Local 706 - The Artisan

Winter 2022

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THE ARTISAN WINTER 2022 • 31 THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE I mages of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker are still deeply engrained into my memories from when I was young. I remember them both on the TV screen in my home a lot in the early '80s, along with a slew of comedians of the era mocking the media-bashed couple due to their scandals and the over-the-top appearance of Tammy Faye Bakker. Her bold eye make-up, big hair, mascara tears, and massive personality was an image that stuck in the public's mind. Their story together was one many will never forget, especially Tammy Faye and her iconic looks and bold performances on The PTL Club (Praise the Lord), and resurrection to fame through reality TV in the early 2000s. In mid-2019, I received a call from my friend and mentor Greg Cannom. He approached me to see if my Fractured FX team and I would be able to handle the overall build of the prosthetics for Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker likeness make-ups. Greg suggested I handle the onset supervisor work for the characters, while he worked with me in a co-designer consulting capacity for the initial sculptures and preliminary tests. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker is touched up by Kelly Golden (L) and Justin Raleigh (R). Photo by Daniel McFadden. Insets from top: Linda Dowds and Stephanie Ingram touching up Jessica; Andrew Garfi eld as Jim Bakker with Jessica. B Y J U S T I N R A L E I G H | P R O S T H E T I C M A K E - U P D E S I G N E R C O N T R I B U T I O N S BY L I N DA D OW D S , S T E P H A N I E I N G R A M , B RY S O N C O N L E Y, C H R I S H A M P TO N , M I C H A E L E Z E L L , T H O M F LO U TZ , A N D K E L LY G O L D E N PHOTOS: SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES. © 2021 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, EXCEPT AS NOTED After a great initial meeting with Jessica and the producers to discuss possible approaches, timelines, conceptual design, and make-up testing, we hit the ground running to develop the multiple phases of their transitions. Early on, we discovered production only wanted to create prosthetics for Andrew and Jessica, with all other character likenesses accomplished through wigs, casting, and traditional make-up approaches. That simplified our build, yet also complicated our approach. We had to find a balance esthetically that allowed them to not stand out as wearing prosthetics, while surrounded by characters who had no prosthetics at all. It meant finding a subtle balance in the amalgamation of Tammy's and Jim's anatomical elements with Jessica's and Andrew's own features. This is always a tricky dance; how much do you cover the actor in prosthetics to match the character, while still maintaining some of the actor's own features, and not impeding their performance. If you hire Jessica Chastain, you want to see some of Jessica in that look, yet still take the audience to a new place visually, and let the acting drive the performance, not the make-up.

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