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Lance Anderson is known for Planet of the Apes (2001), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and Dawn of the Dead (2004).- Special Effects
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Richard J. Landon was born on 18 October 1960 in San Diego, California, USA. He is known for Jurassic Park (1993), Predator (1987) and Aliens (1986).- Special Effects
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Alec Gillis began his professional career in 1980 at Roger Corman's New World Pictures. While working with future luminaries such as James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd, Alec also attended UCLA Film School. By 1985 he began working for Creature FX legend Stan Winston ("Aliens", "Predator", "Pumpkinhead"). There he met Tom Woodruff, Jr with whom he co-founded the Creature FX studio Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) in 1988.
The duo received an Oscar for their work on "Death Becomes Her", as well as nominations for "Alien 3" and "Starship Troopers". They also won BAFTAs and Saturn Awards for the films "Starship Troopers" and "Jumanji".
Gillis is also a writer. His book Worlds: A Mission of Discovery has been optioned by a major studio. He's also written a number of screenplays and created a TV series.- June, 2014
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Howard Berger was born in Los Angeles, CA. Howard was raised on monster films and knew at an early age someone made those monster for the movies and began figuring it out at age 8 when he was introduced to Famous Monster of Filmland Magazine. His parents were very supportive and indulged his obsession of makeup and monster. When Howard went to a sci-fi convention in LA, he saw his idol Rick Baker speak and that was it! Howard was hooked and with the inspiration from Rick, Stan Winston, Dick Smith, Rob Bottin and others, he forged a path towards his career in film and TV as a special makeup effects artist.
Once out of high school he began working at Stan Winston Studios on PREDATOR, ALIENS, PUMPKINHEAD and then moved on to work for Rick Baker on the Oscar winning HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS.
Howard ended up meeting fellow monster makers Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman and the 3 became fast friends, room mates and eventually co-owners of KNB EFX GROUP, which was founded in 1988. In the decades to come Howard and Greg would gather a cache of great directors, actors and films to work with and in 2006, Howard won an Oscar for the makeup work in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Howard would then be nominated again for his work on Sir Anthony Hopkins for the film HITCHCOCK.
Howard continues to be a guiding force at KNB, along with Greg Nicotero, and has added being a Makeup Dept. Head to his list of achievements, starting with Peter Berg's film LONE SURVIVOR. In the past decade he has Dept. Headed over a dozen films and TV series.
Howard is a Governor of there Makeup Artists and Hair Stylist Branch at the AMPAS. He lives in Sherman Oaks with artist wife Mirjam and he has 3 grown children, none of which followed in his foot steps, and followed their own dreams as he did.- Special Effects
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In 1949, 16 years after his ground-breaking work on the 1933 film "King Kong", Willis O'Brien worked as Chief Technician on another gorilla film for Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack titled "Mighty Joe Young". A young Ray Harryhausen would do most of the animation, but O'Brien did come up with the designs for the film. At the 1950 Academy Awards, O'Brien was awarded an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for "Mighty Joe Young". This, along with "King Kong", are often considered his greatest achievements.- Special Effects
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Shane Mahan is known for Iron Man (2008), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and The Suicide Squad (2021).- Producer
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Rick Lazzarini is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Character Shop, creating fantastic creatures, puppets and animatronic effects for over twenty five years. Lazzarini has built and puppeteered creations from a miniature six inch replica of Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell for "Hook," to life- sized elephants for "Operation Dumbo Drop", all the way up to a beautiful 20 foot tall marionette for Mayflower Moving. He heads the Animatronics Institute, has taught courses at USC, UCLA and AFI, and is a guest instructor at the Stan Winston School of Character Arts.- Make-Up Department
