In the expansive worlds of horror and science fiction, there is one element essential to films of both genres: makeup special effects. Paired with savvy sound and lighting design, costuming and the story itself, makeup and prosthetics can turn the human into the inhuman, creating moments of terror out of otherwise banal moments in a script.
Robert Kurtzman is a special effects makeup artist based out of Atlanta. He’s been in the field for his entire 40-year career, having worked on cult classics like “Scream,” “Evil Dead II” and “Pulp Fiction.” With his new Georgia-based company, Kurtzman has worked on features such as “Doctor Sleep” and Apple TV+ miniseries “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.” He’s also a director, screenwriter and producer — he developed the concept of the Quentin Tarantino-penned, Robert Rodriguez-directed 1996 horror film “From Dusk till Dawn.”
Reading horror and monster magazines was Kurtzman’s gateway into makeup effects. He would pour over articles featuring the artists in charge of building monsters in black-and-white classics like “Creature from the Black Lagoon” or films from once-dominant horror production company Hammer Films.
Kurtzman went to art school for a year before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles to get into the movie business when he was 19. He was instantly hooked, and hasn’t stopped working since. He moved his studio to Atlanta a little less than a decade ago when he began work on the Netflix miniseries “The Haunting of Hill House.”
Kurtzman sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to discuss the industry. Portions of this interview first appeared in the AJC’s new entertainment industry newsletter, The Scene, which you can subscribe to at qr1.be/V6U4.
Q: Take me into the process of trying to break into the movie business after getting out of art school.
A: I moved to Los Angeles when I was 19. I took a 12-week makeup course, which was mostly beauty makeup, but it had a small special effects section, which was kind of crude, and I knew more from reading stuff in magazines. But it moved me out there. After I got out of school, I tried to network, and eventually I got a job working for (noted makeup artist) John Buechler, and he worked for Charlie Band, who did a lot of low-budget movies every year. That’s where I got my start — working on low-budget movies like “Troll” and “Re-Animator.”
Q: Was there one specific project you’ve worked on during the early phases of your career when you said to yourself, “All right, this is my path. This is what I was destined to do.”
A: That would’ve been the first movie. Just right out of the gate, I was instantly hooked on the environment of working with other artists in a studio space and sculpting and slinging plaster. So that would’ve been “Troll.” It’s kind of a crude movie in some ways, but I was in awe of the whole idea of making movies.
Q: What is it about makeup effects that you love?
A: All of it. I would go insane if I wasn’t creating something. During the strikes last year, I did 25 original oil paintings in eight months. I think any creative outlet for me is a positive thing.
Q: You’ve been in this industry for four decades. What have been some of the biggest seismic shifts in both makeup effects and the industry at large within that time frame?
A: In makeup, the development of silicon prosthetics (compared with latex prosthetics). Technology is always advancing, so there’s also more cool things to play with. Broadly, digital filmmaking changed everything, and it hasn’t shifted back. Because the workflow is all digital, everything’s compressed. It went from shoots averaging 35-40 days, to now, where average movies, especially those within the $5 million range, want to shoot in 20 days. It seems like everybody waits until the last minute to make a decision on something that shoots in two weeks. Building something in two weeks is not an easy task. Normally we’ll have a minimum of eight weeks, sometimes 12, but in the old days, we would have three months to prep something of size.
Q: What are some of the challenges and the advantages of technologies like CGI and artificial intelligence-augmented software becoming part of the workflow?
A: I always absorb some of the workflow of those technologies. I’ve used Photoshop for years, and we use (digital sculpting tool) ZBrush and 3D printing, all kinds of stuff. I’m not sure where it’s going to go with (artificial intelligence) yet, but there are uses for that. Eventually what I see, and this is horrible, is that someone’s going to be able to dictate their entire concept into the computer and let it spit out 10 versions. It isn’t that exciting for me, and I’m glad I probably won’t be around for that. I’ll be retired by that time.
Q: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into makeup effects?
A: The business changed in the last two years after the strikes, as far as the number of jobs out there, so it’s hard to break in right now. But if it’s something you’re passionate about, you should continue to try to do it. You have to have a thick skin in this business, and you have to be persistent, professional and a problem solver. A lot of people get in and don’t realize how hard it is on a movie set. If you don’t try it, and you don’t go out and do it, you’ll kick yourself for not following your dreams.
Q: What is the most exciting trend you’re observing in the industry?
A: The independent horror genre scene. There’s a lot of great stuff coming out that’s innovative and cool and shot in a smaller, more intimate setting with a smaller crew. The studios are also rethinking their giant tentpoles because we’ve had so many bad flops over the past few years. I think we’re going to stop making so many of those and making more medium-range movies with less risk. I’d like to see more than just Marvel movies. I prefer medium-range movies. The stuff I grew up on, like “The Thing,” those movies are only $10 million movies.
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