His creations are hatched aboard doomed space stations (“Aliens”) or inside high-tech genetics labs (“Jurassic Park”), set loose in top-secret weapons facilities (“The Terminator”) or the shadowy confines of an inventor’s Frankenstein-like lair (“Edward Scissorhands”). But no matter where we first see these unforgettable characters stir to life on screen, the truth is that they were all designed and created by the special-effects wizards at Stan Winston Studio. For more than 30 years, Stan Winston has been creating some of the most memorable screen characters for the biggest directors in the business: James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton.
“If some of (their) understanding of film hasn’t rubbed off on me, then I’m a pretty piss-poor student,” he laughs. Fifteen years ago, Winston directed his first film, “Pumpkinhead,” seizing the opportunity to introduce a frightening new demon to the cult-movie hall of fame. In 1997, he created Stan Winston Productions and began seeking out projects he could develop himself. After a handful of low-profile television productions (with titles like “Earth vs. the Spider” and “How to Make a Monster”), Winston is finally ready to unleash his creative mayhem on the movie-going public at large.
His first big-screen production, Wrong Turn, pits a hapless crew of big-city brats against a trio of inbred, homicidal mountain men. If you were frustrated by what you didn’t get to see in The Blair Witch Project, then Wrong Turn promises to be just the wilderness adventure gone awry that you’ve been looking for. With Stan Winston and his team responsible for realizing the killers’ physiological perversions, at the very least, you can count on witnessing some pretty freaky makeup effects. On the eve of Wrong Turn‘s release, we asked Winston to spill a few secrets about the movie and that other little project he’s been tinkering with lately, “Terminator 3.”
Get the interview in part two of STAN WINSTON MAKES A WRONG TURN>>>
