rick baker signed michael jackson thriller video make up artist 8x10 photo c coa With stunning special effects by Rick Baker, Thriller is one terrific music video. He’s going to be a pain in the ass.” I was completely wrong! That means the fruits of his 40-year-career are up for grabs. They have two children. Once again, that came about because of John Landis. I’m going to send you a cassette tape — get some ideas.” So I listen to the tape, and I thought, “I don’t see making up this pop star. Nobody will be as stupid as I was to build this giant castle to make monsters in.”. Landis isn’t the only connection to An American Werewolf in London either. Along with Jon Gries’ Wolfman - letterman jacket tree smashing Rick Baker’d MJ made werewolves the only classic monster that genuinely freaked me out as a kid. It was really a serious performance and very different from anything I’ve ever seen Eddie do; he was playing this Jewish man that was mugged. At the time, I thought, “There’s no way in hell that the academy’s going to give an Oscar to this bloody horror movie with nudity and odd stuff.” So I was in shock when they called my name. He said, “You’re the expert, just make a cool werewolf!” Which I did! When you’re doing it as makeup, it’s not just the limitations of the face underneath, but also the willingness of the person that’s going to wear it. But then they contacted me, and said, “We really want you to do this — let’s talk.” I told them that I didn’t want anyone else to have input on it except me, thinking they would say no, but instead they said, “That’s what we’re looking for.” They didn’t have a specific character in mind, but I knew it had to be the Joker, because he’s the coolest one. Because this is a bust, I could do things on it that you can’t do on a person. I knew that words were coming out of my mouth, but I have no idea if I said what I wanted to say. Baker's first professional job was as an assistant to prosthetic makeup effects veteran Dick Smith on the 1973 film The Exorcist. In the making-of documentary, Rick Baker can be seen creating a face mold of the singer, to later create the famous werewolf head. Check out his Twitter account for more of his recent work. But that’s another story! Baker won his first Oscar for his work on John Landis' horror-comedy film, 'An American Werewolf in London,' mostly … It’s called “Threatened,” and I think he was trying to make it another “Thriller,” because they cut in a Rod Serling rap. From the gory zombies of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the staggeringly lifelike Bigfoot in Harry and the Hendersons to the creative builds in Men in Black and the groundbreaking effects in An American Werewolf in London, Rick Baker’s special effects, makeup, and prosthetics count among some of Hollywood’s most enduring legacies. The first thing I did was a quick pencil sketch, and then I did a digital sculpture to refine it some and look at it from different angles. Rick Baker was born on December 8, 1950 in Binghamton, New York, USA as Richard Alan Baker. And though Baker has won accolades for his work as recently as 2011 (an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Makeup in The Wolfman), he’s decided it’s the right time for his exit. [Laughs] I said, “Fine, what kind of character is he?” And John said, “Oh, one of them is like an old Jewish man.” And I went, “Like a Sammy Davis Jr. Jewish man?” He goes, “No, like a white guy.”, This was at a high point in Eddie’s career, so on life mask day, John came to me and said, “It’s going to be a traveling party. I grab his head and start smearing the stuff on and think, “I can’t do this makeup in the middle of a party.” I got through the day, and the mask turned out all right, but I said to John, “You have to talk to Eddie,” and he goes, “You talk to him!” He gives me the number and I get Eddie on the phone and tell him, “You’re going to think I’m a jerk, but I can’t do this makeup if you’re entertaining a bunch of people.” He was like, “Can I at least have a friend come for a little while?”, That makeup job was 15 separate pieces, and they were prepainted in the Caucasian color. Tap to unmute. A lot of actors would put makeup on and say, “I can’t move.”. I can remember leaving the room when this was on, waiting for the zombie scene to start before returning. Special Effects Icon Rick Baker, Known for 'Thriller,' Is Retiring – and Auctioning Off His Collection. It is sad that it isn’t going to exist again. The special effects designer and makeup artist, 64, is retiring from the business and auctioning off some of the iconic memorabilia from his collection of creatures throughout his career. Every film version of the Joker has not quite been what I would have done, but I think they suit the movies they’re in. Tell me when it’s done. When I started, I thought, “Are people going to accept this different version?” I tried to keep enough of the green hair and all that stuff, but I hope I don’t get a bunch of hate mail now because I’ve screwed up the Joker. That success led to work on Star Wars (1977), Thriller (1983), Videodrome (1983), Coming to America (1988), Batman Forever (1995), Planet of the Apes (2001), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), among many others. The artist is auctioning off the majority of the collection that occupies his 60,000-square-foot facility in Glendale, California through a company called The Prop Store. My daughter works at DC in the collectibles department, and I took a tour, during which they said, “Would you be interested in doing something with us one day?” I went, “Yeah, maybe,” but it wasn’t a real sincere maybe. Copy link. