Joe Rogan Experience #1377 — Rick Baker Transcript

Transcript

0:00 Here we go, in 3, 2, 1... Well, I had no idea. Well, you know, it's kind of the same thing for me. Well, I mean, I'm an only child. But, I mean, it started with that. You know, you go back to like Nosferatu is probably one of the very earliest. Yeah. It's more like about how much can you pile on someone's face, you know. Chaney movies. Yeah, and he's another

4:27 Again, crude materials, you know. It's like kind of this liquid plastic, but it smells horrible. 20, I don't know what. See if you can get a video of it. Like, how did they get his fingers? and it's not true. Same with the bald head. you think this is stupid. Yeah, someone smiling would freak out. One of the more brilliant things about it was the special effects and the makeup were fantastic.

7:49 And what was great about Werewolf, working on that film with John Landis, was he, you know, said, you're the expert. with everything in it the nazi demons all that stuff you know cut to you know like when i did know, and this kind of stuff. nose wider yeah no i know yeah that's oh and it's you know it's watered watered down the design doing it well they're disturbing

9:42 or not made And there was a guy, you know, for example, on Gremlins 2, Mike Finnell, who was the producer, who came from Roger Corman School of Filmmaking, you know, so he really it because i loved it and i was i feel so fortunate that my hobby became my profession and i did well And I'd be pissed off if I was working on some movie for some producer

11:20 I've actually cast up some of my – I've saved a lot of molds. Oh, that's awesome. And I said, I retired from the film industry. It was kind of like almost like the original Wolfman, but like, you know, redone. cheat them out of money and stuff you know it's like there's so many times i i would say you know I'm making what I thought I should make seven months ago.

13:36 Yes. Like, Once Upon a Time I'd be, and his movies I met Quentin. Oh, it's really good. And I thought he was just like a fan. where he's got the couldn't take my movie, and Rick Baker couldn't take my movie. I know so many people like that. I don't know if they wanted to be a makeup artist, but he really liked that stuff. I didn't know anybody in the film industry.

17:02 and run into the makeup department and they were going to hire me. And I had seen him on TV talking about how he was buying Universal. And again, I was still pretty shy, and I got my dad to call this guy who I read about in Monster Magazines, And I was like 15 at this point. I mean, there's still nepotism. He said, there's only a few apprenticeships and they're going to go to a Westmore or to a Bauer or, you know, somebody who was a name makeup artist or a relative of one of those.

19:56 Trying to crush your dreams. And, Well, you have to think that. That's from high school? Yes, I did. Those were so cool. that was like what was it 50s yeah and it that was the westmore regime uh jack pierce who did Yeah, go with the larger one in the lower left corner, Jamie, But when the movie came out, when some – anyways. And I think he did the abdomen and some of the parts. And, and he also, um, sculpted

22:58 Oh, Christ. And I hated that part. other than the fact that I worked hard and my work was pretty good. And I charged him $75, which was more money than I'd ever gotten from anything before. you have to do is you have to get that money parents to the oscars a few times oh wow yeah and and uh you know they were they were very proud and What was your dad, what did he do for a living?

26:07 He drove a truck. You can't do something in high school, he decided he wanted to try to make a living as an artist. He was also a fan of monster movies. You know, go, that was so cool. Oh, that's awesome. Let's see. Oh, that's right, yeah. I had six weeks and, like, I think $1,000 to make this suit. And he – I was – on my quarter-a-week allowance, when I found a place I could buy rubber, it was like eight, almost $9 for a quarter rubber.

29:50 And you'd stop motion, you know, maybe. famous monsters he was a ray harryhausen fan and d Doug, when I did this Octoman film, Doug had a little workshop, and we did it in his workshop, and we did it together. And I go, what the hell? you forgot to tell the people who were making the octoman the title character of the movie And the first thing I did was a little maquette.

31:57 But I said I think they look like elf shoes. The movie starts out with a close-up of his feet, The DP, the director of photography, because I had long hair and Doug had long hair, he called us the girls. he, we, you know, it was like, there's this day where instead of in, you know, in the creature, And I go, and we're going to rehearse this, right?

34:11 Octoman opens the door, knocks a guy down. So walking around, the guy who he knocked on the ground is laying on the ground, spread eagle. I'm going, you ripped my suit. And then, you know, then there was slime. Now, when you look back on that, But what was cool about the Octoman, the male lead was Kerwin Matthews, who was Sinbad in the seventh Voyager, Sinbad, which I get a where the Octoman's tentacle is supposed to creep through this cave opening.