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Beginning with such characters as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) and Chucky in the "Child's Play" films, Kevin Yagher has established himself as one of the top make-up effects artists by developing and creating life-like creatures, aliens, animals and humans with meticulous detail. His company, Kevin Yagher Productions Inc. (KYPI), has created effects for such high-profile projects as Paramount Pictures thriller Face/Off (1997), Enemy of the State (1998) Volcano (1997), Starship Troopers (1997), and Conspiracy Theory (1997). KYPI's creations have also graced the screen in a variety of genres from Columbia Pictures' Radio Flyer (1992) to Paramount Pictures' action-adventure Mission: Impossible II (2000) to Walt Disney's comedy Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992). Yagher has further expanded his creative efforts by directing. For the HBO series Tales from the Crypt (1989), he directed all of the show's wraparounds and several promotional spots, one of which earned him an Emmy in 1992. He also helmed two episodes for this cable series, (HBO's Tales from the Crypt (1989)) receiving a Cable Ace nomination in the process.- Special Effects
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Billy Bryan was born on 20 September 1954 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. He is an actor, known for Men in Black (1997), Species (1995) and Ghostbusters (1984).- Visual Effects
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David Allen was born on 22 October 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is known for The Howling (1981), Willow (1988) and Ghostbusters II (1989). He was married to Donita Woodruff. He died on 16 August 1999 in Burbank, California, USA.- Special Effects
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Bill Sturgeon is known for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), The Addams Family (1991) and The Ring (2002).- Visual Effects
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Jon Berg is known for The Fly (1986), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).- Special Effects
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Carlo Rambaldi was born on 15 September 1925 in Vigarano Mainarda, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is known for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), King Kong (1976) and Alien (1979). He was married to Bruna Basso. He died on 10 August 2012 in Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy.- Make-Up Department
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David LeRoy Anderson is known for Men in Black (1997), The Nutty Professor (1996) and The Cabin in the Woods (2011). He has been married to Heather Langenkamp since 24 March 1990. They have two children.- Visual Effects
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Harold Weed was born on 23 December 1962 in San Francisco County, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Minority Report (2002) and Star Trek: Generations (1994).- Make-Up Department
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Gifted SFX and make-up wizard, who learned his trade under the watchful eye of SFX splatter guru Tom Savini. Nicotero and buddies, Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman started KNB Efx Group in 1988 and the group has provided eye-popping & jaw dropping special effects for major Hollywood releases including The Green Mile (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Sin City (2005) and Land of the Dead (2005).- Make-Up Department
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Known best for the films "127 Hours," "Zombieland Double Tap," "Hocus Pocus," and"Bad Grandpa," as well as his work with Daft Punk, Tony Gardner began his film career working on "Michael Jackson's Thriller" under the auspices of Rick Baker.
His very first independent FX job was an animatronic Half-Corpse for Dan O'Bannon's "The Return of the Living Dead," followed by Chuck Russell's feature film remake of "The Blob." Tony quickly established a reputation for delivering innovative effects work, and was quickly considered one of the most creative and reliable artists in Hollywood and abroad.In 1992, Tony created the disfigured title character for director Sam Raimi's classic film,"Darkman." From there, Tony's career took off. Films as varied as "Hocus Pocus," "Army of Darkness," "Hairspray," and the "Jackass" series followed.
Always once to believe that the on-screen presentation of the effects is equally as important as the design and creation, he has always been directly involved in the filming process on each film or television project, at times storyboarding scenes as well as directing second unit or the effects sequences for the films he's involved with. His collaboration with Daft Punk has led to writing, directing, and co-producing music videos, several of which have been lauded at worldwide festivals.
And his attention to detail and realism has led to investigations launched by the FBI, the LAPD, the Arizona State Police, and Missing Person's Division - all testaments to the quality of his work, albeit in a VERY roundabout way. His realistic attention to detail on Danny Boyle's film "127 Hours" led to screenings being halted and audience members passing out.
