Finding Rick Baker: Monster Maker
Before a screening An American Werewolf in London, at the The Bell Light Box this summer John Landis introduced the film, and discussed how he’d found Rick Baker.
Landis wrote the screenplay for An American Werewolf in London in 1969, but no one would give him the money. After 1980’s The Blues Brothers, he was able to get it made, and he turned to the person who’d helped his first feature Schlock ( “and it really really was” Landis quipped): Rick Baker.
Shlock featured a pre-historic ape. Landis envisioned it as a guy in a really bad gorilla suit. The inspiration had been when Landis was a mailboy at Fox Studios. One day the film Justine and the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes were sharing space. Landis walked out into the set lunch room to see over 200 guys dressed in drag and about 150 ‘gorillas’ eating. He thought to himself, “This is Hollywood!”
Given the premise, Landis approached a few special effects artists. The first was Planet of the Apes‘ John Chambers. The quote he got was for a hundred thousand. The film’s entire budget was about sixty thousand, so he thanked Chambers and turned to Don Post Studios. Don Post gave him a better quote, but still way beyond the budget of this film. As Landis was leaving, Don Post Jr pulled him aside. “There was this kid who was looking for a job with us, he was really talented – here’s his card.” The card read Rick Baker, Monster Maker with a phone number.
When Landis called, it was clear that the phone number was the residential line that was in his parents’ name. He arranged with a friend to drive out to Covina, about an hour from LA. They pulled up to a small two bedroom place and a woman (Rick’s mom) answered the door and said, “Rick’s waiting for you.”
They went to Rick’s room which was covered in his monster models and masks. A quick look around and Landis with his Planet of the Apes familiarity whispered to his friend “the kid’s good”.
So the 21 year old, skinny guy with bad skin and long hair got the gig for a budget of $5,000.00 and credits for makeup, special effects. The only restriction he gave Landis was that the molds had to fit in his mother’s oven. They did, but for years after Mrs. Baker complained that her pies smelled like rubber. While working on the movie, the two of them discussed their love of special effects, including werewolves and Landis’ screenplay. Schlock was Baker’s first credited work in film, although he’d worked as a makeup designer for two previous features 1972’s Bone and 1973’s Black Caesar, neither required the monster effects for which he’s become famous. Through the 70s Baker worked on over a dozen productions, including make up for the second unit of a small film called Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and as an uncredited special effects assistant in The Exorcist.
After The Blues Brothers’ massive success, Landis called Rick saying “We can make it!” But Baker had already committed to another werewolf film being made that year, The Howling. They were able to work a deal to get Baker on the project by Baker downgrading to the special makeup effects consultant for The Howling, and taking control of the effects on Landis’ film. An American Werewolf in London won Rick Baker both his and THE first Academy Award for Best Makeup. Through his career he has earned twelve nominations and seven wins from the Oscars as well as being honoured by the Prime Time Emmys, BAFTA, and others.
So persistence, low budgets, and a word from someone not able to hire him, introduced Rick Baker to Landis and the world to An American Werewolf in London.
