A legend remembered

When most fans think about people who are important in the moviemaking process, typically the actors and directors come to mind, and almost no one else. They get a lot of the credit for a film’s success, even though there are hundreds of others doing some awesome things behind the scenes that really drive and shape the industry and the films it produces.\nOne of those people was special-effects master Stan Winston. \nSadly, Winston passed away this week, leaving behind an amazing legacy in film and a huge effect on me personally.\nWinston was a special-effects pioneer, especially when it came to really great practical effects. Sure, that doesn’t seem that special or amazing, but take a quick look at the characters that Winston helped create or bring to life over the past 30 years or so: the T-101 in “The Terminator;” The Predator in “Predator;” the aliens in “Aliens;” the dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park;” The Penguin in “Batman Returns;” and most recently, “Iron Man.” \nThese are arguably some of the most important characters in cinema from the past three decades, if not the most important. And although other people may have written their words and others embodied their image, Stan Winston brought them to life. \nIt’s odd to think that people would go see a movie because of who did the special effects, but that’s what I did because of Winston. I was a huge “Terminator” fan as a child, and after doing some research on who brought the character to life, I was mesmerized by how fantastic Winston and his work was. He worked on some questionable projects – Darkness Falls” and “Congo” – but eventually I watched these flicks because I wanted to see what type of effects Winston used. \nWinston’s work has seemed even more important in recent years because his practical effects were always up against CGI, which has dominated the film industry over the last decade. All the while, people like George Lucas were obsessed with green screens and having their actors perform while looking at nothing, Winston’s use of practicality looked even better. The suit he developed for “Iron Man” looked much better than it ever would have if it was all CGI. \nMaybe even more importantly, it seems Winston had a profound effect on his co-workers within the business, especially some of the big-time blockbuster directors he worked with. Since Monday, Hollywood titans like James Cameron (“Terminator”), Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”) and Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”) have all released personal stories and heartfelt sentiments about Winston. These aren’t just atypical press release statements about someone they once worked with; they’re about a friend who changed their life in many ways. \nI obviously never met Stan Winston or anyone who ever worked with him. But in a way, his ideas were a catalyst for my love of movies. He did much more in his life, but for that alone, he deserved these 500 words. Goodbye Stan, you’ll definitely be missed.