Here
we are 5 months since my last post...Linda had the hip revision surgery
at the end of March,, which has stopped the dislocations, but at the
same time let bad infection in requiring a 3rd operation (at the end of
April) to clean it from the hip replacement, but then nearly 2 months of
heavy-duty antibiotics infusions every 8 hours, day and night, as the
infection spread throughout her entire body. She has to have multiple
heavy-duty oral antibiotics three times a day for the rest of her life,
or the microbes that are hiding in her body will try to come back and
kill her. SO all along I've had to take care of her, dozens of animals
and all domestic shores, leaving no time or energy to work on Twilight
Of The Dogs.
I've continued to work on the film, though in "dribs and drabs", counting on a few friends to help in their own ways and own free time: Tim Sullivan, Kent Burton, Ron Miller, Mike McFee, Tim Pace, Peter Andrew Montgomery, Bill Dempsey, Paul Foster (CineSolutions), Marc Wielage (Chroma Hollywood), and Laura Barltrop among others. Linda is basically now about back where she was when she broke her hip last November, freeing up my time and energy. I'm just now having time to go back into full-blast mode on finishing restoring the film and wrapping up the documentaries and extras for the BluRay and DVDs.
Just to make it clear, Twilight Of The Dogs is back on track!
(Please NOTE that some reporting in this newspaper article from 1993 isn’t exactly accurate, but most of it is. Also the pictures were reproduced poorly (and in black & white) and I have replaced them with nice color versions of the original photos. Hope you enjoy the article!)
Prince George's County Goes Hollywood!
‘Twilight of the Dogs’ Filmed In Upper
Marlboro
By Carol Mahoney
The Enquirer-Gazette Staff
Photos by Richard Latoff, courtesy of The VERY
BIG Motion Picture Corporation Of America.
In February, the apocalyptic adventure film
Twilight of the Dogs will be ready for release in theaters.
Tim Sullivan as Sam Asgarde and Gage
Sheridan as Karuy portray star-crossed lovers in the soon-to-be-released movie
Twilight of the Dogs.
The film, shot on location in two tobacco
warehouses in Upper Marlboro and a sand and gravel pit in Laurel, discusses a
number of heady issues including religious cults, plagues, curing epidemics,
love, and reason.
It is the work of Arlington, Virginia,
producer and director, John R. Ellis.
Recently Ellis sat at a huge flatbed editing
table in his austere apartment, cleared of all non-essential items, save those
connected with the film. Amid bunches of short strips a film already edited out
and even more still to be edited in, Ellis discussed his filmmaking.
“ The idea when you shoot a film is to get
enough coverage, enough different angles, that it gets you enough choices in
editing to make the best possible film.“ Most of the shooting was finished in
July with a few retakes here and there over the following few months.
“A lot of the time you get into the editing
and you say, ‘how can we make this work? You can't always go back and reshoot,“
he said. " Especially when you have like a 100 extras on a given day, had
a stuntman on fire and people doing other stunts and a lot of money is being
spent.”
“This is a pretty big film,” Ellis said. He
said it is his third film as producer but his first as a director of a feature
film. “This is the biggest production that we've done yet, Ellis said. “Just
the sheer number of people that were involved -- it was mind-boggling.“
He looked to everyone on the set for their
input and ideas too. "I delight in other people's contributions,“ Ella
said. " I can't think of anything more boring than watching a film that
was nothing but what I did.“
There are a lot of Ellis' beliefs about life
in the movie. He collaborated a great deal with the film’s screenwriter, Tim
Sullivan of Hollywood, California, who also plays the male lead.
“This film is about spiritual rebirth and
it's really about how people have to work together for the good of everyone,“
Ellis said.
Producer/Director John Ellis reflects in
front of a BMP-1 Soviet armored personnel carrier, one of the myriad props in
the motion picture Twilight of the Dogs.
He is quick to point out it is not a message
film. “ I wanted to make a good, entertaining science fiction adventure film,"
he said. Some symbolism was snuck in along the way but it is definitely not a “preachy
film.“
He will not discuss the plot too much
because he does not want to give anything away.
