Stan Winston Is Gone

By Ray DeRousse / June 25, 2011

When you think about the hacks, vultures, and whores that spill over the top of the Hollywood puke bucket, you really begin to appreciate a man like STAN WINSTON. As a technological visionary, his foresight and talent is nearly unmatched in the long history of cinema. As a person, he was positive, optimistic, and boundlessly energetic. In other words, he was a class act in a classless business.

The mere mention of his credits elicits awe and childlike glee among movie fans: TERMINATOR 2, JURASSIC PARK,PREDATOR, ALIEN NATION, ALIENS,EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and IRON MAN. His creations in these films - the T-Rex, the Alien Queen, the red-eyed Terminator exoskeleton, and the Predator alien - are the definition of iconic, instant legends that seared pop culture. Winston's secret to success was his ability to distill performances from jiggling pieces of rubber and hissing hydraulic hoses. Unlike other effects artists, Winston was never content with a puppet's ability to move; he wanted it to feel alive.

For me, Winston's greatest asset was his ability to collaborate in the movie process. His creations, as spectacular as they always were, never overshadowed or betrayed other departments or technical credits. For instance, take the amazing T-Rex Winston built for Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK. This massive and intricate animatronic could have easily stolen the show, and Winston could have very easily demanded more screen time for his masterpiece. Instead, Winston collaborated with the computer animators, creating a seamless creature of combined elements that is, to this day, the finest computer-generated being ever constructed. Such creative generosity is sorely lacking in any level of Hollywood. Besides being a creative genius, Winston was also an effects visionary. In 1972, during a time when the movie business had little use for special effects, Winston set up Stan Winston Studios in order to specialize in the effects work boom that was merely a few years in the future. In 1993, Winston founded Digital Domain in order to focus attention on the perfection of CGI at a time when the technology was in its infancy. Outside of GEORGE LUCAS and JAMES CAMERON, you would be hard pressed to come up with a better name on the cutting edge of technology. Winston was nominated for ten Academy Awards for his stunning work, and won four. He was apparently suffering from multiple myeloma for six years, although it seems that few in Hollywood knew of his condition. This is true to the man, who seemed to always project a youthful vigor and optimism in both his work and personal life.

The man who gave so much life to the inanimate has now lost his own. Thank you Stan Winston for making our fantasies a reality. We will miss you.