Film visual-effects maestro dies

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

STAN Winston, the Oscar-winning special-effects maestro responsible for bringing the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" and other iconic movie creatures to life, has died. He was 62.

Winston died at his home in Malibu, west of Los Angeles, surrounded by family on Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a representative from Stan Winston Studio.

Working with such directors as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Tim Burton in a career spanning four decades, Winston created some of the most memorable visual effects in cinematic history.

He helped bring the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park," the extraterrestrials from "Aliens,'' the robots from "Terminator" and even "Edward Scissorhands" to the big screen, and was a pioneer in merging real-world effects with computer imaging.

"The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who worked with Winston in the "Terminator" films. "Stan's work and four Oscars speak for themselves and will live on forever. What will live forever in my heart is the way that Stan loved everyone and treated each of his friends like they were family."

Winston won visual effects Oscars for "Aliens" in 1986, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in 1992 and 1993's "Jurassic Park." He also won a makeup Oscar for "Batman Returns" in 1992.

Winston was nominated for his work on "Heartbeeps," "Predator," "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman Returns," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "AI."

He last worked with director Jon Favreau on the current box office hit "Iron Man."