Ellis feels he will never write his own
scripts; he likes to collaborate. But he adds he is a good writer - " I'm
a good storyteller; that's what movie making is about.“
Ellis grew up on a farm in Ohio and “at an
early age, developed a love for comic books. He later worked in the comic book
industry as an illustrator but found it was not really what he wanted to do.
“I wanted to make films,“ Ella said. Even as
a teenager, he experimented with amateur filmmaking. And in the 1970s he
managed to break into the film industry as a production assistant. He finally
decided he would never really be able to afford to make his own professional
films.
“In the late seventies I sort of gave up on
it and then immediately found myself immersed in it," Ellis said. “Suddenly,
like within 2 weeks of saying,"well I might as well just stick with the artwork
[illustrating]“, I ended up being hired on a movie and working on that film for
a year."
From The experience he made many contacts.
By the early 1980s, the local film industry was doing well with commercials and
television and Ellis was incredibly busy making many of them.
In the late 1980s, Ellis made two films himself,
Star Quest and Invader (both are available in video stores around the country).
Star Quest was recently sold to the Sci-Fi Channel, and Viacom has just
purchased rights to run Invader on cable in the near future.
At the End of 1992, Ellis decided to make
Twilight of the Dogs.
The murderous Deacon Hill (actor Barry Sigismondi) gleefully guns down innocent "scavenger dogs".
Shooting in Upper Marlboro was not exactly
easy. “It was so-o-o hot and the mosquitoes were terrible,“ Ellis said. The
bulk of the film was shot in 6 weeks fairly quickly by industry standards.
Some high-tech special effects to be added
in were later shot in California. All of the planning and much of the editing
takes place right in Ellis' apartment.
“Some of the really big films will take five
or six months, but smaller films go more quickly,” Ellis said. Most low budget
films will be shot in about a month some in 10 days. That's ridiculous; I can't
do that,“ he said. Actually filming for Twilight of the dogs took 34 days.
A normal day of filming starts at about 6:00
a.m. . Ellis starts with looking over the days list of what will be shot. A
production meeting starts around 7:00 a.m. with the crew.
“We would try to be set up and shooting by
9:00 a.m.,“ he said. First a rehearsal will be done to check that the lighting
was correct. Filming will last throughout the day with a break for lunch and
filming isn't over until everything scheduled gets filmed.
Night shoots are done just about the same
way, but with all the a.m.'s changed to p.m.'s.
One concern during filming is always the
danger surrounding stunts. “It's scary sometimes with all the special effects
and stunts.“ but everybody applauds when a special stunt or an effect goes off
perfectly.
Ellis said this film went well with only
four minor injuries. “Usually it's me, “ he joked.
Holding up one hand he gestured to a rather
scarred thumb. “ I always hurt this thumb severely on films,“ Ellis said. In
Twilight of the Dogs, there is fire, firearms -- machine guns, a tank and
complicated stunts.
The film is being marketed for release in
foreign countries. “A great portion of the profits are from foreign
distribution,“ Ellis said. It is also being marketed for home video and
television sales worldwide.
“Hopefully the film will find a strong
domestic market too,” he said.
“The science fiction genre has become very
popular again due to current hits like the new Star Trek series”, Ellis said. And
it is popular not only here but all over the world.
Bambi, a registered Jersey cow from Richmond,
Virginia, plays Gertrude, a featured character in the movie.
Once Twilight of the Dogs is put to bed,
Ellis may start production of a political thriller sometime next year, assuming
the financing falls into place. It is a fictional story based on a presidential
impeachment. He also hopes to produce an old fashioned ghost story soon.
Ellis does not really hope to become the
next Steven Spielberg. "I would like to be able to do the kind of films I
want to make and have a reasonable amounts of money to make them with and make
a reasonable living."
He feels he is getting to that point. But he
would like to spend more time for the creative aspects and not fight so hard to
get the films made.
As a smaller producer/director, Ellis feels
he is luckier than some of the industry giants since he still gets to call all
the shots on the set. “On bigger films everybody wants to put their two cents
in,” he said.
