Special effects firm expands

By Hank Daniszewski – London Free Press

The London company behind the flash and smoke of many stage spectaculars has taken on a new name and global ambitions.

Ultratec Special Effects Inc. is the new name for the company formerly known as Le Maitre.

Founded in 1992 by Adrian Segeren, the company provides pyrotechnics, fog machines and other effects for rock concerts and major musicals. It has recently handled shows by bands such as Metallica and Nickelback and shows such as Disney on Ice.

Le Maitre is a pyrotechnics firm based in Britain. Segeren started out as the head of the Canadian branch of the company.

He said the firms have grown apart and the relationship formally ended in March, prompting the name change.

Segeren said cutting the ties to Britain also freed Ultratec to expand to international markets.

“Our plans are to go on a global basis. We are planning to expand into Europe and southeast Asia,” said Segeren, who started as a DJ in his family’s dance hall in Oxford County.

The company plans to set up a distribution centre in Europe next year.

Almost 90% of the company’s market is in the United States, making it vulnerable in recent years to the rising value of the Canadian loonie. Segeren said the company is “chugging along” despite the recession.

In 2007, the company took over Luna Tech, a rival pyrotechnics company in Alabama. Segeren said the assembly of most of the pyrotechnic products is now done on that site. He said the Alabama operation has helped shield the company from currency fluctuations.

Ultratec also has a small servicing office in Florida.

The London operation, based in Hyde Park, produces a variety of non-pyro special effects including fog and smoke machines, bubble and artificial snow makers and confetti cannons.

With the Alabama acquisition, the company has grown to 80 employees, with about 35 in London and the rest in the United States.

Despite the company’s global push, Segeren said he has no plans to move the company from London.

“Lots of people ask me about that. I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scram

   

“In space, there’s simply no room for error,” barks a mid-21st-century astronaut stomping around his spaceship in ABC’s new sci-fi series, “Defying Gravity.” In television, of course, there is plenty of room for error; sometimes it seems like one big errormobile.

Unfortunately, “Defying Gravity” will have to be listed as one of its well-intentioned mistakes, another of the many peculiar oddities churned out by broadcast and cable every year, every week, every moment of our earthbound little lives. While “Defying Gravity” might be a good title for a sitcom set in outer space, the gravity being defied here is of a more sober, serious, scientific sort.

At least the series makes an attempt to correct the estimates of space breakthroughs projected in 1968 by Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Kubrick and writer Arthur C. Clarke foresaw humans larking about the universe willy-nilly no later than the turn of the century. And there was that big spooky mission to “Jupiter . . . and beyond,” remember? Zero-gravity toilets had been invented but somehow communism had survived.

It isn’t made terribly clear, at least not in the first episode, what kind of planet Earth has become by the time “Defying Gravity” occurs. In fact, it isn’t clear what time “Defying Gravity” does occur. As the series begins, we don’t know when it is, but soon there’s a caption on the screen that says “2042 — 10 Years Earlier — Mars.” Ten years earlier than what? Never mind, because by the next commercial break it’s “5 Years Earlier” than 10 Years Earlier. It begins to seem like a game. Or a twist on that backward episode of “Seinfeld” when the mission’s destination was merely India.

Space travel can’t be all that common by 2042 or even 2052, because the crew of the big ship spend a lot of time talking about it. “Space travel is a fool’s game,” someone says, twice, followed by a meditation on how much water is being toted around in your typical human body (we’re 60 percent water, a scientist says). “Being an astronaut is all about control,” one space ranger philosophizes.

“Man belongs in space,” another crew member pipes up. “We’re resilient; we can adapt,” says somebody else or maybe the same one. “I’ve never felt more alive or more human,” says an astronaut as the crew settles down for a long trip to Venus that is also apparently going to be a six-year “grand tour of the solar system.”

It’s all terribly confusing, but then quite a bit of sci-fi gets by on passing off the terribly confusing as profoundly mysterious.

