How “The Harder They Fall” Hair Department Head Araxi Lindsey Put History to Work
There are plenty of recognizable names in The Harder They Fall. For his Western epic, director-writer Jeymes Samuel references historical figures like mail carrier Mary Fields, cowboy Nat Love, outlaw Rufus Buck, sharpshooter Bill Pickett, and lawman Bass Reeves. In Samuel’s modern update, however, the film’s characters align with their historical reference points’ careers (with the exception of Mary, now a saloon owner), but otherwise, the story is all new.
Upon learning that Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being transported from prison,
“Dune” Hair & Makeup Department Head Donald Mowat’s Delightful & Disturbing Designs
With the highly anticipated release of Dune in theaters and on HBO Max here at a long last, fans will finally see director Denis Villeneuve’s vision of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel come to life. Dune is about the intergalactic power struggle between House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and the Fremen. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are asked to travel across the galaxy to govern from Arrakis,
“Halloween Kills” Makeup Effects Designer Christopher Nelson on Michael’s Mask & More
Christopher Nelson wants Michael Myers aficionados to know they’re in store for a very happy Halloween. The Oscar-winning (Suicide Squad), Emmy-winning (American Horror Story) makeup effects designer has pulled out all the tricks to assure that Halloween Kills, which was released on October 15, is a bloody treat.
“I’m such a huge, huge fan of the original, Nelson says. “Halloween 1978 was such a pivotal movie for me as a cinema lover,
Twisting the Natural Hair of “Candyman” from Art Chic to Dark Terror
Can having great hair protect you from a monster in the mirror who cuts down his victims at the mention of his name a mere five times? There’s evidence in the new Candyman that it can. Department head hairstylist Jessi Dean stepped elegantly into the glossy art world of Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris). The killer begins as a mere myth, but hair and terror intertwine as the rumors prove true and the slayings mount.
“Loki” Makeup Department Head Douglas Noe on Designing Misfits & Minutemen
In ancient Norse mythology, Loki was a shape-shifting trickster inviting difficulty upon his companions as well as himself. In director Kate Herron’s new Disney+ series, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is true to his Norse roots. His journey begins with an arrest, having crossed a power-sapping organization called the Time Variance Authority. Loki is accused of being a variant, an offense that causes time-branching events that, to put it briefly, messes up the general order of things.
“Mare of Easttown” & “The Underground Railroad” Hair Department Head Lawrence Davis
It’s rare enough to get an opportunity to work on one really good show in a year, but for hair department head Lawrence Davis, his handiwork can currently be seen on two of the best shows on television. One is Barry Jenkins’ achingly cinematic The Underground Railroad, his adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Davis was tasked with helping sustain the looks of characters,
Behind the Costumes, Wigs, & Makeup of the Deliciously Punk “Cruella”
When it comes to devilishly wicked Disney villains, Cruella de Vil is near the top of the list. So when the studio released the first trailer for Craig Gillespie’s live-action film Cruella and ensuing soundtrack featurette that plays like a must-have compilation of popular music from the mid-1960s to early ‘80s, we laid eyes on a mischievous title character that’s wholly reimagined and “ready to make a statement.”
Cruella is an origin story that follows Estella (Emma Stone) from her tragic childhood as an orphan to an ambitious,
How the Creative Team Behind “Army of the Dead” Built An Apocalyptic World
In Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, a ragtag group of mercenaries embarks on a life-changing $200 million dollar heist. The problem isn’t that the money is hidden in a vault underneath the Las Vegas strip—although that’s not an insignificant detail—but rather the tens of thousands of zombies lurking in their path as an outbreak has turned the vibrant lights of Sin City into a desolate wasteland overtaken by the undead.
Eddie Murphy’s Barber Stacey Morris Takes Her Talents to Zamunda in “Coming 2 America”
Prince Akeem is one of Eddie Murphy’s most famous roles, but the opinionated barber Clarence is one of the funniest jokes in Coming to America. Stars Murphy and Arsenio Hall arguing with themselves in transformative prosthetics at a New York City barbershop was a surprise to theater audiences. The cameos were crowd-pleasers and captured the culture of men socializing endlessly at their local haircutter, but the scenes emphasized the “boys club” nature of barbershops.
Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 17.
I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis into the real-life Ma was no easy feat,
Oscar-Nominated Makeup Department Head Gigi Williams on “Mank”
This interview is part of our ongoing Oscar series. It was originally published on March 23.
