Pick me up off the floor.  This striking book is what everyone would dream of having about the brilliant Special Effects Make-Up Artist/Filmmaker Stan Winston.  Titan Books have made a sensational book that looks like million bucks and is jam packed with eye- popping color photos of almost all his amazing creations for film and television.

The book covers Winston’s life from the start and chronicles his ascent from beginner to master Make-Up Effects artist.  I learned what it took for him to create his own full working studio with a large crew of top-notch technicians.  He started out borrowing space from fellow Make-up Artist Tom Burman, eventually growing to need more space.  Designing and supplying his own furntiture and construction to the his first own place and how he pushed to reach the limits of his and his team’s ability to top what they could accomplish on each succeeding film.

I didn’t realize Winston’s importance to the make-up profession.  He is described as the leader in getting onscreen credit for make-up artists and instrumental in pushing for the Academy Award for the make-up category.  Seeing his work over the years, it’s not surprising that he’s won a few of them.  In fact Winston was nominated during the first year make-up was added for HEARTBEEPS.

Many of the most talented filmmakers Winston has worked with come forward to speak on behalf.  They describe him as a ruthless businessman and a dedicated artist who will not settle for less than the best from himself or his team.

I also learned that Winston was instrumental in developing techniques that has taken the art form to where it is today.  Winston isn’t afraid to admit where he picked up techniques from other creative teams working on film & television effects.  One of these was Winston’s incorporation of developing puppets to look and act real within a film setting.  He admits he learned some of this from Jim Henson’s Shop work shown in the making of THE DARK CRYSTAL.

You could spend hours looking at the beautiful photographic representation of Stan Winston’s work in groundbreaking films like John Carpenter’s THE THING, THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, THE MONSTER SQUAD, PREDATOR, PREDATOR 2, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, TERMINATOR 2 – JUDGEMENT DAY, PUMPKINHEAD, JURASSIC PARK, BATMAN RETURNS, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, THE GHOST AND DARKNESS, PLANET OF THE APES, THE SIXTH SENSE, LAKE PLACID, GALAXY QUEST, TERMINATOR 3, BIG FISH and CONSTANTINE.  But reading about him makes the book even better.

Winston’s vision for what he creates is everlasting.  I mean even his TV commercials are iconic; the chatty chameleon lizards of the Budweiser commercial, the Aflac duck and the creepy “Burger King.”

I can’t say enough about this spectacular book.  Christmas and the holidays are coming up.  Treat yourself big time.

www.titanbooks.com