Stan Winston

You know, I’m getting pretty sick and tired writing about people who have passed on. I would like to take a break from said work but I would most certainly be remiss if I did not mention Mr. Stan Winston – a modern day wizard and artisan has fallen.

As a movie geek this hits me very close to where I live. Stan Winston was one of the men that I used to read about in Starlog Magazine back in the seventies and eighties. He was a magician and his medium was the fantastic – it was film. If you are not familiar with his body of work please see this write up from Aint It Cool News: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37106 or click here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935644/, to see his credits from IMDB or here: http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Stan_Winston/197008, for another overview of his career.

Can you see the Terminator Endoskeleton in your mind’s eye? That was Stan Winston. The Aliens from Aliens? Mr. Winston. Those dinosaurs from Jurassic Parks I, II and III? All Stan. The man was a wizard. Iron Man? Yeah, that was him too. During the course of his career he earned four Oscars and was nominated for nine. He was a film pioneer who loved what he did and influenced generations of filmmakers and dazzled millions of moviegoers everywhere.

Some holes just don’t get filled easily. Mr. Winston has left a big one. My prayers are with his family and friends at this time.

Thanks Mr. Winston. Godspeed.

Update: Please see this ever growing piece by contributors Cameron, Favreau, Darabont, Dante, Baker and others. The article is hosted by Harry from Ain’t It Cool News; check it out here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37109.

Update II (6/22/08): Once more; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_en_mo/stan_winston_memorial_2.

On The Lot

Here is “WAKE” (< Just click)

Gentle readers in the past I have alluded to a short film that I had the pleasure of taking part in. Well today it went live on the On The Lot website. My friend, Mr. Ron Diprimio wrote, edited and directed the short. I showed up and had a blast stumbling over my lines. We were joined on screen by friends and family; in fact one of my co-workers, God bless her, took a vacation day to be in the bar scene. She’s a trooper and a heck of a quarters player to boot. Don’t fret, all the booze was really apple juice – after all this will be aired in prime time on Fox. It will be premiering sometime in the spring of ’07.

So just what is On the Lot? Well, as it says on their web site it’s, “the groundbreaking new show brought to you by reality show mastermind, Mark Burnett, and legendary producer and director, Steven Spielberg. Over the season, the 16 filmmakers will produce short films in every genre every week and the viewers will vote on who gets eliminated. The winning filmmaker will take home a $1 Million development deal!” – So says the OTL site.

So check out the OTL web site and if you like the film let ‘em know. I, for one, would love to see Ron as one of the 16 and it would be fun to have a guy from Jersey in the competition.