His company Alterian, Inc. is located in Los Angeles, California.- Make-Up Department
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Stuart Conran is known for Shaun of the Dead (2004), Mutant Chronicles (2008) and Attack the Block (2011).- Special Effects
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Richard Taylor is known for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), King Kong (2005) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).- Special Effects
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Steve Johnson was born on 7 February 1960 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is known for Species (1995), Blade II (2002) and Species II (1998). He was previously married to Constance Zimmer and Linnea Quigley.- Special Effects
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Doug joined the Motion Picture Costumers Local 705 In 2002 as a "Specialty Costume Manufacturer", which allows him to work on all aspects in the creation of a costume, to apply all of his knowledge, techniques and skills from his 20+ years within the special creature/character/makeup effects industry and more. Specialty Costume projects are ones that require realistic ageing and dying, prototyping, translating design, creating armors, unique costumes and a variety textile work. A few of his skills include but are not limited to; Airbrush and Paint work, Foam Fabrication, Construction, Swarovski Embellishments, Age and Dye, Sculpture, Leatherwork, Screen Print, Stencil, Mold Making, Masks, Casting, Staining, Metal, Costume Props, Armor, Headpieces, Specialty Patterning, Sewing and more. Doug has also spent 5 years working with the Cirque du Soleil, in Las Vegas, where he learned and shared, new and old techniques. Prior to working as a Local 705 Specialty Costume Manufacturer, Doug created special makeup, creature and character effects (FX). Bringing that experience into the world of costumes can be considered an asset for any designer and build team, potentially eliminating the need to outsource.- Make-Up Department
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Andy Schoneberg was born on 17 July 1956 in Casper, Wyoming, USA. He is known for Jurassic Park (1993), Starship Troopers (1997) and Mortal Kombat (1995).- Make-Up Department
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Mark grew up in Hong Kong during the 1970s. He became interested in makeup after seeing Bride of Frankenstein (1935) starring Boris Karloff. In Hong Kong, Mark became friends with Karloff's widow Evelyn, who encouraged him to pursue makeup. He corresponded with John Chambers, makeup designer for Planet of the Apes (1968) during 1976-77. After moving to L.A., Chambers gave Mark his first contacts in the film business. He began his career in movies creating scar makeup on Didi Conn for the Academy Award winning Best Short Film Violet (1981) and as a lab assistant to Rick Baker on Videodrome (1983). Mark opened his own studio in 1985, designing and creating special makeup effects for numerous cult films of the 80s such as Evil Dead II (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), From Beyond (1986) and Phantasm II (1988). He was a staff sculptor and makeup creator for Michael Westmore on Star Trek: Voyager (1995) for three years.
Turning to writing, Mark's first screenplay placed Semi-Finalist in the top 1% of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, as well as Semi-Finalist in the Chesterfield (Paramount) Writers Competition. He has also been a Quarter-Finalist in the Nicholl and three other times made the top 10%. Three of Mark's scripts became Second Rounders in the Austin Film Festival's 2016 Screenplay Competition.- Additional Crew
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Mark Bryan Wilson was born on 10 September 1958 in Newhall, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Men in Black (1997), Species (1995) and Virus (1999).- Art Department
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Robert Clark is known for Blade Runner (1982), Angels & Demons (2009) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).- Animation Department
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Pete Kleinow was born on 20 August 1934 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. He was a director, known for Starship Troopers (1997), The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). He was married to Ernestine Kleinow. He died on 6 January 2007 in Petaluma, California, USA.- Make-Up Department
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Gary J. Tunnicliffe has been working in the film industry since 1990, primarily designing and creating special make up effects on over 130 feature films including entries in many of the most well known 'horror genre' franchises (Hellraiser, Halloween, Candyman, Scream, Exorcist, Blade, Feast, The Collector etc)
He is especially known for crafting elaborate and shocking death sequences which earned him the moniker 'The Hollywood Assassin'
He has also written and directed several feature films (working with actors including Christopher Lloyd, Chevy Chase, Dakota Fanning, Chloe Grace Moretz, Lynne Redgrave, Howie Mandel etc)
Semi retired he still continues to design effects for occasional projects, for Patrick Lussier (a relationship spanning 23 years and 8 Films) and for Vincent Van Dyke as a part of his make up effects team.- Make-Up Department
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Academy Award winner and 2 time Emmy winner Christopher Allen Nelson moved to Los Angeles at the age of 15. He has established himself as one of the top Special FX Make-up Artists and designers in the industry, after having worked for Rick Baker, Steve Johnson, KNB, Stan Winston, and many more over the course of 29 years. His love and intricate knowledge for all aspects of film, television, story, and art has set him apart as one of the most well rounded artists in the industry.- Special Effects
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Walt Conti was born in 1960. He is known for The Perfect Storm (2000), Innerspace (1987) and Deep Blue Sea (1999).- Special Effects
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Don Chandler was born in San Francisco in 1922. He served in the Navy during World War II. After serving he sought refuge in the arts. He attended the Corcoran School of Arts and Design, San Francisco State College, Arts Student League of New York, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (certificate in Sculpture), Syracuse University (BA Fine Arts) and Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
In 1962 he married Ruth Kading and settled in Whittier, California - where they lived for the rest of their lives.