The unfortunate truth of this mission is that you’re going to need a whole lot of patience to get through even the first hour of it. Things do seem to be happening: One crew member’s vasectomy is reversing on its own (“bit of a sticky wicket,” as the British used to say); two potential crew members must report for physicals when large amounts of “calcified plaque” turn up inside them; one astronaut has to improvise an EVA (that’s extra-vehicular activity, as those of us who remember the ’60s will know) to save the ship, and an astronaut says she got pregnant from a one-night stand, but just how long are the nights out there in Spaceville?

Some of the special effects are beautiful and seem lavish for television, but as the movies of the past couple decades have shown, jim-dandy special effects can take you only so far, and now that TV shows are as special-effected as commercials have been almost since TV began, audiences have every reason to be jaded about them. The story has to be strong, and “Defying Gravity’s” isn’t.

There are no monsters, at least on the premiere, and that’s disappointing. Then again, considering all the sex talk, there might be some of those “monsters from the id” that Professor Morbius talked about in “Forbidden Planet.” That was the big, wide, scary one from MGM that gave us Robby the Robot — way back in 1956. “Defying Gravity” takes us not back to the future so much as forward to the past, and it takes its old sweet time about it, too.

By Tom Shales – Washington Post

 

Burton’s Home Is A Mad Movie Museum

 From wenn.com

Moviemaker Tim Burton’s home has become a macabre tribute to his films, featuring furniture and puppets from his sets.

The Corpse Bride director loves to take mementos home from all his films – and now he has a bizarre movie museum full of his own creations.

He tells WENN, “I’ve got so much c**p in the house. I got a really huge chair from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory which everybody loves sitting in because you feel like a little kid.

“I’ve got Corpse Bridge puppets, Nightmare Before Christmas puppets.”         

But his collection of oddities isn’t limited to his own films: “This wax museum closed down and I bought the wax figure of Sammy Davis, Jr. I have it on the couch and one of the friends of my kids went crying to his mother, saying we had a dead person on our sofa!”

Making a werewolf, one hair at a time

Werewolf Death Eater Fenrir Greyback

Patrick Kevin Day – LATimes

The look of Death Eater Fenrir Greyback in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ took 10 makeup artists painstakingly applying goat hair to silicone.

Special makeup designer Nick Dudman had to scramble to complete the look of the werewolf Death Eater Fenrir Greyback in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” “They didn’t select [actor Dave Legeno] until quite late, and we didn’t have a lot of time,” Dudman explained. Luckily, this wasn’t some two-bit indie production; this was a big-budget Warner Bros. blockbuster, with the resources to go with it. “We had about 10 people on just that one character,” Dudman said. “We can take the time to pay attention to detail.” For Greyback, Dudman’s team spent seven months stockpiling a supply of multi-piece silicone makeup to be applied to the actor’s head and chest, with each bit of goat hair individually punched into the makeup. “You can’t use wig lace, because it will show,” Dudman said. “It has to be done by hand.” It took about 5 1/2 days to apply the hairs for one set of makeup that would be used for only one day of shooting. Dudman had no way around it. “The makeup removal process would always result in the silicone pieces being destroyed.”

Editor’s Note:

Nick Dudman and his team have created the make-up effects and the magical animatronic creatures in the Harry Potter films, garnering BAFTA Award nominations for the first four of the series to date.

Dudman got his start working on the Jedi master Yoda as a trainee to famed British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn, on “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.” After apprenticing with Freeborn for four years, Dudman was asked to head up the English makeup laboratory for Ridley Scott’s “Legend.” He subsequently worked on the makeup and prosthetics for such films as “Mona Lisa,” “Labyrinth,” “Willow,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Batman,” “Alien3″ and “Interview with the Vampire,” among others.

