Rob Bottin
American special make-up effects creator (born 1959)
Rob Bottin
Born (1959-04-01 ) April 1, 1959 (age 65) Occupation Special make-up effects creatorYears active 1976–2014 Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Robin R. Bottin [ 1] (born April 1, 1959) is an American special make-up effects creator. Known for his collaborations with directors John Carpenter , Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher , Bottin worked with Carpenter on both The Fog and The Thing , with Verhoeven on RoboCop , Total Recall and Basic Instinct , and with Fincher on Se7en and Fight Club . His many other film credits include The Howling , Legend , Innerspace and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas .
Well respected in his field of prosthetic makeup (better known as special make-up effects), and described in 2013 as a "special effects genius",[ 2] Bottin was nominated for an Oscar in 1986 for Best Makeup , and was awarded a Special Achievement Academy Award at the 1991 Academy Awards .[ 3] He has two BAFTA nominations, and won two Saturn Awards with five further nominations.[ 4]
Early life
Bottin was born in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, California . His father was a foreman for a van and storage company.[ 5] From an early age Bottin enjoyed a steady stream of old horror films, as well as magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland .
Career
At age 14, Bottin sent an autograph request which included one of his intricate drawings to well-known special make-up effects artist Rick Baker , who promptly invited him to discuss monsters with him.[ 6] Eventually he was offered to apprentice with Baker on various films, such as the Star Wars Cantina scene creatures.[ 6] [ 7] Bottin portrayed the tallest player in the Cantina band.
His first big solo break was The Howling , where he was called to create an on-screen transformation from man to werewolf when Rick Baker's schedule was busy with a different production. Notably, Bottin's effect in The Howling appeared five months before his mentor Baker's similar scene in An American Werewolf in London .
After asking cinematographer Dean Cundey to introduce him to director John Carpenter , Bottin was hired by Carpenter to create the special makeup effects for his 1980 film The Fog .[ 8] In that film, Bottin provided the physical makeup effects, and had a small part in the film as Captain Blake.
Bottin's reputation grew when he again worked with Carpenter on The Thing . Bottin worked on The Thing seven days a week (including late nights) for a year and five weeks straight, producing every creature effect (with the exception of the transformed dog, which was partially done by Stan Winston ).[ 9] According to the making of documentary on the DVD, Bottin's schedule was so punishing, and his attention to detail so precise, that after filming finished, he was hospitalised with exhaustion and pneumonia .
Although his work was at first criticized for being too gruesome or distracting from the film's psychological themes, it has since been credited for actually enhancing the feel of the film.[citation needed ] In one scene in which a character's head stretches off, Bottin decided to melt plastic. Little did he know that the melted plastic released explosive paint thinner so when the director decided to put flame under the camera lens the entire prosthetic exploded.[ 8]
He later worked on the special make-up effects in Ridley Scott 's Legend , which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup .
Notably, Bottin designed and built the RoboCop suit in Paul Verhoeven 's RoboCop ,[ 10] and designed and built many striking special effects in Verhoeven's Total Recall , the latter of which earned Bottin a Special Achievement Academy Award .
Filmography
References
^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995 . Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
^ Debreceni, Todd (2013). Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics . Taylor & Francis. p. 37. ISBN 978-1136060779 .
^ Petrikin, Chris (August 18, 1997). "New Line taps Bottin for 'Freddy vs. Jason' " . Variety . Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2024 .
^ "IMDB Awards - Rob Bottin" . IMDB. Retrieved May 19, 2014 .
^ Rob Bottin Biography (1959?-)
^ a b Svitil, Torene (June 6, 1990). "Rob Bottin: A Wizard in the World of Special Effects : Movies: The makeup effects artist creates more high-tech illusion in the futuristic action-thriller 'Total Recall.' " . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 21, 2024 .
^ The Morphing Artist: From Stop-Motion to CGI VFX HQ, May 1997.
^ a b "The Thing Takes Shape", excerpts from the interview with Rob Bottin
^ "Behind The Scenes Stan Winston's dog-thing from 'The Thing' -- Creating an Iconic Alien" . Retrieved December 3, 2019 .
^ Denby, David (July 27, 1987). "The Soul of a New Machine" . New York Magazine . p. 57. Retrieved November 1, 2024 .