Ellis also let his two children, Sara, 8,
and Jules, 4, get into the act. “They were paid extras and they had a blast,“ he
said. And it looks like Sara may follow in her father's footsteps one day,
unless she becomes an oceanographer.
He has not decided whether or not he will
encourage her. Ellis said filmmaking is not for everybody. “It's not something
I recommend -- unless they can't help it.”
There is so much involved in being a
successful director, Ellis said. “You have to be a businessman, a psychologist,
and therapist for people, and a politician with the government. You have to be
an artist and a designer and a writer and just so many things.
“Usually by the time it's over, it's like ‘thank
God it's over with’. Then for a little while everyone is very depressed. It's a
bit like postpartum depression. Then gradually you get to the point of ‘what
now?’ It's a vicious cycle.”
“The only way to become a successful filmmaker
is to let nothing stop you,” Ellis said. “That’s the bottom line.“
SIDEBAR
THE MAKEUP ARTIST
By Carol Mahoney
The Enquirer-Gazette Staff
On the movie set, there is one job that
seems like it should be too much fun to be a paid one.
Special effects makeup artist Tim Davis got
to do all the special makeup for Twilight of the Dogs.
David said he had a childhood fixation with
monsters and Halloween and dressing up. “Problem is I never grew out of it,
much to my parents chagrin,“ he laughed. He has always been a movie buff and
majored in art in school.
The Virginia native played around with makeup
and trying to emulate the professionals. He and friends would ask questions of
working artists. "And they would say, “Practice, practice, practice!"
Soon he was getting work and making some
money on local films. He and a friend later started their own business. They
invested in a motor home and equipped it for location makeup. His partner did
the straight makeup while Davis created the monsters. They were the first to
have their own company in the metropolitan Washington area. They worked for
television and area theaters for three frenzied years.
But just as they were about to break into
the Los Angeles market, illness struck. In 1990, Davis became very sick and
spent 3 months recovering.
Davis even created special effects for the
movie New Jack City from a hospital bed. But he continued to be plagued with
health problems and ultimately lost the business.
Now he is on the comeback trail.
“John [Ellis, the film's director] was very
kind and very generous to give me the job,“ Davis said. The two have known each
other for many years. “This is my first film back.“
David said he and Ellis discussed the
special effects makeup, sharing ideas and finally coming to an agreement. Davis
proudly added the burn makeup used in the film is his own special creation.
There was one scene where the evil Reverend,
played by Ralph Bluemke, had to be badly burned. Davis said it was complicated
because he had to make thousands of tiny latex blisters and stick them all over
Bluemke. There were close-ups of him so the makeup had to be detailed all the
way down to his fingers, Davis said.
Ralph Bluemke, as the evil religious cult
leader Reverend Zerk, shows off 6 1/2 hours of Effects Makeup Supervisor Tim
Davis’ handiwork.
Much of the work on the film included
providing continuity of cuts and bruises and progressive scabbing from one
scene to the next, Davis said.
Probably the strongest thing Ellis imparted
on Davis was that the film should be a family film, Davis said. Ellis did not
want a lot of blood and guts – “No Friday The 13th blood-fest,“ Davis said.
Much of the violence is implied but there
was some blood. Made from Karo syrup and dye, Davis went through about three or
four gallons that he would apply and reapply to the actors along the way.
“There were a few sticky moments as shooting
started,” Davis said. It was so hot that the blisters and scabs he applied to
the actors started melting. Davis had to go back and remake them out of latex
rubber.
“The best part was the camaraderie on the
set,” Davis said. “But it was also hard work."
Davis already has two offers to do more
films, one right after Twilight of the Dogs and another next year.
For newcomers to the field, Davis says, “Don’t
limit yourself. Monster makeup is fun but learn the straight makeup too.”
-30-
So dear readers, the last post (which was promised twice) was a month ago and there are reasons for this. My domestic partner Linda broke her left hip in the driveway on November 29th, had hip replacement surgery the next day...and has had 3 dislocations since, and is having adjustment surgery this coming week, which will hopefully end the dislocating issues.
