FX designer Vincent Guastini has been making things for quite some time now. And after years of toil as master transformer of the cast in SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, his FX prowess will soon be displayed in the 30th Anniversary NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and Kevin Smith’s dark horror comedy DOGMA.

THE THING was Vinny’s certification of wanting to make monsters for a living, but he was already working on his career as he said, “By that time I was always sculpting and doing a lot of art type projects, as well as stop motion etc.” The young sculptor was passionate about learning the trade, “I started to get more and more magazines I was obsessed. I spent all my money to get supplies to make creatures to stuff my portfolio with new stuff.”

His mastery over rubber soon landed him top spots on television.“I was heading up TV projects; one being the MONSTERS TV series for LAUREL ENTERTAINMENT. After one season ended, I wanted to see what it was like to work in LA.” So off he went to discover what working on a crew was like. "I had an interview at Kevin Yahger Productions. And got to work on CHILD'S PLAY 3 and BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY.”

He soon decided that television and being his own boss was the preferable way and waiting for Vinny was SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. “My Effects coordinator and friend Louie Zakarian-who got his start with me and still runs all my movie projects for me-landed the job as head. He then asked if I would come in with him as an additional supervisor to run the prosthetics for the show.” It’s a fun experience that the make up man relishes. “We are all very much like a rock band me and my crew, were like the Goodfellas of makeup we all try to help one another out, if one person makes it, everyone does. And we keep one another level and try and keep our egos in tact.”

Vinny’s talents have not gone unnoticed, Rob Bottin, Guastini’s idol and influence wanted him for his crew on DEEP RISING but... “To be honest, I run my own shows, but I might do it-say if I was asked to run or supervise stuff on set-like I did for Greg Cannom on STEVE KING'S THINNER. I feel at this point in my life I should keep my heroes at a distance.”

Vinny landed the DOGMA gig by the old route, showing off his portfolio. “I hunted down Producer Scott Mosier and after many e-mailings and sending him my work. I finally met Scott, what a easy-going and great guy, he turned out to be. I liked him the first time I met him.” Conveniently, Guastini knew that the duo were thinking of doing a couple of FX laden projects, so... “I had heard they had a couple of Effects projects, namely SIX MILLION-DOLLAR MAN and SCOOBY DOO. After becoming friends with Scott, he asked me to come down to the office to meet Kevin to talk about a film called DOGMA, which I never heard they were doing or knew anything about it ‘till I read the script. So I go in, meet with Kevin Smith we go to lunch, I show him my work from past projects and some concepts and stuff of what I think the creatures should look like for "DOGMA".” And Vinny gets the good news. “He flips for the stuff, or at least I think he did. Anyway I hand him this magazine called FILMMAKER magazine he is on the cover. I ask him to sign it. He signs the cover for me. Okay lunch is over, nice to meet you. Well I later look at what he signed on the cover of it. It reads "VINCE, MAN CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR THE SWAG LETS DO DOGMA" I knew then and there I had gotten the project!!!”

Of corpse the other really big news is Guastini recently completed makeups and FX on the 30th Anniversary edition of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. “John Russo (the writer of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) asked me to do it two years ago. We met at a convention over four years ago, and hit it off. I later asked him to produce a film of mine that I was gonna direct, DEADLY SKIES but it never went through. He later came back to me, and asked me to do the effects for the re-release of NOTLD.”

So what did Vinny add to NIGHT...make zombies naturally. “I was asked to recreate and make new Ghoul makeup's using modern day prosthetics for the 30TH anniversary special edition release. I was very excited by this job, to recreate the original actor Bill Hinzman into the famous cemetery ghoul, make him look the way he did 30 years ago. ‘THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU BARBARA!’” The make up magician was thrilled by the project. “It's like being asked to recreate Frankenstein, only thank god the actor is still alive! I also had to make a horde of new ghouls for new posse hunt scenes and eating scenes, which will be added to the 1968 classic filmed with the original camera, and film stock.”

While the chance to make incredible creatures is the dream of every FX artist, Vinny was most pleased with his Hinzman NIGHT makeups. “The most interesting so far, has been making Bill Hinzman look as he did 30 years ago. Since I mostly do creatures, this project gave me the chance to do something that has to look absolutely real, and is a famous character of cinema history.”

CGI has had a huge impact on the traditional FX industry and Vinny is very wary, but not afraid of this latest innovation. “It fucks things up a lot and also helps a lot. I love when a movie can integrate the two and it looks totally real. I mean the best example of that was in the JURASSIC PARK movies. The puppets and the CGI are almost completely flawless. I also think it depends on the two companies running the effects and the show. If the directors and producers listen to and trust both the Makeup effects artist and the CGI company and they are both really good, you can get something really special for the effects where they both work in harmony.”

We all dream and Vinny gets to do it 365/24, but what if he could have worked on any movie. “Well I have many, in the past I wish I worked on THE THING and TOTAL RECALL. And as far as the future, I think it would be wild to do the sequel to THE THING.”