External links
Awards for Rob Bottin
1963–1980
Emil Kosa Jr. – Cleopatra (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw , Eustace Lycett , and Hamilton Luske – Mary Poppins (1964)
John Stears – Thunderball (1965)
Art Cruickshank – Fantastic Voyage (1966)
L. B. Abbott – Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Robie Robertson – Marooned (1969)
A. D. Flowers and L. B. Abbott – Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Alan Maley , Eustace Lycett , and Danny Lee – Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers – The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Frank Brendel , Glen Robinson , and Albert Whitlock – Earthquake (1974)
Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson – The Hindenburg (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi , Glen Robinson , and Frank Van der Veer – King Kong (1976)
John Stears , John Dykstra , Richard Edlund , Grant McCune , and Robert Blalack – Star Wars (1977)
Les Bowie , Colin Chilvers , Denys Coop , Roy Field , Derek Meddings , and Zoran Perisic – Superman (1978)
H. R. Giger , Carlo Rambaldi , Brian Johnson , Nick Allder , and Dennis Ayling – Alien (1979)
Brian Johnson , Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , and Bruce Nicholson – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981–2000
Richard Edlund , Kit West , Bruce Nicholson , and Joe Johnston – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi , Dennis Muren , and Kenneth F. Smith – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Ken Ralston , and Phil Tippett – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dennis Muren , Michael J. McAlister , Lorne Peterson , and George Gibbs – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Ken Ralston , Ralph McQuarrie , Scott Farrar , and David Berry – Cocoon (1985)
Robert Skotak , Stan Winston , John Richardson , and Suzanne M. Benson – Aliens (1986)
Dennis Muren , Bill George , Harley Jessup , and Kenneth F. Smith - Innerspace (1987)
Ken Ralston , Richard Williams , Edward Jones , and George Gibbs – Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
John Bruno , Dennis Muren , Hoyt Yeatman , and Dennis Skotak – The Abyss (1989)
Eric Brevig , Rob Bottin , Tim McGovern , and Alex Funke – Total Recall (1990)
Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Gene Warren Jr. , and Robert Skotak – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ken Ralston , Doug Chiang , Douglas Smythe , and Tom Woodruff Jr. – Death Becomes Her (1992)
Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Phil Tippett , and Michael Lantieri – Jurassic Park (1993)
Ken Ralston , George Murphy , Stephen Rosenbaum , and Allen Hall – Forrest Gump (1994)
Scott E. Anderson , Charles Gibson , Neal Scanlan , and John Cox – Babe (1995)
Volker Engel , Douglas Smith , Clay Pinney , and Joe Viskocil – Independence Day (1996)
Robert Legato , Mark Lasoff , Thomas L. Fisher , and Michael Kanfer – Titanic (1997)
Joel Hynek , Nicholas Brooks , Stuart Robertson , and Kevin Mack – What Dreams May Come (1998)
John Gaeta , Janek Sirrs , Steve Courtley , and Jon Thum – The Matrix (1999)
John Nelson , Neil Corbould , Tim Burke , and Rob Harvey – Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020
Jim Rygiel , Randall William Cook , Richard Taylor , and Mark Stetson – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Jim Rygiel , Joe Letteri , Randall William Cook , and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jim Rygiel , Joe Letteri , Randall William Cook , and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
John Dykstra , Scott Stokdyk , Anthony LaMolinara , and John Frazier – Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Joe Letteri , Brian Van't Hul , Christian Rivers , and Richard Taylor – King Kong (2005)
John Knoll , Hal Hickel , Charles Gibson , and Allen Hall – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Michael L. Fink , Bill Westenhofer , Ben Morris , and Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass (2007)
Eric Barba , Steve Preeg , Burt Dalton , and Craig Barron – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Joe Letteri , Stephen Rosenbaum , Richard Baneham , and Andrew R. Jones – Avatar (2009)
Paul Franklin , Chris Corbould , Andrew Lockley , and Peter Bebb – Inception (2010)
Robert Legato , Joss Williams , Ben Grossmann , and Alex Henning – Hugo (2011)
Bill Westenhofer , Guillaume Rocheron , Erik-Jan de Boer , and Donald R. Elliott – Life of Pi (2012)
Tim Webber , Chris Lawrence , Dave Shirk , and Neil Corbould – Gravity (2013)
Paul Franklin , Andrew Lockley , Ian Hunter , and Scott R. Fisher – Interstellar (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington , Sara Bennett , Paul Norris , and Andrew Whitehurst – Ex Machina (2015)
Robert Legato , Adam Valdez , Andrew R. Jones , and Dan Lemmon – The Jungle Book (2016)
John Nelson , Gerd Nefzer , Paul Lambert , and Richard R. Hoover – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Paul Lambert , Ian Hunter , Tristan Myles , and J. D. Schwalm – First Man (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron , Greg Butler , and Dominic Tuohy – 1917 (2019)
Andrew Jackson , David Lee , Andrew Lockley , and Scott R. Fisher – Tenet (2020)
2021–present
1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.
