An Ode to Stan Winston

Stan Winston, special effects wizard.

"I don't do special effects. I do characters. I do creatures."

Stan Winston was certainly right with what he said. Though the casual film viewer may look at a film with Winston's name in the credits and think of the directors, actors, writers, Winston left a distinct mark for creating his own characters. Winston's repretoire of projects ranged from dramas to gory horror films, from W.C. Fields and Me (the first film he worked on) to Predator. You knew that if you walked into a movie with Stan Winston's name on it, that while perhaps the acting would be bad, the directing stilted, or have a badly written screenplay, his on-screen creations would compensenate the viewer.

Not much credit is given to the artists who create the robots, aliens, or other creatures that are characters in the films along with the actors. The AMPAS didn't even have an award for Makeup until 1981. Rick Baker won that year for American Werewolf in London, but the only other nominee was Stan Winston for Heartbeeps, which should come as no surprise. Winston gave the special effects medium a face. It wasn't tinkering with remote controls anymore or trying to make the creature have the most disgusting teeth with blood dripping down. He elevated it to a new level. The films he worked on, perhaps the most famous being Predator, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, all used effect creations as characters.

In Predator, Winston created a unique looking figure that is mysterious, yet intruing. Why is the alien here? What does it look like without the mask? When the mask is finally pulled off, we get a look at the creature that has been hunting for Dutch. It's weird mandible that opens not like a regular mouth, but like something not of this earth is perhaps it's most notable characteristic. And we do agree with Dutch when he exclaims "You're one ugly motherfucker."

Winston made his movies memorable. It's as simple as that. Would T2 have been as good a film had the effects been subpar? Would Jurassic Park even be watchable without a T-rex staring into a van with a single flashlight on it's eye? In a field that is dominated now with CGI, the true special effect art is dying. Soon, there won't be need for anymore Stan Winston's. Hopefully, it won't come soon.

A Fan's Account of Million Dollar Mania NY Press Conference

John Cena with Million Dollar Mania winners Sarah Fuhrmann and Steve Rosenzweig with WWE Diva Maria

I arrived at the Hard Rock Cafe to get the opportunity to witness the WWE press conference on Vince McMahon's Million Dollar Mania. I got there at around 8:30 a.m. and already there was a line of about fifty people. The first people in line had camped out the day before. We waited by the sidewalk and the line gradually became longer. At around 11 a.m., Vince McMahon arrived in his limo. The crowd of people, sacrificing their places in line, ran to the limo to get a glimpse of the Boss. McMahon was quickly whisked away through the back of the Cafe. Fifteen minutes later, Maria arrived. A little while later, John Cena. He received a mix reaction with a good amount cheering for him and others jeering him. Then last but not least, the King of Kings arrived. He quickly entered the back way avoiding autograph requests from fans. Though the conference was advertised to start at 11 a.m., fans wound up having to stand for a very long time outside in the sun. The fans were getting restless and many started to have a little fun by attempting to start random chants of past wrestlers (IE Rocky chants). At 11:51 a.m. the doors were opened to the cafe, but first we were told we couldn't bring in food or drinks and to make sure we didn't, an employee went around with a trash bin. The line started to move and security asked people with bags to open them to show what was inside. No metal detectors or pat downs.

Inside the cafe, seats near the stage where already filled up so everyone else pretty much chose to stand as close from where they could see. Those who couldn't improvised by standing on chairs and tables. Members of the media were there including My9 News. The WWE video crew were also filming shots of crowds going nuts and yelling to put up on the website most likely. During the time the crowd was pouring in, two video screens on the walls played Raw flashbacks and WWE's work with the troops and Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hard Rock Cafe said the first 500 people would be allowed inside the press conference. Though it didn't look like 500 people total, the room was packed to the max. It was impossible to move without hitting someone or not get in the way of a person taking a photo.
Todd Grisham walked on the stage and that's when the festivities started. The crowd was all riled up that despite Grisham was speaking into a mic, you could barely hear what he was saying. He introduced John Cena, who came out to his theme music and titantron clips playing on the TV screens. As expected, he received cheers from the younger members of the audience, but got a handful of boos and "Cena sucks" from the older members. Cena laughed off the negative chants and thanked the fans for their support of the WWE.
Grisham then introduced a man who worked for E-Prize, which is conducting the contest. I could not catch the name as the crowd was so loud. He received chants of "Who are you?" Pretty much, the fans talked loudly over him so much of what he said was unintelligible.
WWE Diva Maria was the next person introduced and she received quite a loud pop. She did her pose where she bends over and blows a kiss to the audience. She told the audience how much the divas are like a family and mentioned how they do everything together including showering, which she said there was a video of. Members of the crowd were chanting to see the video.
Introduced next was the woman who won $2 from Raw. The crowd was not interested in what she had to say so they talked over her. The crowd was really hot for Triple HHH as chants of him started.
It then finally came. Triple H's trademark Motorhead theme struck. The pop was astounding. Triple H walked out and everyone started chanting "TRIPLE H!" It was at least five minutes before everyone quieted to let Hunter speak. Hunter made some cracks at Cena's expense which the crowd enjoyed. He also gave the winner of the $2 three more dollars making it a grand total of $5. About the fans Hunter said "We have the greatest fans in the world."
After Hunter took his seat, the man who won $250,000 came out. The fans didn't care a bit what he had to say and he quickly finished his "thank you" speech to make way for the man of the hour.
"No Chance in Hell" hit and people went berserk, including yours truly. McMahon came out to a rapturous pop from the crowd and he ate it up. He thanked the fans and plugged the Million Dollar Mania and the upcoming episode of Raw.
After it was all over, the employees kicked everyone out and over a hundred people waited behind security gates to get a glimpse (and hopefully an autograph) of their favorite superstar. Maria came out and signed a few, then got into her limo.
Everybody was clamoring for Triple H's autograph. To the dismay of fans, he left without signing one.
The press conference (not the right words to use as it was not one in the traditional sense) perhaps was unnecessary. But knowing Vince McMahon, he enjoys publicity. After all, it's all about the money.

