Stan Winston passes away

[HauntVentFX]

Stan Winston died at home Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a rep from Stan Winston Studio.

The following was posted at www.SlashFilm.com....

(quote)
I have a bit of unfortunate news to report. Academy Award winning special effects and make-up artist Stan Winston died last night. Winston is best known for his work in the Terminator series (Winston designed the original Terminator Endoskeleton), Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator, and Edward Scissorhands. A frequent collaborator of James Cameron, they co-founded Digital Domain in 1993. Winston was the second special effects artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Winston also worked on The Thing, Friday the 13th Part III, Alien Nation, The Monster Squad, Pumpkinhead, Interview with the Vampire, Congo, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Small Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Big Fish, Constantine, Batman Returns and Iron Man. His work will be seen in upcoming films: Black Mountain, James Cameron’s Avatar, and Terminator 4.
(unquote)

[lurker]

This is sad. He was an incredible artist. He created one of my favorite all time movie monsters, Pumpkinhead.
He will be missed.

[Jonathan]

Thats a sad day. I met him a while back and loved it. We talked for a long time about FX and where he began. He will be missed.

[Matt Marich]

The book on Stan Winston Studios is one of the best compulations ever, great information and awsome pictures. I met Stan one time with Tom Burman.

Very sad to see...,

Matt

[UndeadProd]

This is staggering news, and has really impacted me.

The following message was recently posted by someone else on a genre website, but I find it best sums up my feelings:

It's impossible to overestimate the effect that Stan Winston had on the world of fantastic film. Winston's latest work was the Iron Man suit Robert Downey Jr wore in the Marvel blockbuster, but his career stretches back through three decades of revolutionary work, including the iconic metal skeleton of the Terminator to the animatronic dinosaurs of Jurassic Park to the work that got him his ninth Oscar nomination with AI (he won four).

Stan had not been working as much in recent years, but he had a number of very high-profile films on his plate, including James Cameron's recently wrapped Avatar, the now-shooting Terminator 4 and the upcoming Jurassic Park IV.

And while his work in practical effects was second to none, he was also a major pioneer in CGI, co-founding Digital Domain with James Cameron. This is the guy who created the Predator! He brought the Xenomorphs to life in Aliens. Hell, I was recently enjoying his work while watching Galaxy Quest on cable.

To say this comes as a shock is understatement to the extreme - I'm not even sure if Stan being sick was public knowledge. In an interesting bit of synchronicity, Stan's Malibu estate just sold over the weekend. I suppose he was getting his affairs in order.

Too often we get choked up about the deaths of people past their prime, but Stan Winston was only 62, and it seemed like he had years and years ahead of him to continue working stunning movie magic. I don't want to be too schmaltzy, but today is truly a shitty day for people who love seeing dreams come alive on film.

[lurker]

The book on Stan Winston Studios is one of the best compulations ever, great information and awsome pictures.

I bought that book as a Christmas gift for myself last year, and I loved it. It inspired me to get back into sculpting and casting.

[damon carson]

Wow that really sucks! I always admired him and all the great monsters he created! Pumpkinhead and Predator were some of my favorites that he made. But there were so many more. Its really sad to hear this. He will be remembered in his films.
Damon

[SHELDON]

Farewell Stan...

It's always difficult to say goodbye to your hero and mentor. Goodbye Stan and thank you.