An American Werewolf in London - 1981

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON - 1981

IMDB LINK

Directed By:

John Landis

Starring:

David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne

Brief Synopsis:

Two American students, on a tour of Britain, are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals are willing to admit exists.  

Artist(s):     

RICK BAKER 

IMDB Link

This name will pop up several times during our trek through Academy Award winning make-up.  Baker is not only the very first recipient of the Oscar for Best Make-up for "An American Werewolf in London" but also holds the record for the most Academy Award wins and nominations.  He has been nominated a total of twelve times with seven wins:

1981 - An American Werewolf in London
1987 - Harry and the Hendersons
1994 - Ed Wood
1996 - The Nutty Professor
1997 - Men in Black
2000 - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2010 - The Wolfman


Miscellaneous Information about Mr. Baker:

• Known for his incredibly realistic creature effects
• Trade mark - long hair pulled back in ponytail
• Formed Cinovation Studios in 1981
• Appeared in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video as the hobbling zombie whose arm falls off
• Michael Jackson's song, "Threatened," (2001) is dedicated to him.  They worked together on Thriller and Captain EO
• Actor in films such as "The Thing with Two Heads," "Into the Night," "Planet of the Apes," "Men in Black II," "King Kong," "Dark Reel," "The Wolfman

MORE ON THE MAKE-UP FOR 

"AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON"

David Naughton recalls sitting for make-up 10 hours a day, starting by 5am to be on set around 2pm.  David Naughton Interview

Academy Award for Make-up

Professional make-up artists for motion pictures have been around for years, but once the Academy Awards designated a special award, specifically for make-up artistry, a whole new appreciation for the art developed.   

Since the first Academy Award for Make-up was presented in 1981, the best-of-the-best have been sought out to bring to life the characters and creatures dreamt up by world class directors and portrayed by A-list performers.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to pay tribute to these greats by taking a closer look at those award winning films and their artists. 

To begin, here is an overview of the winners from the past two decades:

1981  An American Werewolf in London
RICK BAKER

1982  Quest for Fire
SARAH MONZANI
MICHELE BURKE

1984  Amadeus
PAUL LEBLANC

1985  Mask
MICHAEL WESTMORE
ZOLTAN ELEK

1986  The Fly
CHRIS WALAS

1987  Harry and the Hendersons
RICK BAKER

1988  Beetlejuice
VE NEILL
STEVE LA PORTE
ROBERT SHORT

1989  Driving Miss Daisy
MANLIO ROCHETTI
LYNN BARBER
KEVIN HANEY

1990  Dick Tracy
JOHN CAGLIONE, JR.
DOUG DREXLER

1991  Terminator 2: Judgment Day
STAN WINSTON
JEFF DAWN

1992  Bram Stoker's Dracula
GREG CANNOM
MICHELE BURKE
MATTHEW W. MUNGLE

1993  Mrs. Doubtfire
GREG CANNOM
VE NEILL

1994  Ed Wood
RICK BAKER
VE NEILL

1995  Braveheart
PETER FRAMPTON
LOIS BURWELL

1996  The Nutty Professor
RICK BAKER

1997  Men in Black 
RICK BAKER
DAVID LEROY ANDERSON

1998  Elizabeth
JENNY SHIRCORE

1999  Topsy-Turvy
CHRISTINE BLUNDELL

2000  Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
RICK BAKER

2001  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
PETER OWEN
RICHARD TAYLOR

2002  Frida     
JOHN JACKSON

2003  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
RICHARD TAYLOR
PETER KING

2004  Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
VALLI O'REILLY
BILL CORSO

2005  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
HOWARD BERGER
TAMI LANE

2006  Pan's Labyrinth
DAVID MARTI
MONTSE RIBE

2007  La Vie en Rose
DIDIER LAVERGNE

2008  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
GREG CANNOM

2009  Star Trek
BARNEY BURMAN
MINDY HALL
JOEL HARLOW

2010  The Wolfman
RICK BAKER
DAVE ELSEY

Not your average clowns

Have you ever been to a Cirque Du Soleil show?

Here in Orlando we are the permanent home of Cirque Du Soleil's, La Nouba. While most cities have to wait until a tour touches down, one of the many perks of living in this attraction-filled city is the privilege of being able to see a Cirque show any time of year.

If you haven't been, you should.  If not for the death defying acts, then for the exquisite costumes and world class make-up.

Cirque was started by two friends who were fellow street performers in their native Montreal in the 80's. Together they brought the idea of the traditional circus into a contemporary, character driven show far from the performing animals and kitschy side show attractions typically seen.

Today there are 22 different Cirque Du Soleil shows to experience worldwide and each one is distinctly different from the other. They each have their own unifying theme, whether it be astrology, water, imagination, or tributes to the Beatles, Elvis or Michael Jackson. This leads to boundless creativity when it comes to the overall look of the show as well as each performer's contribution to the show's theme.