Vince McMahon and Triple H with the Million Dollars at the Hard Rock Cafe

"Indy" May Not Be "Crystal," but it's a Fun Ride

Walking into the midnight screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gave me such a feeling of exhilaration. A film that was nineteen years in the making, that seemed to be in development hell, I would finally get to see with my eyes. When the film ended, I felt I had seen a great film. It wasn't perfect, but I had been entertained. Then, after a few days of thinking about it, I felt that the movie was not as good as I may have thought it was. Yet despite these flaws, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Dr. Henry Jones (Harrison Ford) is back and with World War II over, Russian communists become the bad guys for Indy to defeat. A badly accented Cate Blanchett plays Col. Dr. Irina Spalko, who is on a quest to find the Crystal Skulls, which is said to have the power of mind control. Indy meets up with a young rebel (Shia LaBeouf), who comes complete with a switchblade, leather jacket, and motorcycle. He wants to find his father and his mother who went missing looking for the skulls. Eventually, Indy finds himself once again facing off against the forces of evil and along the way, learns a secret he may not be prepared to handle.

A lot of personal hype was riding on this movie. I don't sugarcoat the fact I'm an Indiana Jones fan. I have the box set and have seen all three films numerous times. My personal favorite is the first one. Keeping with the tradition of the Indy films, the film has great action. There is a great motorcycle chase, a chase through a mysterious jungle, and a fight scene involving killer ants. The scenes are wonderful and just fun to watch. They don't have the Michael Bay style of editing so we get to focus on the action instead of being distracted by the technical aspects of the film.

One addition that turns my heart to gold is seeing Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood. She is an unrecognized actress who never got her due in Hollywood. She didn't do much after the 80's, and I can't name off the top of my head anything noteworthy after Starman, but she brings back the strong will and fierceness that she gave to her character. Despite her age, she is not a helpless woman. She can hold her own against the main cast in the film. Another talent is Shia LaBeouf. This kid has a great future in movies. He will be going on to great things. He's smart, funny, and tough who plays the role of a rebel just right.

All praise aside, I for some reason feel more inclined to discuss the downsides of this film. First off, this movie doesn't look like an Indiana Jones film. It has a new cinematographer, which is the reason why. The first three were filmed by Douglas Slocombe, while this one was filmed by Janusz Kaminski, a favorite of Spielberg's. The first three films had this unique comic book look to them. I can't explain that well how this one looks, but it doesn't look like an Indiana Jones film. The film is also too long. Some scenes go on with too much yap and not enough zap. A scene with Indy talking to the dean of the college he works at in his office really was just more of a nod to the fans of the series and it should have been handled with less time consumption.

It is well noted that director Steve Spielberg has claimed this film would use little CGI. To be honest, it was producer Frank Marshall who said this: "Steven (Spielberg) is very aware of the process and we're not cheating with CG (computer graphics) at all. It keeps the B movie feel." It doesn't seem like they kept their word. The film seems to be heavily laden with computer effects from backgrounds, animals, sets, and other entities that probably could've been used with traditional effects. It's disappointing to see these effects. I am sure that some scenes had to be done with CGI, but that doesn't give the filmmakers the excuse to use it ad nauseum.

Perhaps my biggest problem is the ending. This a minor spoiler for those reading. I think Spielberg has an affinity with aliens. Aliens are his deus ex machina. It was great in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., but it gets very tiresome. Aliens did not have to be answer to this film's conclusion. It doesn't fit into the Indiana Jones arc. There have been elements of fantasy in these films, but they fit well into the films. The aliens don't. It feels very forced, as if the director said "I have to make a reference to aliens and UFOs somehow." It should be in a scifi film. Not an action-adventure-comedy.

Was the fourth installment of Indiana Jones worth it? I say yes. It's got flaws. It's a much different movie than the other three. It could've been a lot better. Maybe I'll even say the movie was not necessary to make. Indeed, Spielberg could have just re-released all three films ala Star Wars, without the updated effects of course. But I can't hide that I did enjoy the film. It's got great action and the nostalgia is just too much to turn it down.

Verdict: 7/10