So I've been preoccupied with domestic issues and more while still trying to finish work on Twilight as well as assembling materials for the documentaries and special features to go on the BluRay and DVD. So I'm RESCHEDULING the release until this summer (as opposed to late spring as previously announced.
Twilight Of The Dogs IS COMING, promise! Remember what John Lennon said, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans."
The post Tim Sullivan and I have been working on (concerning creativity, inspiration, and where ideas come from, and how it all relates to the storyline of Twilight Of The Dogs) will HOPEFULLY be coming up next, fingers crossed. Hopefully in about two weeks.
Twilight Of The Dogs news story on Prince George's County Community Television June 10, 1993
It was the morning of Thursday June 10th 1993 when we were visited by PG County Community Television to do a news story on Twilight Of The Dogs. It was our 9th day of shooting, there would be 30 more days to go after this (including 3 days in mid-May of 1994, to "pick-up" shots/sequences we missed).
My friend, the Commissioner of Film for PG County, Gailyn Gwin, interviewed me and did the onscreen report when it aired. Another friend of mine, Paul Crosariol, was the cameraman.
Although Gailyn reports Invader to be my first film, it was my second following Star Quest: Beyond The Rising Moon, Twilight being the third.
The next day (after this was shot) we welcomed Hollywood's Alicia Craft as our new Directory of Photography (Cinematographer), who did an amazing job on the film.
Gailyn also kindly provided us with all the footage they shot for the news story, a lot of it unique, which we will be using in parts of the documentaries which will be included on the BluRay and DVD release of Twilight Of The Dogs in a few months.
See you in 2 weeks, and hope you enjoy the video!
John Ellis Hollywood, CA
-30-
(NOTE that if receiving this in email, to view the video you have to click on the link to visit the blog, and/or click on this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/fmG9PFDu3Ko
This article was written as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek promotional piece by Tim Sullivan, 27 years ago for Monster Maker Journal magazine, which appealed to fans of effects-makeup, monsters, and, well...gory makeup effects. So be prepared when you read article that some of it exaggerates: there is NO pus in the film, and also many of Tim's descriptions benefit from the reader's imaginations. More after the articles...
Monster Maker Journal #2 - July 1995
Monster Maker Journal film preview...
Twilight Time
by Tim Sullivan
The cast, crew and cow of Twilight Of The Dogs. There's a Russian tank in the picture somewhere.
It is possible that Olympia Filmworks International / The Very Big Motion Picture Corporation of America is the most successful production company in the Mid-Atlantic States? Who knows for sure, but Olympia has stayed in business for nearly a decade under one name or another (Common Man Films was the original moniker). That's quite an accomplishment in the world of independent film-making. What's even more significant is the firm has made two films -- Star Quest: Beyond The Rising Moon and Invader, both released to home video by VidAmerica and TriMark, respectively. Producer/Director John Ellis is putting the finishing touches on Twilight Of The Dogs, a science fiction epic shot skillfully on a shoestring budget in rural Maryland.
Following the worldwide success of Invader, Ellis decided to do something a little different. He asked your humble servant to come up with a screenplay that would be more character-oriented than his previous efforts, while not skimping on the special effects and monsters.
The adventures of Stealth pilot Sam Asgarde and the half alien woman Karuy, after the collapse of civilization, provided the eventful context. Their world, first seen from space over the opening titles, is a dusty overheated ruin inhabited by genetically engineered spiders the size of George Foreman. This unfortunate situation has been caused principally by the spread of a sexually transmitted disease that eats away human flesh. It's the custom to throw yourself down into a spider pit when you know you're rotting away from the plague, huge oozing sores being the telltale symptom.