David Fincher‘s Mank is the most Oscar-nominated film of the year, amassing ten, thanks to the beauty and brilliance of its black-and-white execution. One of those nominations belongs to makeup department head Gigi Williams, a veteran who picks her work based on her belief in the director. In Fincher, she was collaborating with one of the most precise filmmakers in the business,
Makeup Department Head Matiki Anoff on Capturing the 1920s Aesthetic in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Makeup department head Matiki Anoff had her work cut out for her with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play revolves around Viola Davis’s hard-charging blues singer Ma, and the tensions that boil over between her and her ambitious horn player Levee (the late Chadwick Boseman), as well as the white management running their recording session.
Like her colleagues, makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera and hair department head Mia Neal,
Oscar-Nominated Makeup Department Head Gigi Williams on “Mank”
David Fincher‘s Mank is the most Oscar-nominated film of the year, amassing ten, thanks to the beauty and brilliance of its black-and-white execution. One of those nominations belongs to makeup department head Gigi Williams, a veteran who picks her work based on her belief in the director. In Fincher, she was collaborating with one of the most precise filmmakers in the business, and in Mank, working off a script from his father Jack Fincher,
Oscar Nominees Mia Neal & Sergio Lopez-Rivera on the Hair & Makeup of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
I got a chance to speak to hair department head Mia Neal and makeup artist Sergio Lopez-Rivera about their work in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before the Oscar nominations were announced. Tasked with, among other challenges, turning Oscar-nominee Viola Davis into the real-life Ma was no easy feat, least of all because there wasn’t a ton of photographic evidence to work with. Add to that scorching temperatures during much of the shoot (they filmed in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019) and the heavy makeup,
Makeup Artist Angie Wells on Remaking Carey Mulligan in “Promising Young Woman”
Writer/director Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman delivers a deliciously punchy twist on the revenge narrative. Carey Mulligan stars as Cassie, short for Cassandra, which happens to be the name of the priestess in Greek mythology who was cursed to speak true prophecies that were never believed. Mulligan’s Cassie, however, is a woman who eschews speaking prophecies for becoming them. She’s on a personal mission, fueled by a tragic event in her past, to teach every would-be date rapist a lesson they’ll never forget.
Makeup Artist Laini Thompson on Helping Transform Andra Day Into Billie Holiday
For Billie Holiday’s listeners, her music is eternal, but her life story may be less so. Directed by Lee Daniels, The United States vs. Billie Holiday (now streaming on Hulu) envelops itself in both aspects of the star’s biography, opening on Billie (Andra Day) on stage, glamorous, impeccable, and singing “Strange Fruit,” the most political ballad in her oeuvre. Eerie and heartbreaking, “Strange Fruit” was first published in 1937 as a poem by Russian-Jewish schoolteacher Abel Meeropol,
Mixing History and Modernity in the Hair and Makeup of “Mulan”
The original “Ballad of Mulan” became popular in China around the 6th century, was transformed into a beloved animated Disney feature in 1998, and now, after several months’ delay due to the coronavirus, is the studio’s most hotly anticipated live-action remake yet. So, for an approximately 1400-year-old story about a rural teenage girl who disguises herself as a boy to lead China’s Imperial army and save the Emperor, how do you even start designing everyone’s hair and makeup?
How Makeup Artist Louise McCarthy Helped Tattoo The King of Staten Island
As the makeup department head for The King of Staten Island, Louise McCarthy faced a unique challenge that she had never encountered before — creating laughs with tattoos.
Directed by Judd Apatow, the film stars Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson as Scott Carlin, a twenty-something slacker who has been struggling emotionally with the death of his father — a firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty when Scott was a child.
Makeup Artist Matteo Silvi Tries to Rough Up Chris Hemsworth in Extraction
Makeup artist Matteo Silvi is used to traveling the world on film assignments. For example, his recent work with actor Chris Hemsworth on Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Men in Black: International took Silvi to England, Scotland, Morocco, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Extraction, which debuted this past Friday, April 24, is no different. The high-octane actioner starring Hemsworth as Tyler Rake,
How 1917’s Oscar-Nominated Prosthetics Designer Designed the Grisly, Gripping Drama
World War I epic 1917 conveys the carnage of combat with uncommon grit. Informed by writer-director Sam Mendes‘ heartfelt story and his gifted design team, the film, nominated for 10 Academy Awards including best picture, immerses viewers in a “No Man’s Land” littered with dead animals, rotting corpses and dying soldiers. Prosthetics designer Tristan Versluis, Oscar-nominated with makeup designer Naomi Domme, did most of the heavy lifting when it came to blood,