In 1995, Dudman’s career path widened into animatronics and large-scale creature effects when he was asked to oversee the 55-man creature department for the Luc Besson film “The Fifth Element.”, for which he won a BAFTA Award for Visual Effects. Since then, he has lead the creatures/make-up effects departments on several blockbusters, including “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace,” “The Mummy,” “The Mummy Returns” and consulted on the Costume effects for “Batman Begins.” Dudman recently designed the animatronics for Alfonso Cuaron’s “Children of Men.”

In 2007, he was awarded a special achievement Genie by the Canadian Academy for Make-up on “Beowulf and Grendel”.

50 Cent Reveals Role In ‘Intense’ Remake Of ‘Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’

Larry Carroll – MTV.com

‘Working beside him is a great honor,’ the MC says of starring alongside Forest Whitaker.

It’s one of the most bizarre — and secretive — projects in the worlds of hip-hop and Hollywood. Ever since it was first announced, it has raised more questions than answers. But now, 50 Cent is finally ready to talk about his monstrous turn in a modern-day “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” film.

“That one’s coming up soon,” Fif told us this week, excited about the first horror film of his young acting career, which he starts shooting at this end of the summer opposite a recent Oscar winner. “It’s me and Forest Whitaker. I actually just spoke to his agent yesterday.”

Since the project made headlines in May, 50 has remained tight-lipped about the remake of Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless tale of an affable doctor battling the evil within himself. In the classic setup, the doctor invents a potion that fully unveils his inner beast — only to create a battle between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for their common body.

“Ah, so you assuming?” the chart-topper laughed when I told him that Internet buzz suspects that he’ll be portraying the monster. “I don’t know, you know?”

After a bit of coaxing, however, he admitted his role for the first time. “Yeah, I’m supposed to play Hyde.”

“It’s gonna be intense,” he said excitedly. And although his appearance will be transformed with makeup and hair so he can play a deadlier version of Whitaker’s mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll, 50 Cent said that they’re just now getting around to discussing his look with accomplished filmmaker Abel Ferrara. “He’s an excellent director, so his creative ideas will definitely be an injective into what it’s actually gonna turn out to be.”

“Are you familiar with Abel Ferrara? ‘Bad Lieutenant’?” 50 Cent said of one of his favorite movies, a controversial 1992 flick starring Harvey Keitel and currently being remade with Nicolas Cage. “It was amazing. So, then you understand that the director we chose for this ['Jekyll'] project is the kind of guy that has an eye for real cutting-edge, really in-your-face material.”

50 Cent also confirmed that his “Jekyll” will update Stevenson’s tale to take place in modern times. “When you say ‘Jekyll and Hyde,’ it’s been made a couple of times,” explained the actor, who can be seen with Val Kilmer in the New Orleans cop drama “Streets of Blood” when it hits DVD later this month. “And [it's been told] from different perspectives, with different directors trying to capture it. But this is gonna feel great. It’s modern, with new talent in it. Forest Whitaker is amazing, and working beside him is a great honor.” 

Amazon Specials!

The Emmy Nominees for Outstanding Makeup and Effects announced

The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations

Source: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences…July 16, 2009

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominations for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards this morning. The awards will be presented on September 20 and the show, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will air on CBS.

 Here are the nominees for the Makeup Categories:

Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries Or A Movie (Non-Prosthetic)

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story · TNT · Sony Pictures Television, Thomasfilm and The Hatchery LLC, Angie Wells, Department Head Makeup Artist , Wynona Price, Key Makeup Artist

Grey Gardens · HBO · Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films Linda Dowds, Department Head Makeup Artist Susan Hayward, Key Makeup Artist Vivian Baker, Personal Makeup Artist

Maneater · Lifetime · Sony Pictures Television Kathrine James-Gibson, Department Head Makeup Artist Loretta James-Demasi, Key Makeup Artist Melanie Hughes Weaver, Personal Makeup Artist

The Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation) · CBS · Jeff Most/Jeff Rice Productions in association with Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions Trefor Proud, Department Head Makeup Artist

                            ………………………………………………………………

Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)

