Stan Winston RIP
Oh dear, some more bad news. At the risk of sounding selfish, I’m particularly sad about this as he actually came and did a NFT event a couple of years ago and I didn’t go figuring he’d come back at some point – just shows you eh? Carpe Diem and all that, it’s my birthday today so I’m feeling a bit maudlin, OK?. Still, 62 seems very young for a film creative who has given us some of the most memorable creature designs of the past thirty or so years. I was fortunate enough to see a print of ‘Aliens‘ at Abbey Road studios a couple of years ago as part of season of films that had been scored there and the film stands up very well against todays CGI saturated blockbusters.
Some bloggers have quite rightly pointed out that his job was especially difficult and his achievements all the more spectacular given his work in the SF, horror and fantasy film genres. Production designers working in other genres will have a whole host of reference and support materials to aid them in their vision when you think about it. If you have to construct a believable 1950’s Manhattan apartment for example then you have a number of architectural journals, fashion, design and periodical magazines, photographs, films and TV of the era for reference, inspiration and to assist with accuaracy. In Winston’s case you have to envisage, develop and build something that has never been, never existed (OK, apart from Dinosaurs but still) and make them convincing and breathe life into them on screen – no small task given the ratio of successful versus laughable designs that have littered the movies since ‘King Kong‘.
So finally here is a celebration of the great mans work which like many others have helped inform my cinematic childhood. Winston always was more of straight-forward fantasist rather than the splatter masters Rob Bottin and Tom Savini who are his foremost peers in my humble opinion. It’s also interesting to speculate on what his passing will have on one of the most eagerly anticipated projects of the last ten years which should hopefully, finally be with us next year.
Minty's Menagerie 
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