One of Don's ultimate life goals was to become a professional sculptor - a goal by all possible metrics he achieved. During his prime years he was highly sought after in Hollywood - both in motion pictures and television
His specific contributions to motion pictures, television and commercial arts and sciences are discussed in the 2017 publication "Donald Erik Chandler - Personal and Professional Life Stories". An online version (ISBN 978-1-7320096-2-2) is available at no charge at archive.org
A modest and humble man who, for most of his professional life, worked behind-the-scenes for some of Hollywood's greatest - and brought their dreams and aspirations to life. In his body-of-work are creations that have touched the lives of many millions of people worldwide. Some are the scariest beasts ever while others are soft, warm and cuddly.
Don Chandler passed in 2005.- Visual Effects
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Born to an Air-Force family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Crash spent his early childhood in the vagabond style of military life. Most of his early training began from observing nature, where he gained a deep appreciation for the natural order of things. He seemed to have developed an understanding of light and shade and how objects related to one another. Along with his observations of present nature, he was also intrigued with visions of what once was, namely prehistoric wildlife. He delved into the study of Paleontology and soon found the marriage between factual science and the powers of the imagination to be the perfect testing ground for creating what was once only a world of fantasy. Crash made the proclamation that, when he grew up, he was going to 'do dinosaurs.'
Crash received a scholarship to the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, graduating with a BFA in illustration in 1988. That same year he met Stan Winston - consequently establishing a working relationship that would last for 12 years. Crash's first design challenge was Predator II, directed by Stephen Hopkins. He soon found himself immersed in the work that he could before only admire as a fan. Soon after, he collaborated with Tim Burton for "Edward Scissorhands." Burton was indeed a hero of Crash's, and as such, Crash reveled in the collaboration. Incorporating the facial features of actor Johnny Depp, Crash translated Burton's concepts into three different illustrations, one of which was selected as the final look for the character.
Immediately following was James Cameron's epic science fiction sequel "Terminator 2." With Cameron's background in art direction, Crash was challenged to satisfy the eye of a brilliant artist as well as director. Cameron had Crash designing for what came to be a $205 million box office sensation. Working once again with Tim Burton, Crash was asked to design the Penguin makeup Danny DeVito would wear in "Batman Returns." The result was an unforgettable character that redefined the villainous role portrayed in the comic books and distanced itself, through originality, from the television series of the '60's and '70's. Outselling the highest expectations with an overall box office success of $163 million. This design also attained a makeup Academy nomination for best make-up in a film.
The following year, "Jurassic Park" finally gave Crash the opportunity to work with whom he considers to be one of the greatest minds in filmmaking, Steven Spielberg, while also fulfilling his childhood prophecy - he was about to 'do dinosaurs' - and do them in an entirely unprecedented fashion. A whole new vision of dinosaurs, a whole new take on a kind of movie that had been done a million times before - essentially, breaking the mold. With new science and new ideas about what dinosaurs really were, the film depicted dinosaurs that were very active, warm-blooded and even intelligent. Because the project was cloaked in secrecy in its early stages, Crash worked in solitude on his concepts and rendered dinosaurs for an entire year. Once the film went into actual production, Crash served as an on-set puppeteer, breathing life into the prehistoric characters through radio-and cable-controlled performances, as well as performing as the Raptor he designed, donning the full size Raptor suit himself.
On the heels of the phenomenal box-office success of "Jurassic Park's" $357 million, Crash went back to the drawing board to design make-ups for "Interview With the Vampire." The responsibility on this project was to satisfy the fans of the book without necessarily creating the ultimate vampire. Casting indecisions delayed the process and warranted multiple designs for the lead character, Lestat. Once Tom Cruise was finally cast, Crash helped to design a makeup that was both subtle and as faithful as possible to author Anne Rice's descriptions. From the subtlety of the vampire make-ups, Crash moved to the comic book fantasy realm with "Tank Girl," a film populated with characters that were half-human, half-kangaroo. Mutations of man and beast were also the basis for the 1996 remake of "The Island of Dr. Moreau," which featured a variety of his characters.
"The Relic," directed by Peter Hyams, challenged Crash to design a beast composed of features derived from several different animal types. He opted to stress the physical prowess of the multi-phylum beast ultimately illustrating another original character, which found its way into cult status.