In one of the few habitable regions left after the major cities have been nuked in an unsuccessful attempt to contain the disease, a deranged ex televangelist has organized some survivors into a paramilitary church, where he exerts his will on the wandering bands of starved nomad “dogs” remaining after the agonizing holocaust. (Not to mention having his way with the nubile young chickies.) This is where Sam Asgarde comes in -- of course -- and he soon gets to first base with his gorgeous, if extraterrestrial, girlfriend, while reluctantly battling evil. Their clash with the good Reverend sparks the gory goings on. Aside from various explosions, bullet hits, dismemberments, etc., Twilights effects range from 27th degree burn victims to panoramas of ruined cities. But let's start with the fun stuff. The gore.
Left: actor Ralph Bluemke shows off the unpainted burned flesh appliance
surrounded by the generic blister appliances. Right: the finished
makeup.
The man responsible for the blood and pus is Twilight's makeup maestro Tim Davis (see sidebar). Tim is incredibly enough, also the editor of this magazine! Is there no end to this Renaissance man's talents? His film and TV credits include New Jack City (Warner Brothers), and America's Most Wanted (Fox). All seriousness aside for just one moment, Tim came up with some masterful appliances, displaying the rotting flesh and dangling eyeballs of plague infected zombies and radiation victims with panache. You'll love the shot where a guy pukes into his own open sore!
Another cool shot shows a loser getting his brains blown out. In fact, that happens more than once in the picture, but Tim's piece de repugnance has to be at the film's climax when a dude is roasted alive. In closeups, you can see so much grizzly detail underneath the suppurating pustules that you might even hesitate to gnaw a kernel of popcorn for a nanosecond or two. I mean this guy is toasted! Add to that the odd crucifixion victim or mutilated corpse, and you can see that Mr. Davis was a busy man on the picture. Monster Maker Journal was probably behind schedule for a while as a result. Sorry.
Stop motion was used to bring the giant black widow spiders to creeping life in the desolate world of the future. The arachnids were constructed and animated by Kent Burton, whose work can be seen in such mainstream productions as Ed Wood (Hollywood Pictures), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final insult (Paramount) and Freaked (20th Century Fox), as well as independent features like Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor. Kent used mattes as well as miniature sets to blend the spiders with live backgrounds and make them interact with humans and animals. The giant arachnids kill a dog and a number of humans. His animation, honed on MTV spots, music videos, and Land Of The Lost episodes, is as smooth as Ray Harryhausen. You know, that 50s and '60s monster guy who won a special Oscar a few years ago presented by no less a figure than Tom Hanks.
Stop motion animator Kent Burton manipulates a 1/6 scale genetically
altered giant black widow spider in its “spider pit” lair. (note
animation gauges)
In fact, this is the first picture Kent's worked on in his own home FX shop, which he built in Southern California in 1994 and dubbed Hesperia Studios. Employing a beam-splitter, Kent's front projection technique is flawless. The final effect has had preview audiences jumping at test screenings. You know how it is when a deadly, poisonous, 150 lb spider comes down off the ceiling right at you? As Bob Hope said in Ghostbreakers (1940), reminds me of my hotel room in Scranton. Insect fear fans will eat it up with a spoon.
The guy pulling all of the fun together is producer-director John Ellis, who performs miracles on extremely limited budgets. I've hung around plenty of movie locations but I've never had the pleasure of working with a man who can do so many things so well on a set. John has drawn storyboards, painted sets, designed effects sequences, blown up miniatures, painted and animated optical animation cels -- you name it -- as well as putting the actors through their paces. This is nothing new to him as he has been producing high quality special effects and live action work as an industry professional since 1979. John has created effects laden promos for just about everybody in television, and his designs helped kick off the fledgling MTV Network in the early 80s. Along the way John learned how to create opticals from scratch. For the energy bolts fired from Karuy’s dysjuncter gun, he used 35mm filmed live backgrounds, drew the bolts on tracing paper over the projected frames, painted cells by hand using the tracings as templates, and photographed the cels laid over the original action on an optical printer at the Bill Dempsey’s studio in Washington, DC, a suburban of North Arlington. The cels are lit with a blue gel to complete the process. Time consuming, but a terrific effect. Like I said this guy can do just about anything.
Twilight Of The Dogs director John Ellis demands some Gatorade while waiting for the next setup.
