2015 (Production)

2015-11-24 (Production)

English (Original)

Interviewee: Rick Baker
Interviewer: Michael Mallory

Professional production

United States

Academy Award winning make up and effects artist Rick Baker is interviewed by Michael Mallory at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, California in 2015. Baker discusses his commitment to the craft of make-up and effects from an early age and shares his evolution over the course of his career of more than 50 years. He sheds light on aspects of his own creative process, as well as traditional industry techniques. Baker details his work on films from OCTAMAN (1971) to MALEFICENT (2014).

Academy Award winning make up and effects artist Rick Baker is interviewed by Michael Mallory at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, California on November 24, 2015. Baker begins with his childhood in Covina, California, commandeering the oven to make early pancake masks and working with his father to create his first plaster-of-Paris life mask. He conveys his parents’ support of his passion, surrendering first the master bedroom then the newly installed deck to his monster-making efforts. Baker narrates his path to learning makeup and mask techniques, hungrily absorbing the available monster magazines and technical books, learning about more professional techniques and materials from local CBS editor Bob Burns. He recalls contacting his hero, makeup artist Dick Smith, before a family trip to New York, spending a day receiving tips and trade secrets from Smith and beginning a life-long mentorship. After briefly attending *Mount Sack Community College to avoid the Vietnam War draft, Baker describes his first job creating the central monster for the low budget feature OCTAMAN (1971) with Doug Beswick. He explains his fascination with making ape suits, expounding on the longer lineage of on-screen ape performers, espousing his respect for Charles Gemora and telling how he studied the animals at the Los Angeles zoo. He tracks his work creating and performing apes, including his first collaboration with John Landis on SCHLOCK (1973); entering the Screen Actors Guild on THE THING WITH TWO HEADS (1972); delving into his role in the contentious Dino De Laurentiis-produced KING KONG (1976) competing against Carlos Lombardi and his robot Kong of greatly exaggerated functionality; as well as later works like GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES (1984), GORILLAS IN THE MIST (1988), and Tim Burton’s PLANET OF THE APES (2001). Baker explains his process for many of his notable works, including AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981), MICHAEL JACKSON: THRILLER (1983), the Men in Black trilogy, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996) and its sequels. He shares why Harry from HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS (1987) is still one of his proudest accomplishments. Baker describes how digital techniques have shifted the business and how CGI (computer generated imagery) contributed to his decision to finally retire, though not before giving his expertise as a consultant on the CGI work on THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008). Baker explains the nature of his role in the iconic Universal monster reboot WOLFMAN (2010), including his ultimate vindication when the film won an Academy Award after being second-guessed and dismissed while it was in production. He closes showing a few examples of props he brought from his collection and explaining the working dynamics at his studio, Cinovation, prior to its close in 2015.

Rick Baker (born 1950) is a seven-time Academy Award winning makeup and visual effects artist, often called “Monster Maker” for his iconic creations for AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981), the MICHAEL JACKSON: THRILLER video (1983), HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS (1987), and MEN IN BLACK (1997). As a teen growing up in Covina, California, Baker corresponded with makeup and effects master Dick Smith which led to an uncredited job assisting Smith on THE EXORCIST (1973). Baker worked with George Lucas to create additional aliens and the band for the famous Cantina scene in STAR WARS (1977), predicting his later work on the Men in Black trilogy. He was awarded the first Oscar given for Best Makeup in 1982 for his work on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON; and he has created variations of the werewolf several times, winning an Oscar for THE WOLFMAN (2010), a reimagining of the classic Universal monster. Other Oscar wins include HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS, ED WOOD (1994), THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996), MEN IN BLACK (1998) and HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000). He received Best Makeup nominations for GREYSTOKE (1984), COMING TO AMERICA (1988), LIFE (1999) and NORBIT (2007), as well as for Best Visual Effects for MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1998). Baker has designed (and performed as) gorillas many times throughout his career, including KING KONG (1976), GORILLAS IN THE MIST (1988), MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1998), and Tim Burton’s reboot of PLANET OF THE APES (2001). Baker was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 by the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. He closed his Cinovation Studios shop and retired in 2015.

Films discussed:
THE EXORCIST (1973)
AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)
KING KONG (1976)
IT’S ALIVE (1974)

Additional people discussed:
Dick Smith
Boris Karloff
Max Von Sydow

Additional places discussed:
Iraq

General:
B-Movies
Hollywood Trade Unions
Mold Mask Making

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