Vincent Guastini has been working the rubber and grue for years now on such films as THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, and VIRUS.
After heading up the FX on Kevin Smith's upcoming dark fantasy DOGMA, Guastini landed work on the 30th Anniversary edition of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. In between films, he's live from New York, erm Saturday Night Live's resident Make up magician. Here's his own explaination of how he got into the biz. (Kim August)

WHAT JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING DID TO ME, TO MAKE A LIVING



Ok I was like the rest of today's effects artists, I was inspired by suchfilms as STAR WARS, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and scared to death by THE EXORCIST etc.

These films helped spark an interest in doing what I do today, but after viewing these films, I sort thought I would get into building models, maybe doing some kind of effects for movies. In 1982 I walked into a nearby movie house after being pissed off about something. I see this cheesy movieposter with this shadow of a man with a beam of light coming out of his head,and it says. John Carpenter's ' THE THING" "Man is the warmest place to hide." First thought was, 'Ok lets see what this piece of shit is about.' I go in, and I must tell you it changed my life. Every scene, one right after another not only shocked me more and more, -not just due to the excellent storyline, acting direction, etc.-but the effects and how they're set up was new to me.

During the legendary blood test scene when MacReady has everyone tied up, and everyone starts turning into monsters, that was shock enough. But when one of the men hits the ceiling dripping goo and his head turned to mush, I swear like almost on cue there was this young skinny guy wearing glasses behind me, lifts out of his seat still holding on to the arm rests and yells,"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST". I turn and look at the utter shock and surprise in his face, I swear it was like a lighting bolt in my head. Very dramatic. It hits me, this is what I want to do. This is what I have to do, this what I must do; I have to do the same type of work and get the same reaction or I won't live or die happy.

My goal was to make the makeup effects I do today as shocking, as new, as fresh, and as original as Rob Bottin's work was in THE THING. And I knew I would constantly be on the search to find a project as great as those effects challenges were, and make it my life to top them. And have someone in a movie house somewhere yell at my work and scream "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST".

©1998 VINCENT J. GUASTINI


Look for my interview with Vincent here

For more on THE THING in this Pharr Out! crawl here

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All photos, text ©1998 Vincent J. Guastini for Pharr Out!