As a cast member, I can tell you that John is definitely an actor's director. He empathizes with the characters as if he were a thespian himself, comprehends actors problems, and gives the performer as many takes as he or she needs to get the scene across. This is pretty unusual in independent, action, SF and horror films, but John knocked himself out to supervise every aspect of the production, and to furnish Twilight with the highest quality inhumanly possible.
And speaking of production values, that brings us to Ron Miller's matte paintings. Ron is a space artist whose work has been seen in Dune and Total Recall. His magnificent paintings for Twilight Of The Dogs give a sense of scope to this futuristic horror tale. Excellent miniatures were built by Norman Gagnon, Lee Stringer and Mike McGee, only to be destroyed by Karuy’s dysjuncter gun in the film, a prop also built by Gagnon. Adding further realism is the flashy work of former Navy SEAL chief Walter “Boom Boom” Suarez (that's Mister “Boom” to you), pyrotechnics expert and armorer par excellence. Perhaps the most difficult explosion was the destruction of the Reverend's Soviet Armored Personnel Carrier, a Russian tank reportedly captured in Operation Desert Storm that seats 11 of his “deacons”, complete with firing turret Cannon and blazing AK-47s at the gun ports. In the course of shooting, Walter blew up what seemed to be half of the Maryland countryside.
Local folks didn't mind a bit. Dozens of them came on the show as extras, and the Upper Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department provided invaluable assistance. A few miles from a vast gravel quarry in Laurel, sets were constructed in the old Marlboro tobacco refinery, where livestock used in the film were also housed. A black stallion (who's shot out from underneath Sam Asgarde during a skirmish with the titular “dogs”), assorted rats, and the spider-bitten canine TEX were owned and trained by wranglers Doug Sloane and his partner Billy “Butch” Frank, two cowpokes who’d worked on TNT's Gettysburg with Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, and the late Richard Jordan; on Sommersby with Jodie Foster and Richard Gere; and on the civil war feature Glory with Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Matthew Broderick.
Author and star of Twilight Of The Dogs, Tim Sullivan as the reluctant hero, Sam Asgarde.
My own credits are somewhat more humble. Before writing the screenplay and co-starring with the beautiful Gage Sheridan in Twilight Of The Dogs, I'd written seven science fiction novels including The Parasite War, Destiny's End, The Martian Viking, and Lords Of Creation, edited two horror anthologies (Tropical Chills, Cold Shocks), published 30 odd short stories and hundreds of articles, served as creative consultant on the Hemdale feature In A Moment Of Passion, starred in the horror film The Laughing Dead, and generally made a nuisance of myself for the past 15 years or so in the world of horror and SF. A project in current development is Knucklebones, based on my own 1988 short story, the story of a 12-year-old serial killer. Should be plenty of intestines in that one. Love them nurnies! That picture will be shot at Morro Bay, California, this fall, and it is slated to be directed by Richard Marks for Aspen Pictures.
John Ellis and I came up with the original story for Twilight, which incorporates sci-fi and horror ideas in a future setting we were certain we could realize. Lacking a large budget, we were determined to make every dollar show on the screen, first with a strong story featuring genuine characters and then with the production values necessary to get it all across, with maximum impact. Principal photography in the mosquito-infested summer of 93 -- the hottest in 50 years -- was plagued with many problems, so it was necessary to return to our locations in the spring of ’94 to shoot pick-ups -- these went without a hitch, and post-production began, nearly a year ago as I write this.
One of the giant black widow spiders on the miniature desert set…
Whether or not my enthusiasm comes across on the screen isn't for me to judge, of course, but the finished film came out great. Twilight isn't quite like anything you've seen, and it's quite a roller coaster ride. It's well directed, beautifully shot by Alicia Sehring (Star Trek The Next Generation), the violence is intense, and the effects top notch. And, present company excluded, I can vouch for the cast. Ralph Bluemke as the evil Reverend Zerk, is a standout, as is the superfine Gage Sheridan, as the gorgeous female alien warrior, Karuy. In supporting roles Ellen Hart and Barry Sigismondi are excellent. Tex the dog, Diablo the horse, and Gertrude the cow are expert scene stealers. Only the cow survives by the way. The indefatigable George Stover cameos as one of the reverend's more accommodating acolytes. As Sam Asgarde, Tim Sullivan sweats a lot. Ozone layer depletion, you see.