Dancing With The Stars · Episode 804 · ABC · BBC Worldwide Productions Melanie Mills, Department Head Makeup Artist Zena Shteysel, Key Makeup Artist Patti Ramsey-Bortoli, Additional Makeup Artist Angela Moos, Additional Makeup Artist

MADtv · Episode 1405 · FOX · Girl Group Company Jennifer Aspinall, Department Head Makeup Artist Alexei O’Brien, Additional Makeup Artist David Williams, Additional Makeup Artist Heather Mages, Additional Makeup Artist

Saturday Night Live · NBC · SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video Louie Zakarian, Department Head Makeup Artist Josh Turi, Makeup Artist Amy Tagliamonti, Makeup Artist

So You Think You Can Dance · Episode #421/422A · FOX · Dick Clark Productions and 19 Entertainment Amy Elizabeth Strozzi, Department Head Makeup Artist Heather Cummings, Key Makeup Artist Tifanie White, Additional Makeup Artist Marie DelPrete, Additional Makeup Artist

                           …………………………………..

Outstanding Makeup For A Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)

Grey’s Anatomy · Dream A Little Dream Of Me, Part 1 and Part 2 · ABC · ABC Studios Norman T. Leavitt, Department Head Makeup Artist Brigitte Bugayong, Key Makeup Artist Michelle Teleis, Additional Makeup Artist

Little Britain USA · 106 · HBO · 19 Entertainment/MBST Entertainment Limited in association with HBO Entertainment John E. Jackson, Department Head Makeup Artist Chris Burgoyne, Makeup Artist Matthew Mungle, Makeup Artist

Mad Men · The Jet Set · AMC · Lionsgate Television Debbie Zoller, Department Head Makeup Artist Denise DellaValle, Key Makeup Artist Ron Pipes, Additional Makeup Artist Debra Schrey, Additional Makeup Artist

Nip/Tuck · Gisele Baylock And Legend · FX Networks · The Shepard/Robin Company in association with Warner Bros. Television Productions, Inc. Eryn Krueger Mekash, Department Head Makeup Artist Stephanie Fowler, Key Makeup Artist

Pushing Daisies · Dim Sum Lose Some · ABC · Living Dead Guy Productions, The Jinks/Cohen Company in association with Warner Bros. Television Todd A. McIntosh, Department Head Makeup Artist David Martin DeLeon, Key Makeup Artist Steven Anderson, Additional Makeup Artist

                             …………………………………………………………..

Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation · A Space Oddity · CBS · A CBS Paramount Network Television production in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Television Matthew Mungle, Prosthetic Designer, Special Makeup Effects Artist Clinton Wayne, Special Makeup Effects Artist Melanie Levitt, Department Head Makeup Artist Tom Hoerber, Key Makeup Artist

Grey Gardens · HBO · Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films Vivian Baker, Special Makeup Effects Department Head Linda Dowds, Department Head Makeup Artist Bill Corso, Prosthetic Designer Sean Samson, Special Makeup Effects Artist

Grey’s Anatomy · Stand By Me · ABC · ABC Studios Norman T. Leavitt, Department Head Makeup Artist Bari Dreiband-Burman, Special Makeup Effects Artist Thomas Burman, Prosthetic Designer Vincent Van Dyke, Prosthetic Designer

Little Britain USA · 105 · HBO · 19 Entertainment/MBST Entertainment Limited in association with HBO Entertainment John E. Jackson, Special Makeup Effects Department Head Matthew W. Mungle, Prosthetic Designer/ Special Makeup Effects Artist Chris Burgoyne, Makeup Artist

Nip/Tuck · Budi Sabri · FX Networks · The Shepard/Robin Company in association with Warner Bros. Television Productions, Inc. Bari Dreiband-Burman, Special Makeup Effects Artist Thomas R. Burman, Prosthetic Designer Dave Dupuis, Special Makeup Effects Artist

Tracey Ullman’s State Of The Union · Episode 205 · Showtime · Showtime Presents in association with Allan McKeown Presents, LLC Matthew Mungle, Prosthetic Designer/ Special Makeup Effects Department Head Sally Sutton Craven, Department Head Makeup Artist Kate Shorter, Additional Makeup Artist

David Arquette confirms: Courteney Cox & myself are ‘doing Scream 4’

 Michael Sheridan  -  New York DAILY NEWS

Get ready to “Scream” one more time.