Nathalie Gagne, make-up designer for Cirque's Verakai, says that the make-up can take up to an hour to complete. While there are documented designs for each character's make-up, the performers themselves are responsible for applying their own make-up each night and it can take several performances before they are able to complete it without step-by-step directions. They learn all of this in a camp style workshop during the show's rehearsal stage.

The performers also go through annual make-up evaluation to make sure they are still applying it as close to the original designs as possible. The make-up the performers use is oil based and usually involves a blend of contrasting bold colors like reds, blues, and yellows set to finish with powder, and then reapplied to redefine the lines.

Powdering is an important part to keep the base layer in place so that the make-up can last through the performance without streaking under the sweat and hot lights of the show.

The next time you see a great Cirque show in your town, take a closer look at the acrobats and performers. Not only do they have to perfect their acts of balance and grace, but they have to painstakingly apply that amazing theatrical character make-up to create a complete package that will dazzle the crowd.



http://blog.vegas.com/las-vegas-shows/vegas-puts-its-face-on-3762/
http://montreal.about.com/od/cirquedusoleil/ss/cirque_du_soleil_varekai_makeup_photos_2.htm

MORE FUN FACTS

Beauty Patches:
Make-up didn’t cause all the medical devastation throughout history. Some diseases and infections just popped up and those lucky enough to survive were still left with scars from the tragic ordeal.

One such illness was syphilis back in 18th century Europe. Thousands of people were infected and scarred from the infection's lesions.

To aid in covering up these unwanted marks, women started utilizing Beauty Patches. These little gems came in many shapes and sizes including stars, moons and hearts. They were extremely popular due to their ability to draw attention away from or cover the wearer’s unsightly blemishes.

Over time, an unspoken language was even developed:

• A patch near the woman’s mouth meant she was willingly flirtatious.
• A patch on her right cheek was a warning to men to stay away, as she was married.
• A patch on her left was still a gentle caution for it meant the woman was betrothed.
• A patch at the corner of the eye meant you were in the presence of a smoldering woman.

At one point the placement even denoted your political affiliation - Whigs on the right, Torries on the left.

As you might have already guessed, this fad eventually gave way to the practice of applying a penciled on beauty mark in later years.

You can read more about beauty patches here:  The Importance of the Facial Patch

Witchcraft:
Several attempts have been made throughout history to prevent women from painting their faces that had nothing to do with the medical repercussions of doing so. It had more to do with the male ego.

Greek theologian Clement of Alexandria drafted a law which prevented women from ‘tricking’ husbands into marriage by means of cosmetics.

British Parliament once demanded that ‘women of whatever age, rank, or profession, whether virgins, maids or widows, who shall seduce or betray into matrimony, by scents, paints, cosmetic washes, artificial teeth, false hair, shall incur the penalty of the law as against witchcraft, and that the marriage shall stand null and void.”

So, as you can see, make-up has had a rocky history ranging from deadly poison to camoflauge for unwanted scars to source of sorcery. Yet it prevails. Powder on my friends!

Panati, Charles, Penati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Harper Paperbacks 1989

DEADLY MAKE-UP

Over the thousands of years since make-up was first introduced, there have been some very off-the-wall products utilized to achieve whatever look happened to be fashionable at the time. Here are just a few examples:

Beetle shells – Egyptians sported the first eye glitter made out of crushed up iridescent shells

White lead powder – over the years, women went to great lengths to achieve what they thought to be an elegant complexion. Tanned skin was considered common so the paler the face, the more chic you were. To achieve such pallor, women would use white powder that contained extreme amounts of lead which, over time, actually destroyed complexions and resulted in far too many premature deaths.

Arsenic Complexion Wafers – yet another method of achieving a pale complexion, these wafers actually poisoned the blood so it transported fewer red hemoglobin cells, and less oxygen, to organs giving the washed out appearance women were seeking.

Rouge – to add some color to their otherwise ghostly appearance, women turned to rouge which, unfortunately, wasn’t much safer. Early rouge was colored with cinnabar, a poisonous red sulfide of mercury. This same red cream was also used to color the lips where it was more easily ingested. Once in the blood stream, lead, arsenic and mercury are particularly harmful to the fetus. An unbelievable amount of miscarriages, stillbirths and deformities were probably a direct result of the cosmetic practices of this time.

Leeches – used for the same purpose as arsenic, lead and mercury – to achieve that oh so desired pale complexion

Burnt matches – used to add dark lining around eyes

Berries – juices used to stain lips

Urine – used in an attempt to fade freckles

Ox Blood – drank in a misguided attempt to improve complexions

Egg Whites – added to face to create a healthy glaze

As you can see, women went to great lengths, sometimes all the way to their graves, in order to keep up with the fashion of the times. After so much tragedy surrounding the seemingly harmless act of applying make-up, the appearance of rouge, powders, lipstick and other cosmetic products more or less disappeared in Europe. Luckily, chemists began aiding cosmetologists to start producing the first safe beautifying aids in history.

So, those of you happily making a living as professional make-up artists, or even just those of you happily wearing make-up, should give a nod to those delightful chemist who lent a hand and made looking beautiful a safe practice.

Panati, Charles, Penati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Harper Paperbacks 1989