1970s 1980s 1990s
Stan Winston (1991)
Ken Ralston , Tom Woodruff Jr., and Alec Gillis (1992)
Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Phil Tippett , and Michael Lantieri (1993)
John Bruno (1994)
Stan Parks (1995)
Volker Engel , Clay Pinney , Douglas Smith , and Joe Viskocil (1996)
Phil Tippett , Scott E. Anderson , Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., John Richardson (1997)
Volker Engel , Patrick Tatopoulos , Karen E. Goulekas , and Clay Pinney (1998)
Rob Coleman , John Knoll , Dennis Muren , and Scott Squires (1999)
2000s
Scott E. Anderson , Craig Hayes , Scott Stokdyk , and Stan Parks (2000)
Dennis Muren , Scott Farrar , Stan Winston , Michael Lantieri (2001)
Rob Coleman , Pablo Helman , John Knoll , and Ben Snow (2002)
Jim Rygiel , Joe Letteri , Randall William Cook , and Alex Funke (2003)
John Dykstra , Scott Stokdyk , Anthony LaMolinara , and John Frazier (2004)
Joe Letteri , Richard Taylor , Christian Rivers , and Brian Van't Hul (2005)
John Knoll , Hal T. Hickel , Charles Gibson , and Allen Hall (2006)
Scott Farrar , Scott Benza , Russell Earl , and John Frazier (2007)
Nick Davis , Chris Corbould , Timothy Webber , and Paul J. Franklin (2008)
Joe Letteri , Stephen Rosenbaum , Richard Baneham , and Andrew R. Jones (2009)
2010s
Chris Corbould , Andrew Lockley , Paul J. Franklin , and Peter Bebb (2010)
Dan Lemmon , Joe Letteri , R. Christopher White , and Daniel Barrett (2011)
Janek Sirrs , Jeff White , Guy Williams , and Dan Sudick (2012)
Tim Webber , Chris Lawrence , Dave Shirk , and Neil Corbould (2013)
Paul J. Franklin , Andrew Lockley , Ian Hunter , and Scott R. Fisher (2014)
Roger Guyett , Patrick Tubach , Neal Scanlan , and Chris Corbould (2015)
John Knoll , Mohen Leo , Hal Hickel , and Neil Corbould (2016)
Christopher Townsend , Guy Williams , Jonathan Fawkner , and Dan Sudick (2017)
Dan DeLeeuw , Matt Aitken , Russell Earl , and Dan Sudick (2018/19)
Roger Guyett , Neal Scanlan , Patrick Tubach , and Dominic Tuohy (2019/20)
2020s Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.
L. B. Abbott , A. D. Flowers (1972)
Frank Brendel , Glen Robinson , Albert Whitlock (1974)
Peter Berkos / Albert Whitlock , Glen Robinson (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi , Glen Robinson , Frank Van der Veer / L. B. Abbott , Glen Robinson , Matthew Yuricich (1976)
Ben Burtt / Frank Warner (1977)
Les Bowie , Colin Chilvers , Denys Coop , Roy Field , Derek Meddings , Zoran Perisic (1978)
Alan Splet (1979)
Brian Johnson , Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Bruce Nicholson (1980)
Ben Burtt , Richard L. Anderson (1981)
Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Ken Ralston , Phil Tippett (1983)
Kay Rose (1984)
Stephen Hunter Flick , John Pospisil (1987)
Richard Williams (1988)
Eric Brevig , Rob Bottin , Tim McGovern , Alex Funke (1990)
John Lasseter (1995)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (2017)
International National Other