The films of John Carpenter have earned their place in film history: Halloween is the classic. Big Trouble in Little China, the guilty pleasure. The Thing continues to grow in power every year.
At the bottom of this legacy lies Starman. When it came out in 1984, the road trip movie eased into a landscape of suburban fantasy films that Spielberg had safely established; it had big 'splosions, a little bit of cussing and a lot of heart. It turned 25% profit at the box office, scored a Best Actor Oscar nod for Jeff Bridges and even spawned its own spinoff TV series on ABC. Karen Allen turned in the best performance of her career. It also marked the only time that special effects titans Dick Smith (The Exorcist), Stan Winston (Jurassic Park) and Rick Baker (Videodrome) ever worked together on the same film.
But to this day, nobody talks about Starman.
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the film, so I sat down with John Rosengrant, who worked as a special effects apprentice on the movie in 1984. Rosengrant went on to co-found his own special effects workshop, Legacy Effects, which gave the world the gill creature in The Shape of Water, "Baby Yoda" for The Mandalorian and VFX for the best chunk of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Did you set out to work in special effects? It seems like tedious work for a young man.
John Rosengrant: Oh, I wanted to be in visual effects all the way. There was no CG back then, so there was no other way to do this other than practically. Everything was thought out, storyboarded and talked out.
I was in go mode and Stan Winston Studios was a lot like film school for me. Back then, I was just so excited to be doing make-up special effects as one of "Stan's Guys." It started with the first Terminator, and he just kept me around.
That's a hell of a starting point.
JR: Yeah, the trajectory of Terminator launched everything. I very much owe my career to Jim (Cameron) and Stan that way.
Can you walk us through the work on the Starman transformation scene?
JR: We broke some ground on that "change-o-baby."Stan came up with the idea of having this child with an accordion-moving-core inside so that when the mechanics moved it, it still held its shape while it lengthened.
With the skin, I remember doing all kinds of tests with urethanes to get the right consistency and elongation. I remember talking to reps at BJB [manufacturer and supplier of thermosetting polyurethane, epoxy and silicone systems] and they'd work as partners with you. Back then they'd have an actual chemist on the phone: "It's sticky? It's not setting?" It was wild.
Probably a fun day at the polyurethane office when the Hollywood guys call.
JR: Right. I can't remember what their core business was, but I'm sure it wasn't making a star-baby (laughs).
Dick Smith was the king of makeup effects, and you were assigned to be his assistant in making the life cast for Jeff Bridges. How was Smith in the field?
JR: He was very meticulous. We tested the water and the pH and everything had to be spotless and clean. I remember having to tell Stan, "he doesn't like our bowls," so we went and bought new ones. He would measure it all out and make sure that the alginate-to-water proportions were exactly right. At first, I thought it was excessive, but in the end, I realized that Stan was more of a businessman/artist and Dick was much more of a scientist/artist. I learned so much from watching him work.
What was a typical day at Stan Winston Studios in 1984?
JR: I was living in Century City, so we had to commute to the workshop in Northridge. The early '80s was the beginning of a culture change. When I first arrived in LA, it was very loosey goosey; some effects studios were like, "Well, wake up whenever dude and come on in and stay all night long." Not with Stan. He ran his shop more like a business. He was of the mindset that if you went home and had a rest it would be better than burning out. He had us show up at 8 o'clock, and we went home at 6.
You must've had the lunch spots scoped out.
JR: Oh, we had some burger joints. There was a Marie Callender's nearby. And we had this killer spot called The Mandarin Wok.
Can you tell us about being on set for Starman?
JR: Our team worked on the "star-child" level of the transformation scene at the beginning of the film. We'd get on set the day that we filmed this thing, and Rick Baker was just finishing up doing his bit, which was the baby. And then we were coming in… it was just makeup effects heaven.
Any impressions on working with John Carpenter?
JR: Not too much. He was kind of a cheerleader, in a way. He was mostly just letting Stan and Rick do their thing. It was an easy working relationship and I think he had full trust in Dick, Stan and Rick, so he felt like he was in good hands.
I read that there was going to be a remake of Starman. Any advice for the next special effects crew?
JR: Oh, I'm sure they'll come up with a different story, and it'll all be CG (laughs). I doubt they'll go old school the way we did it.
Yeah, but what if they do and they call you?
JR: Well, I'm retired (laughs). I did my forty years.
Any memories of Starman when it came out?
JR: I remember going to see the film and really liking it. And realizing that this wasn't really an effects movie, which we usually did. It was more of a story-driven piece about this alien who is assimilating into society.
Be careful, you're making Starman sound cool.
JR: Hey, it was cool! It's still cool (laughs).
For more on the special effects of Starman, please visit this page at the Stan Winston School of Character Arts.
Lee Keeler is a writer and educator living in northeast Los Angeles.