Stuntman Phil Hayes does a full burn while doubling for actor Ralph
Bluemke. Phil is a trained professional and all possible safety
precautions were taken on the set.
Oh, and the director's hands are shown in one scene, gashing the leading lady with a knife, giving Tim Davis one more opportunity to get out the old blood tube for one last red spurt. But I refused to tell you anything more about Twilight Of The Dogs. I will guarantee you a good time, so go out and rent it. Your bucks will surely make Olympia Filmworks the most successful production company in the region, if it isn't already.
Oh, I did mention the buckets of pus on the guy who's been torched, right? Right, I thought so...
See you soon at the old Schlockbuster, fellow video monster lovers.
Makeup artist and Monster Maker Journal editor Tim Davis applies cuts and bruises on actress Gage Sheridan.
About My Work On Twilight Of The Dogs
by Tim Davis
Actress Ellen Hart had to get this heavy “dirt” makeup every day! There's no soap in the future!
Twilight Of The Dogs was an interesting shoot to say the least. The first stage in preparing the makeup effects starts with the script reading at the director's apartment with the heads of each department present. Once I had my script, I noted each scene that required special makeup and effects. The director made some special suggestions, then it was time to buy supplies. The time between the first script reading and being on the set and ready was only one week! The script really didn't require major prosthetics but it did need lots of diseased people so I picked Gel-Fex to create the ugly ulcerations needed. The problem with Gel-Fex is if it gets too hot, it melts. While shooting on location we experienced the hottest summer on record for the area plus shooting in a desert-like quarry didn't help either. I applied a huge mass of blisters on the stomach of MMJ reader and movie extra Jeff Prettyman and in the 90 plus degrees, it just melted right off him in less than 10 minutes.
There were two makeups that required detailed prosthetics and with no lab time I turned to friend and expert effects artist Robert Beach (now living in California). He gave me a few foam appliances made for science fiction convention costume contests (he regularly won!) and I adapted and applied them on the set for the horribly burned Reverend Zerk and a nuclear fallout victim who shows off what he had for lunch. These makeups benefited from Robert's detailed sculpting and casting skills.
Ted Woynicz as radiation victim, makeup by Tim Davis.
The hordes of ragtag survivors (scavenger dogs) required lots of dirty faces and hands, and legs, and clothes, and feet… the straight makeup artist, Mary Lou Benzino and I went through at least six large jars of Texas Dirt (Max Factor) in two different shades over the 3 months of location shooting. One trick you may want to try with Texas Dirt, get your model to squint their eyes real tight then lightly brush the dirt powder over the crow's feet at the corner of their eyes. When the actor relaxes his eyes and cheeks you'll see the realistic dirty crow's feet look seen in hundreds of westerns.
Inside back cover photo: Gage Sheridan as the alien Karuy from the film Twilight Of The Dogs.
We also had to help the wardrobe department distress the dogs costumes and that included taking scissors to them and spraying them with theatrical black hairspray. A wardrobe department assistant cut a hole to over one extras cleavage, to distress her t-shirt. After a day in the blazing sun for her scene she discovered that after she washed the dirt powder off, she had a sunburned circle on her breast the exact shape of the hole. Tim Davis
Olympia Filmworks International, alas, was not to be. The trends affecting the film and home-video industries and markets at the time took their toll...and then there was the sabotage I have covered in prior posts. Although Andy Ross, Tim Sullivan, Liz Heyd and I worked diligently throughout 1995, it was terminated. Also Tim Sullivan's film Knucklebones died for lack of funds. My longtime friend Tim Davis passed away February 8, 2015 from congestive heart failure, he was 56. There will be a never-before-seen interview with Tim Davis on the BluRay for Twilight.
