Stan Winston
I am greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Stan Winston. I don’t think it’s too much to say that his creature designs changed and extended the realm of the possible in movies, and provided the hook, the fuel and the content of, literally, millions of dreams and nightmares.
I once came close to working with him on a project and his designs were, without exception, creative, inspiring, efficient and excellent. They were easily ten times more cool than the script that I had written and they made me wish I could start over again to better serve his work.
We lose titans, we gain those who stand on their shoulders, thus is life.
Seems a curious coincidence that Winston died on the same day you got to Jurassic Park, his first major collaboration with Spielberg and a film that contains some of his best work in a career littered with stunning achievements.
what was worse than finding out that he died was having to explain who he was to like 4 friends.
You are SO right!
It bugged me that there was only 1 other person in my office of 15 people who understood what this meant! So much effort and energy is spent on the latest rehab/hook-up/break-up story, that people like Stan Winston go virtually unnoticed! It’s a crime and a shame.
-T.
You monster!
So…. that’s two. I wonder who the third will be.
I’m saddened by this even though I have no real sense of who he was personally.
I was probably there for the first, but please do refresh my memory as who that was…
I was thinking of Tim Russert.
The third appears to be Cyd Charisse.
So the plot cookie crumbles thicker…
Ahh, they always crack in the end.
I sincerely hope that as the pioneers and legends of special effects pass on, the knowledge of practical effects does not go with them. Computer have certain;y revolutionized movie special effects, but I still think the best work in movies uses a combination of the practical and the computer generated, grounding the visuals in reality and then enhancing it with computer work.
Stan Winston will certainly be missed and his work will live on, even if audiences don’t know the person behind the wonder they feel.
I’m certain that the art of practical effects will not go away. It is, in a very real way, the essence of show business itself. As show business relates to magic — creating emotion through illusion — people like Stan Winston will always be needed.
Sad news indeed!
The Alien Queen must be the greatest creature ever created. And used to perfection by Cameron.
My thoughts are with his family
I actually just watched the movie and I cannot believe that these effects have not aged at all. Amazing work this man did. I cannot think of any movie that has surpassed this work to this date.
Yeah, the physical effects of Jurassic Park look absolutely fantastic, they never fail to impress me.