It appears another sequel to the once popular horror franchise is coming together, that is at least according to actor David Arquette.

“We are going to be doing ‘Scream 4′,” Arquette told E!’s Marc Malkin, indicating that both himself and wife, Courteney Cox, will be returning to the roles that brought them together.

Rumors of a fourth “Scream” film have been stabbed before over the last few years, but Arquette’s comment seems to suggest it may actually happen. He went on to say that screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who penned the original films, was working on the script.

“Hopefully Wes Craven is going to direct,” he added. Arquette and Cox met while making the first “Scream” film in 1996.

Williamson suggested last month via Twitter that Neve Campbell, who starred in the original “Scream” fright flicks, had already said no to returning to the franchise.

“Trying to figure out a Sid-less scenario. She won’t do it. This sucks,” he reportedly wrote, although this “tweet” has since been removed.

Since then, all Williamson – who is presently working on the upcoming series, “The Vampire Diaries,” for the CW – has only “tweeted” the following about “Scream 4″:

“Thanks to all for their S4 support. Nothing new to report. Still writing away. Forgot how much I loved these characters.”

 

GoreMaster’s Editor note:

The earlier Scream entries featured the work of some of the giants in the Makeup Effects industry like Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero.

Mattel’s Max Steel goes to the movies

Marc Graser – Variety

Just weeks before Paramount Pictures invades theaters with “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra,” the studio is teaming with Joe Roth to pick up Mattel’s “Max Steel” as another action figure it wants to play with on the bigscreen.

The toy property revolves around a 19-year-old extreme sports junkie recruited by a secret agency after an accident infects his body with nanobots, making him superhuman.

Although Mattel introduced the character in the U.S. in 1999 as an action figure, and soon after in an animated series that ran from 2000-2002, he’s proved more popular in Latin America, where Max Steel is the region’s No. 1 action figure. Mattel has continued to produce animated direct-to-DVD features for the region, produced by Rainmaker Entertainment in Vancouver.

But Mattel wants to use movies as a way to relaunch the toy line in the U.S. and the rest of the world, the way the “Transformers” pics have helped generate new heat around Hasbro’s action figures.

“A theatrical film plays a significant role to relaunch the franchise,” said Barry Waldo, Mattel’s VP of worldwide entertainment marketing and strategy. “But we have a strong Latin consumer we’re going to keep happy while broadening the franchise for the rest of the world. We wouldn’t do ourselves a favor if we turned a blind eye to it. That’s the artistic challenge we’ve got.”

Roth, who is a producer on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” at Disney, and produced last summer’s “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,” will serve as executive producer on “Max Steel,” with Waldo and Tim Kilpin, general manager for Mattel’s girls, boys and games group, who is shepherding the company’s top brands for boys and girls.

Mattel was keen on pairing with Roth, considering the Max Steel character has similarities to the “XXX” franchise he launched while head of Revolution Studios. The Xander Cage character in the first film was an extreme sports athlete turned spy.

Roth has had a relationship with Mattel over the years when it comes to marketing and charities.

Mattel and Roth are seeking a screenwriter and director, who will work closely with the toymaker to develop the film’s characters and storyline to match the company’s plans for the franchise.

“Max Steel” will be the first pic Mattel has set up at Paramount since it began aggressively looking to turn its toys into features.

