (not to mention design heads Rick Heinrichs and Milena Canonero.

    Today we get this, courtesy of ShockTillYouDrop.com:

    You’ll have to wait a bit longer to see Benicio Del Toro howl at the moon as The Wolfman.

    Universal Pictures is pushing the film out of its November 6th slot and placing it on February 12, 2010. That’s one week after the release of the creature feature The Cabin in the Woods by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon.

    We can’t tell you exactly why Universal has made the shift. It could be due to the additional shooting that occurred earlier this year that reportedly involved FX artist Rick Baker. The radical release date bumps (original from April to November now next year) don’t bode well buzz-wise. Here’s hoping for the best!

    Ah well. Update your predictions, I guess, but it’s a shame this couldn’t be positioned as a Halloween event.

  • Rick Baker talks ‘Wolf Man’

    Benicio Del Toro in The WolfmanCapone of Ain’t It Cool News cornered makeup effects artist Rick Baker at Comic-Con yesterday to discuss the upcoming Benicio Del Toro starrer “The Wolf Man.” It’s a dream project for the prosthetics wizard behind films such as “The Nutty Professor,” “Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Planet of the Apes” and Capone got some solid quotes out of the guy.

    Like this bit about how Baker seems to have felt somewhat slighted on the set by those who, in a nutshell, don’t understand that he’s the shit:

    …it was sometimes strange how I was treated…sometimes they would shoot scenes using my work when I wasn’t even there…Other times when I was there if I try to look at the monitor, someone would literally stand in my way and block it. On other films, I’m usually right there side by side with the director at the monitor. It was strange…Maybe I’m just getting too old to do this anymore. I mean, I love making these movies, but if it’s going to be like this from now on…

    And this aside regarding the return of practical effects as a staple for filmmakers shunning the abuse of CGI:

    I think CGI absolutely has a place in filmmaking. I dabble in it myself; I like creating shit. But when I sought out this job, I actually did a makeup test on myself, just put the applications on my face and videotaped it and sent it in… It certainly easier to get better performances from the actors using more practical effects. If they’re supposed to be looking at some awesome landscape or some other kind of environment, and all they’re seeing is green screen, you notice the change in the acting, like with the last three STAR WARS films.

    It’s a solid interview well worth the read.  This is, after all, the guy who put the Best Makeup Oscar on the map when the award was created specially for his work in “An American Werewolf in London.”  Personally, seven years later, I’m still shocked he was snubbed for his work in “Planet of the Apes.”

    And if “The Wolf Man” is a dream job for him, you better believe it’ll be a dream movie for fans of his handiwork.  Suffice it to say, 2009 has a bona fide contender for Best Makeup waiting in the wings.