Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1058399
THE ARTISAN FALL 2018 • 63 heart of the story. Liam Neeson was no exception and was given the once-over with a lot of slap and teeth coloration. Harry Melling (of Harry Potter) plays the limbless Shakespearean actor. With today's technology, you could imagine "limbless" wouldn't be to difficult, however, the broth- ers did not want to rely on digital, seeing how most of his scenes he is fairly static with only some small movement as he rocks himself for- ward and side to side. The brothers were very keen on seeing the ledge of his thigh (where the limb ends) with depth and to notice weight and space as he moved. Tinsley Studios built a slanted prosthetic that tapered from his chest down to Harry's mid-thighs. The taper increased in height from his chest down to his thighs by almost two inches in thickness. The piece was made out of a silicone gel. The thing that made this prosthetic truly was that it was a new process not yet used until now consisting of a self-sticking silicone gel that does not stick to hair but does not attach itself to hair and can be reused over and over. One prosthetic was produced and used for the six days of application and abuse. The actor who had a somewhat hairy torso never had to shave or prep in any way and the application took about three minutes to apply and remove. Harry also wore a roguish look and a show look. Cydney would use the old-time tongs to marcel the front of his hair up. THE MORTAL REMAINS Where the mortal and immortal meet. The brothers carefully crafted dialogue that gives very little away. Through make-up, hair and light- ing, we all tried to support the story with subtle changes. As we see our carriage and passengers come ever closer to their destination and realization of their immortality, we continued to create a paler look to all the actors. Reducing the reds in their skin and adding slightly more blue/bronze tones to the faces. We wanted to parallel their own discovery and match the journey's lighting. For the "Lady" (Tyne Daly), Cydney had two white wigs that rolled up and coiled that pinned onto her hair in back. The challenge was to put the hair- pieces on in the right place to make her hat stay in the confined space of the carriage. It reveals beautifully as the actors emerge from the carriage toward the end. The "Trapper," played by Chelcie Ross, needed considerable enhancement. Short hair and clean cut. For this, Cydney added wefts into hair and I added a custom beard tied and provided by Georgia Allen. "The Reapers"as I call them, were contrasted and were full of color. A bit "dandy" as we described it. For Thigpin, played by Jonjo O'Neill we created sharp features with his facial hair. Again, eyeliner and blush (like Buster Scruggs) helped balance and create the innocent and childlike character to help support the actor's mannerisms. Whenever I finish a project and reflect on the moments that made a project special, I tend to shorten my responses over time to bullet points. Here is what I took away from Buster Scruggs: • Love doing Coen brothers' projects • Cydney was an amazing friend, colleague and inspiration on this extremely challenging project • I've never put more blush or eyeliner on men dressing up as cowboys then this project • Self-sticking, reusable silicone prosthetics are the best, and I want to make more of them • Super Baldies helps under transfers for removal • Santa Fe is still one of my favorite places to eat and sleep • Telluride is magical • Liam Neeson embraced his Jedi and it was the coolest • Tom Waits is one of the greatest people you will ever meet and he sang me my favorite song of his • A singing cowboy played by Tim Blake Nelson is hilarious and worth the price of admission • Native American warriors are really exhausting to make up • The entire local Sante Fe make-up and hair team are really good at what they do Cydney and I could not have done this project without our supportive teams and the talent they brought to the table every day. Special thanks to Matt Danon, Corey Welk and Rolf Keppler for being amazing keys. Special thanks but not "As Special Thanks" to (I'm kid- ding): Sheila Trujillo, Ed French, Hiroshi Yada, Corinne Foster, Jon Shroyer, Kelly Cappacio, K- Bobby, Andreya Joseph, Nichole Miller and Georgia Allen. Thanks for reading. • James Franco Exit wound Custom beard by Georgia Allen Self-sticking silicone prosthetic Tom Waits