It’s the sixth property that Mattel has set up in the past year or so since signing with Creative Artists Agency to get those movies made. Mattel has “He-Man: Masters of the Universe” and “Hot Wheels” at Warner Bros. with Joel Silver producing; “Major Matt Mason” with Tom Hanks; and a musical based on a yet-to-be-revealed monster property at Universal that Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are shepherding. A “View-Master” movie is also in the works at DreamWorks, with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman producing

Amazon Specials!

 

Horror film features Giant Pig Man

Zack Harold – Daily Mail

  

Some people fear the things that go bump in the night, and some people make movies about them. The guys from Charleston-based Razor Sharp Productions are the second kind.

A film company with two feature-length movies and several shorts to its name, Razor Sharp is the brainchild of director Eamon Hardiman. He began his film career with his 2000 short film “Dead Hate Chores,” shot while he was a student at West Virginia State University. He made another short, “Escape from the Dead,” shortly after that and placed third in the West Virginia International Film Festival’s student competition. “Escape” also received a positive response on the Web, encouraging Eamon to continue his filmmaking efforts.

“We decided, ‘What better way to continue this than to make another zombie movie,’ ” Hardiman said. “Catholic Ghoulgirls,” Razor Sharp’s first feature-length film, came out in 2005.

Eventually Razor Sharp was picked up by Brain Damage Films, an Arizona-based horror movie distributor, and things took off from there. “That was the moment when we went ‘Crap. . .our movies are at FYE,’ ” Hardiman said.

This summer, Razor Sharp is working on another feature film: “Porkchop,” the story of some teenagers partying at an abandoned summer camp and the murderous pig monster they encounter. Hardiman thinks this film will be another step forward for the production company.

“This is going to be the film that shows everybody you can make a film in West Virginia,” says Hardiman.

For “Porkchop,” Brandon Raker joined Razor Sharp Productions to serve as producer and assistant director. One-time prop man Dave Russell returns as Hardiman’s director of photography. Zack Bassham has also come aboard to assist with screenwriting duties. Bassham first worked with Razor Sharp through a music video Hardiman made for The Big Bad, Bassham’s horror-punk band. “He just saw how fun it was to make [The Big Bad video] and he’s a big horror fan, so it’s kind of a natural fit,” says Hardiman.

Bassham says he’s frustrated with the way horror movies are made now, with nearly every film rehashing an earlier one. “Why go and take something that’s good and remove what was good about it? Why not come up with an original idea?”

So Bassham wanted to make “Porkchop” different. He wants to make scary movies fun again. “That’s sort of needed. There’s nothing fun about the movies that are coming out,” Bassham said.

Bassham says the idea for “Porkchop” comes from his “love of the ’80s” and a ghost story about a poltergeist-possessed house inhabited by a giant pig man. He also drew inspiration from a childhood fear of a monster called the Gob Sow. Bassham says he doesn’t know what a Gob Sow is, but his parents threatened him with it when he misbehaved. “I remember thinking there is nothing scarier than a giant pig man,” says Bassham.

So, “Porkchop” was born.

Also entering the Razor Sharp fold is Chris Woodall, a local special effects and makeup artist. Like Bassham, Woodall first worked with Hardiman on the Big Bad music video. The relationship seemed like a natural fit. “I always thought it was weird I’d never worked with [Hardiman] before,” Woodall says. A former trumpet player for the once-local band 69 Fingers, Woodall has worked on make-up for local Dan Kehde and Mark Scarpelli productions like “Frankenstein,” “Mary: A Rock Opera,” and “Griswold and the Goblin King.”

Though Hardiman says his crew is almost ready to begin shooting, a few loose ends have to be tied up. Razor Sharp is still casting for some roles, and is trying to secure the rights for a 1980s-era Ballard’s Farms commercial.  They’re also in need of funding. Fans can buy producer credits online at porkchopmovie.com or purchase Razor SharpT-shirts (on sale at the Blue Parrot and the Empty Glass).

Razor Sharp Productions will begin shooting “Porkchop” at the end of July, and will continue every weekend in August. Raker says they plan to have the movie ready for release by Halloween, but details of the release haven’t been worked out yet. “We don’t want to get too far ahead since we haven’t started shooting yet,” says Raker.