In the summer of 1995 he was once again given the opportunity to focus his talents on the prehistoric era. "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" allowed Crash to further populate his cast of dinosaur creations for Steven Spielberg's epic series. In fact, Crash helped to redefine dinosaurs. Jurassic Park's two films have grossed more than $1.6 Billion worldwide. The theme park ride is one of the most successful attractions in Universal Studios, Florida and Hollywood. The home videos flew off the shelves to the tune of $454 million. Merchandise sales including toys, clothing, video games, and books reached an approximate $1.5 billion.
For the 1998 high-concept Dreamworks project "Small Soldiers," Crash designed and art directed a team of illustrators creating the Commando Elite and Gorgonites, toy action figures implanted with high-tech military computer chips that allow them to take on a life of their own. This was a film that was meant to drive toy sales. In fact it did just that. Hasbro was brought in to facilitate manufacturing and distribution of the line, as it took on a life of its own, out grossing the box office revenues by twice the amount. The toy concepts alone reached $150 million in sales.
After a decade of designing some of the greatest iconic film characters in movie making history, Crash's notoriety began to escalate, driving him into a category he could only dream of as a young boy, being referred to as one of the top five in his profession. Crash went on to create a multitude of characters for the major studios biggest releases, working non-stop for a two year period with films such as Disney's "Inspector Gadget," Dreamworks' "Galaxy Quest," Universal's "End of Days," where he was reunited with director Peter Hyams, and Dreamworks "What Lies Beneath" the Hitchcockian murder mystery directed by Robert Zemeckis.
After having mastered the ability to create artwork that captured the essence of storytelling, it was natural that Crash would develop a desire to tell stories in a literal sense, and thus began studying the art of writing in 1998 while continuing to build his repertoire of character designs.
The opportunity presented itself in 1999 with the HBO.Creature Features series whereby Crash sold the first two stories he humbly pitched and then wrote. The first, "Earth vs. The Spider" went into production in early 2001, set to air at the end of the year, and is due to be distributed internationally through Columbia Tri-Star.
Just as the door had opened and the foray into writing began for Crash, the work that had attached him the Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy genre knocked once again with a third installment of "Jurassic Park," helmed by Joe Johnston, a director Crash holds in high esteem. He jumped back to his drawing board and began designing.
Steve Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence was Crash's next endeavor. Not since "Jurassic Park" had Crash's designs, been so closely guarded. It too received an academy award nomination for best visual effects in a film. Through his new company Calypso Productions Inc., Crash has continued to create. His latest include the characters for "Sound of Thunder," which once again teamed his with Peter Hyams, Larry Kasdan's "Dreamcatcher," Ang Lee's "Hulk," Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean," Henson's "Time Dogs," Anschultz Entertainment's "Lion Witch and The Wardrobe," and Steven Sommer's "Van Helsing," Ilya Salkind's "Abominable Snowman," Steven King's/Sony's "Kingdom Hospital," and Universal's "Submariner."
Crash is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. His work has been featured in Cinefex magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Barbara Walters "Most Fascinating People," In Hollywood, Extra Entertainment tonight, Movie Magic, Jurassic Park DVD, The Making of Jurassic Park, The Making of Terminator 2, Make-up Magazine, Fangoria Magazine, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of the Moving Image as well as many other periodicals and newspapers worldwide.- Special Effects
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Screaming Mad George was born on 7 October 1956 in Osaka, Japan. He is known for Predator (1987), The Abyss (1989) and The Guyver (1991).- Art Department
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Norman Cabrera is a Special FX Make-Up Artist, Sculptor, and Director with over 37 years of Motion Picture experience. For over three decades he's lent his talents to some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters including Hellboy, The Walking Dead, Cabinet of Curiosities, From Dusk till Dawn and more. His passion for movies and making monsters started early and at the age of 20 he began his career working for Rick Baker working on films that include Harry and The Hendersons, Coming to America, Gremlins 2, and Gorillas in the Mist. In addition to film work, Cabrera also immersed himself in the world of music videos since the late 80's, creating wild visuals, costume and stage design for Rob Zombie/White Zombie, Danzig, The Misfits, The Ramones and more and directed highly stylized music videos for Municipal Waste, BAT, Ottto and others.