Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500442
THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2023 • 49 telling him what a loser he is while looking like a demon. We wanted this make-up to be subtle so I had prosthetics made by Out of Kit that more resembled the vampires in the film The Lost Boys, sans contact lenses. He had brow covers on, a forehead piece, and cheek bones, all painted in his natural skin tone using PPI Skin Illustrator airbrush make-up. Julianne's prosthetic look was a bit more dramatic. We needed a fat suit make-up that was tasteful as to not make it seem like we were making fun of fuller figured people, but to signify the call back to Al's inspiration for his Michael Jackson parody Fat. By the end of the film, Julianne's character had gained some weight. And again, due to time and budget, we could not have a custom piece made for her. On a previous project, I had used an RBFX foam latex fat suit appliance that I loved, foam latex for fat suits is ideal to me if you have to use a generic face prosthetic that isn't broken up into pieces because it is so lightweight. Since these are made-to-order stock prosthetics, most are sculpted for men, but they had one foam latex option fit for a woman or child, along with some upper hand pieces. Unfortunately, due to Julianne's slender face, there were too many gaps around the mouth so we had to rush order a new piece after the fitting. The only option for her size was a silicone version that was all one piece. On the day, I applied and painted it with the assistance of my friend, Alyssa Morgan, and KT applied her beauty make-up after we were done. It was especially fun for me to paint back in all of Julianne's amazing freckles. We still had some small issues around the mouth due to movement and breath condensation but overall, I was happy about it considering that it was not sculpted specifically for her. However, as the day progressed, the heaviness of the silicone provided some challenges due to gravity, so a lot of patching occurred on se. Again I was sweating. Thankfully, everyone was happy with the work so that helped put me at ease a bit. We are all our own worst critics. Arturo Castro played Pablo Escobar and also required a wound prosthetic for his death scene. In the film, Al goes to Colombia to save Madonna from the Colombian cartel. When he arrives, he bursts into Pablo's birthday party to save his love, when really it was all a ploy to get Al to show up for Pablo's birthday after he declined a request to perform for him. Pablo shoots at Al, thinking he has murdered him, when in reality Al was saved by many of the platinum records he wears around his neck. In retaliation, Al throws one of the records at Pablo, like a ninja star, and the record sinks into Pablo's head, leading to his demise. We only had Arturo for one day. Most of the day was spent with him in his mustached look done by KT, but for his final shot of the day, I was given a strictly-timed 25 minutes to Frankenstein the platinum record I was given by the props department earlier in the day with a generic Out of Kit cut prosthetic. The record would enter into his forehead, back into his hairline. I am pretty sure we shot his death in only two takes. There was so much to do on this film that I could honestly keep writing another 3,500 words. Getting to make Eric and Al's vision come to life was a true honor and a privilege. Working closely with both Dan and Evan was a pure joy. I wish there was a way to bring Al's character back to life and do this insanity all over again. I would jump at the chance in a second to get to play with this crew all over again. •