For more information about “Porkchop” or Razor Sharp Productions, call Brandon Raker at 304-807-3289 or visit razorsharppro.blogspot.com.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Ready for Release

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Release: Aug 7, 2009

 

Taglines

-Evil Never Looked So Good

-When All Else Fails, They Don’t

 

Plot outline
An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

 

Trivia

Sam Worthington was considered for the role of Duke, but turned it down due scheduling conflicts with Avatar.

David Murray was cast as Destro, but dropped it when he had problems with his visa. He was replaced by Christopher Eccleston; however, the character was named James McCullen XXIV, thus enabling Murray to film a flashback scene as the first Destro, James McCullen I.

Skip Woods wrote an early draft of the film, which featured Alex Mann (aka Britain’s Action Man) and the antagonist as the Naja/Ryan, a corrupt CIA agent. Scarlett is married to Action Man but still has feelings for Duke, and is killed by the Baroness. Snake-Eyes speaks, but his vocal cords are slashed during the story, rendering him mute.

 

Makeup Dept

Leo Corey Castellano … makeup department head: second unit
Leo Corey Castellano … prosthetic design and application
Patricia Dehaney-Le May … hair stylist: second unit
Linda Dvorakova … hair stylist: second unit
Roxane Griffin … key hair stylist
Barbara Kichi … hair stylist
Toby Lamm … additional makeup artist
Bart Mixon … special makeup effects ast to Kazuhiro Tsuji
Michael Mosher … special makeup effects artist
Jessica Nelson … contact lens technician
Gabriela Polakova … makeup artist
Richard Redlefsen … special makeup effects artist
Bobo Sobatka… makeup artist
  Kimberley Spiteri … department head hair stylist: second unit
  Peter Tothpal … hair department head
  Kazuhiro Tsuji … special makeup effects artist
  Cindy J. Williams … makeup department head
  Hiroshi Yada … special makeup effects crew: KTsfx
  Kentaro Yano … makeup artist

 

Special Effects Department

Ozzy Alvarez … special makeup effects technician:   Quantum Creation FX
Ryan Banfield … mold maker
Gary D. Bierend … second unit special effects crew
David Boucher … special effects technician
John P. Cazin … special effects crew
Jerry Constantine … specialty costumer
Sophia Coronado … specialty costumes: Film Illusions
  Matt Corrigan … special effects technician
  Jeff Crocker … mold maker
  Sam Dean … special effects technician
  Robert Kato DeStefan … specialty costume crew
  Brandon Engstrom … special effects technician
  Damian Fisher … mold maker
  Damian Fisher … special effects technician
  Megan Flagg … specialty costumer
  Terry Glass … special effects foreman: UK
  Joe Gomez … mold shop supervisor
  Roy Goode … pyrotechnician
  Allan B. Holt … special effects technician
  Jeff Jingle … special effects props
  Pete Kelley … special effects technician
  Brenna Kelly … special effects assistant
  Yong Lee … specialty costume crew
  Shane Mahan … accelerator suit effects: Stan Winston Studio
  Jacqueline Makkee … special effects technician: Quantum Creation FX
  Al Marangoni … special effects technician
  Keith Marbory … special effects makeup
  David Merritt … accelerator suit model department key coordinator: stan winston studio
  David Mesloh … special effects technician
  Hans Metz … special effects technician
  Sara R. Morris … special effects purchaser
  Jesse Noel … special effects technician
  Justin Raleigh … specialty prop / specialty costume coordinator: Quantum Creation FX
  William ‘Barcode’ Rosa … lab technician
  Scott Schutzki … model maker: props
  Ray Shaffer … specialty costume crew
  Charles Sowles … costume props
  Christopher A. Suarez … special effects technician
  Daniel Sudick … special effects coordinator
  Sally Wilson … texture artist
  Chris Zega … lab technician: Stan Winston Studios