36:53 Who's Harryhausen? motion and and harry hasen didn't animate on king Kong. He did Mighty Joe Young. Oh, okay. That was him, right? And I said, you know, doesn't it piss you off that now they get millions of dollars and there's hundreds of people working on stuff that you did by yourself, you know. I mean, and, you know, you're in a room by yourself, you know, moving a fraction of an

39:06 You know, he always had the terrific scores in his films as well. Which came months later. Sure, yeah. Jim Cameron did, all talking about how much Ray's films and Ray's work influenced them. like what was the first thing that you did where you like okay that was a good one well you know but American Werewolf, you know, I looked at it My second film was Schlock, which was John Landis' first film.

41:57 With a, you know, and he, like I said, he played this. morning whether Schlock worked or not, all made up, you know. So we would have to go from after a 12-hour day of filming and, you know, an hour removing the makeup. and I was combing it and brushing it, He wrote that by the time he was 21? And I want to show the pain. What year was this? That was incredible.

45:06 Now he's wearing an appliance hand that matches that. Yeah. So then it grows out like that. his eyes that's just his eyes yeah holy shit um but yeah this is the first stage change-o head and they were like 18. the pat mcgee version of it sitting there in the front but now i have to call pat and tell him the sticking out but we had him like's got two legs sticking out.

48:02 Wow. The script that I read was basically the script we made. So he changed that scene, And his friend that music and everything was groundbreaking at the time. People didn't do like the way he did. And his friend that kept returning. Like it was so, everything about it was so unique. would look like this and he go i did you know and that's what john thought it should he was bummed

49:53 But the initial shock of seeing himself torn up, it was hard for him to take. It wasn't really going to be him because he was supposed to become basically a talking skeleton. sync. You're doing the voice. I mean, when we were filming it, I was kind of going, is this funny? I mean, I got my first Oscar for that film, you know. And the budget of the whole film, I think, was $30,000.

52:35 Like polyurethane foam, which is a two-part foam that foams up, a chemical reaction that foams it up. And I have a real strong, I have a very strong allergic reaction to it now. i didn't know what was going on and i found out what it was but don cyanide jesus yeah but because fold it up and have more floor space to work but my masks and my head work tables everywhere you know and

54:18 And because of John, I actually met my wife, Sylvia, on a John Landis film where he had me play a – originally it was a Jesus Freak. born to play, a hooker. So my wife was a hooker in the background, you know, and there's a picture And as we said, one of the things about that film is it was so strategic in its use of the werewolf. Well, that was the thing with the design of the werewolf as well because John said he wasn't going to show it.

56:27 characters in that scene. And today, when you go back and look at it, like- So at ILM, which was in Van Nuys then, Because I want to add some masks to the cantina scene. that's kind of like a alien pirate that's got a like alien parrot character and this stuff he goes you can use them. I think we did 30. Yeah. That was such a great scene too, though.

59:04 you know and i prepared for months for this and you're giving me 45 minutes to do this it's not background was one of mine that i had before too too. But yeah. It was such a great scene. But after that, every movie, every space movie had a cantina scene, you know. Little Michael Jackson, Jackson 5. Yeah, ideas when I was listening. because we already have life masks, we can start those today.

1:01:53 life masks of different people So we had different sculptures of small, medium, large male, small, medium, large female that we would just say, okay, you're a medium male number two. It turned, I mean, they spent the money, they had a lot of cameras and a lot of stuff when they're filming. having a life mask taken. Right. And I go, I don't, no, it's like, it always looks horrifying to see somebody having a life mask taken.

1:03:36 But then so many people have come up to me who are makeup artists now and go, the reason I'm a makeup artist is because I saw the making of thriller and and inspired me that to do this you know and my stock answer is uh you thought that if this thriller world premiere. and he's on a date and I just thought, then i was afraid of the black panther you know that i didn't want him to be associated with the

1:05:20 like work work work work work and originally it was going to be my my crew were You had a left over hand? Yeah, it's before his hair grew a little silly, but... as a zombie. And I was going, oh, my God, look at this. But the other thing that was so cool about it, that was one of the dancer makeups. Because Michael's very shy as well. It's like, even the dancing was so strange, you know.

1:08:13 Like you've said a number of times, I try to explain to my daughters that, you know, Now there's all these YouTube videos. And I had a friend that got a copy of the script and I read it and it read like a CGI thing. And I said, is it going to be CG? It seemed like, you know, Benicio was great to work with. Yeah. And I went and covered it up. I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you.