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. First of all, Michael was incredibly shy; I worked in a funky, dirty workshop full of long-haired guys, and on the day he came in to do the life mask [a mold of the person’s face to use in the makeup design process], the first thing he did was hide in the bathroom. The cultural event that was the video for "Thriller" pushed sales of the single, too, and the song hit #4 on the pop chart. I was just in the right place at the right time with the right skill set. He also appeared briefly in the fan production The Night Turkey, a one-hour, black-and-white video parody of The Night Stalker directed by William Malone. [Released in 2010, the new Wolfman starred Benicio Del Toro in the title role and was a famously troubled production — but it did win Baker his seventh and final Oscar.] Baker’s comments to KPCC reveal his twinge of disappointment at how the industry’s changed. Baker's 40-year career also includes work on the Men in Black franchise and Maleficent. RICK BAKER SIGNED MICHAEL JACKSON THRILLER VIDEO MAKE UP ARTIST 8x10 PHOTO D COA. I was young then my hair was brown and I had…” Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? I wanted my version to be a crazy, demented, lunatic guy — to play that up. “I am 64 years old, and the business is crazy right now,” Baker told KPCC. Makeup Artist Rick Baker On His Long Career Making Monsters An American Werewolf in London, Maleficent, the ghouls in "Thriller": the costume designer has made some of … I had some generic things that I could use, but I felt we should have cooler stuff. And Michael actually dedicated a song to me! There’s going to be a lot of people here.” It was Eddie and his entourage, and it’s truly like they were partying all night long and ended up coming there to continue their party. Rick Baker, 'Men In Black 3' Oscar Winning Makeup Artist, on 'Thriller' And 'Star Wars' By Mike Ryan I met Rick Baker -- winner of seven Academy Awards for Best Makeup -- at the Museum of Moving Image in Queens, New York. We caught up with the makeup master to get the stories behind “Thriller” and his other most memorable creations. Check out our celebration of the best Rick Baker effects from his awe-inspiring 40+ year career as one of Hollywood's all-time greatest makeup FX artists. Every fan knows Rick Baker and his amazing work on Captain EO and THRILLER. One of those projects is a remarkably detailed — and entirely freaky — bust of the Joker for DC Collectibles. Get push notifications with news, features and more. DC Collectibles gave Baker carte blanche in putting his own design spin on the Clown Prince of Crime. He wants to do a music video where he wants to turn into a werewolf. Metamorphosis is a new two-volume book that chronicles his work. Music video "Thriller" was not the product of a brilliant idea but was made because pop star Michael Jackson wanted to be a monster, director John Landis said at the Venice film festival on Monday. I want to improvise the scene.” I got a video camera and pointed it at the mirror, and Eddie improvised a scene with one of his friends. Baker is the mastermind behind the transformation scene in American Werewolf in London, which won him his first of seven Oscars, and the video for “Thriller” when he turned Michael Jackson into that bizarre cat-monster. I went, “This guy’s really good.” Then we all decided it was much better to do the stereotype in the end. I want to show the pain, how would you do it?” It was one of the rare times where I had total artistic freedom. Michael Jackson in his Rick Baker-designed “Thriller” makeup. To be standing up there in front of the crowd, and you see Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson and all these people right there. I had just retired from the film industry, and I was really excited about doing my own thing. Rick Baker, Make Up Department: Planet of the Apes. Jackson won a record-breaking eight Grammys for his 1982 album "Thriller," the best-selling album of all time. But after waiting about 10 years, I thought it was never going to happen. Shopping. DC said, “Would you be interested in doing another one?” and there are a couple I would consider. Since retiring from big-screen work in 2015, Prince Charles honors 'dear Papa' Prince Philip in emotional speech: 'I miss my father enormously', Meghan Markle will not attend Prince Philip's funeral, says Buckingham Palace, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson calls poll showing support for his potential presidency 'humbling', 'Knocked Up' actress Charlyne Yi calls James Franco a 'sexual predator,' accuses Seth Rogen of enabling him, Tara Reid on box-office bomb 'Josie and the Pussycats': 'If it came out now, it would be huge'. The Wolf Man was one of them films that inspired me to become a makeup artist, and I was so excited to do the remake. Credit: During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Rick talks about obviously Thriller… You couldn’t find a bigger fan of An American Werewolf in London than Michael Jackson, who was in the midst of recording what would become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. 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