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44 • THE ARTISAN FALL 2022 Apone tabbed make-up artist Je Lewis, who was already work- ing with him in the Dominican Republic, to be his second. And to round out the main trailer, I was honored to be brought in as the third. I stood in awe almost every day as these three award-winning artisans delivered on writer/director Rosalind Ross' ethereal vision of spirituality that she had laced throughout her raw and gritty lm. e ambitious 30-day shooting schedule started with Wahlberg as an in-shape and hard-nosed boxer. His progressive ght make-up, and that of his four opponents would be staged over several days. Apone and Lewis achieved the desired visual mayhem utilizing MelProducts "Peel & Stick" prosthetic appliances, Illustrator colors and stage blood. Stu's boxing career is cut short when he is diagnosed with cancer. He beats the illness with the help of his mother, Kathleen Long, played by Jacki Weaver. Je Lewis designed a make-up that shows a woman who has lived a hard life, but still keeps elements of her past as a beauty queen shining through. en there is Bill Long, Kathleen's estranged husband, and Stu's father, played by Mel Gibson. Lewis kept the actor looking hard, to show a life of drinking and laborious work. Next, Apone transitioned Wahlberg into his clean-cut "head shot" look as the character chases an acting career in Los Angeles. Like all starving actors, Stu needs to feed himself. He nds employment behind the meat counter of a supermarket. From behind that coun- ter, Stu does not nd his way into the showbiz, but instead discovers his dream girl. For the character Carmen, played by Teresa Ruiz, Apone applied a simple, unconstructed natural beauty make-up to bring out the inner beauty and innate innocence of the character. At the local bar, Stu has a conversation with Bary, played by Niko Nicotera. Bary seemingly dispenses the words of a crazy man, but those very same words will soon be heard by Stu as that of the Savior himself. Apone and Lewis began mulling over the Bary character before they le the Dominican Republic. e result had Lewis creating a rough-looking, homeless character, but with an element of holiness. e nal inspiration for this look came from a life-size Christ gure that was on the wall of one of the churches we lmed in. If one looks closely, stigmata scaring is visible on Bary's forehead and hands. ese subtle make-up touches helped enhance and dene the char- acter's epiphanic message to Stu. Upon leaving the bar, Stu heads home on his motorcycle. at's when fate intervenes. He barely avoids colliding with one car only to hit another. He ies over that car, and slams to the blacktop to be run over, by yet, another two cars. e illusion of severe trauma on the actor was created by Apone and Lewis with MelProducts "Peel & Stick" prosthetic appliances, Illustrator palettes, and stage blood. e resulting artistic collaboration was realistic and scary. Stu is le for dead on the roadway where he is visited by a vision of the Virgin Mary, played by Annet Mahendru. e directorial edict was simple. Mary's look was to be very clean and natural. Camera and lighting tricks were used to give the scene a brightening eect utilizing the darkness of the night around both actor and actress.