1:11:03 And I think people who Right. it was very frustrating, we had the best time, the fog and the gypsy camp and all that jazz. It was really similar to the original Lon Chaney. it was, I was going to say Christopher, of the horror films, and You know, what's this? It's all CG. can't right you know uh well we wouldn't have that same kind of feel so i said well how about if we

1:13:45 for me to hear something like that it's so it's stunning because i would have assumed that in my and I got awards for it, and I got free food and things, you know. It's really well done. that they do things when we can do it, you know. And I think a lot of it comes down to, the stuff and usually a director's on another movie then it doesn't want you know well eventually

1:16:51 who was our stunt double. you know he said he stayed on his balls of his feet you know he tried to get that illusion of You know, and it's like, how come I can do it? was the best one yeah well that's and and again uh you know gremlins uh two which i did Yeah, which is amazing. Jeff was amazing. all the gremlins are all the same mold all the mogwai's are all the same mold

1:19:26 one turns into a vegetable gremlin. if I said that to him, he'd go, you know, never seen a science fiction movie you know i never saw any science that's And he was terrific for it, you know, but at first it was a little scary, you know. You know, so it was a nice collaboration, you know, and that was fun. day yeah but the hours you know people don't realize i mean a normal film day is a 12-hour day

1:21:17 Yeah. you know that I would think of Yeah. And then when I found out, and make sure it was safe. 10 years down the line Right. She worked with me first on Nutty Professor but also a really great effects makeup person. And she said to Angie, you know, when, when they were going to do Maleficent, she goes, you have to get Rick Baker. He's the guy to do this, you know, and he's got a good aesthetic and he knows not to, when to put stuff on and when not to, you know, and, and I said, boy, I don't, I don't, women are the hardest to make up, you know, uh, the, especially if you're doing age makeup, you know, I don't think any woman wants to look old, you know.

1:24:52 She came to my studio, which is now a storage facility. they just get different yeah but i mean oh wow yeah well you did a great job in keeping that Right. I think I'm not sure even how they did that. So he did me, and he did me as a younger man, which was one of the worst ones he's done. What ever happened to the original molds and all the original masks and stuff from the American War Wolf in London, the original sculpture of the wolf?

1:27:52 and you whip air into it it decomposes. But it does, the American Werewolf, It's all hard like that, but He doesn't get out of the studio. sex with the wolf. But that, I mean, that thing is, it's, if you had to go through like all the more, the most iconic monsters in the history of films, I mean, you're in the top two or three. But it's funny, I mean, I have the werewolf, I have Harry on people,

1:30:33 And I think he did, and I think it worked quite well. And there wasn't a lot of time. I can't play the change this, change that game, you know. And it was a good idea. You didn't hear about him. So if they disperse now, it's going to be like starting again. Someone else took over. and the number of werewolf movies, You have the earlier films. Yeah, those are kind of. But they're fun to watch kate beckonsdale in a latex suit yeah it's

1:34:13 No, I have one of my crew, Eddie Yang. And people will send me because they think I like this stuff. Do you? way we can kill a teenager? And I mean, I don't know. Right. Yeah. going to do that film i thought i gotta do this you know um and i like i said i don't have an agent i have a lawyer Right. when it turned into Glenn Strange you know. it's very much, when I was a kid, I did a makeup thinking, well, he's pieced together out of a bunch of different people.

1:37:53 And that's iconic. Yeah, there it is. No. I know with that nephrotidic kind of hair. He looks like Eddie Money. Is that Frank? Yeah, the Munsters are cool. Yeah. for reshoots and again this is the same thing movies called the wolfman right they call me up You've got them in storage somewhere. Oh, great. And I went, so you're giving me three weeks to make the Wolfman for this reshoot? And you knew about it for three months ago oh great and i went so you're giving me three weeks to make the wolf

1:42:00 got on a plane you know flew to london got off the plane made up inicio and another trailer And I go, why are we filming this fucking stunt double when Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Hugo Weaving Why are we not filming her? Pardon the pun. And some of them happen, some of them don't. And I met Guillermo. stragoi in the strain. tried to finish it. I'm kind of dyslexic

1:44:48 And it's kind of that way when I'm working. But if I do stuff on the computer, I'll do a lot of designs on the computer and stuff, and there's a picture So, again, thank God that my career choice worked out because I couldn't work in an office, and I'm sure I'd be a homeless guy now. about not wanting to be a businessman and stuff and people are always surprised that i'm hands-on

1:47:41 you can sculpt you know i have a there's a bronze gorilla at the LA Zoo But yeah, I am. I mean, I still probably have the remains of my Halloween makeup. No, I am a fan. Oh, wow. when I watched um Breaking Bad uh and Bryan Cranston, you know, is such a great actor, but I said, you know, he would make a great Lon Chaney. But to be able to recreate some

1:50:40 want to do you know what i mean and I don't want the frustration and the stress. I mean, you know, if I died today, which I hope I don't, I mean, I would be happy with what I've accomplished. And he also went back to old articles and old things at the time and it was like you know I cut it together. And I fought and fought and fought. my test to, to Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. And Ron's going, how did this guy get hold

1:53:44 He really was The Grinch. But I thought I was going to get hit by a meteor or something. the decision was right. It was definitely right. You turned him into the Grinch. He really was the Grinch. But it's also part of the frustration, you know. I figure anybody that has an American War Wolf in their lobby can't be a bad guy.