LMC: Did Steve do any FX work for Batman: Dead End?  What did he think of your Predator designs?

SC:  Steve was cool enough to let me pour up a couple of his Predator heads that he sculpted, and lent me some molds for the dreadlocks and a few other things.  Though that was a big help, and very much appreciated, I personally feel Steve’s greatest contribution to the film was his moral support and willingness to share knowledge. We talked at length about his painting technique for the suits, the subtle mixing of colors… How the suit was sculpted, molded, etc… His knowledge of all things Predator was invaluable in creating the suits. Though in typical Steve fashion, ultimately there were a few comments about a certain color here, or an inaccurate form there, he absolutely loved the suits and felt they were more true to his original designs than the stuff in Predator 2.

LMC: Any neat stories to share from your early years working in the studios.

SC:  Actually, one in particular comes to mind… I was working at Stan Winston’s late one Friday evening, pouring rigid polyfoam. I ran out of cups, and was too tired to go looking for some, I had one more pour to do, and conveniently noticed that there was about 1/3 left in each gallon aluminum container of the A and B components. I thought I was being smart by pouring one into the other, putting the cap on quickly, and shaking it up… Well, when I went to take off the cap and pour it into the mold, it was stuck. The pressure built up inside the can, and I couldn’t get the cap off. I was panicking, and the can was getting hot, so I put it down on the table. It started making weird noises, hissing and bulging all over, so I backed up against the wall, and the thing EXPLODED all over the place. Little yellow dots of foam literally covered everything in the room, including me. Mind you, this was before the big shop with the separate display area. The room I was working in (which I later found out I shouldn’t have been) had among other things, Predator display heads, and a full Terminator endoskelton in it. Both now covered with polyfoam. I had to come back in all weekend and pick little bits of foam off the endoskeleton, the Supreme Intelligence (from INVADERS FROM MARS) and the Predator, one by one. Glad Stan never found out about that one… Oh, and then later that week, I crashed my car, so I had to ride a bike to work… Then I crashed that, and Richard Landon and the guys in the mechanical shop fixed it for me… and they called Mark McCreery “CRASH”, go figure that one out.

LMC: Hey Stan, if you are reading this, try to block that last answer out of your mind :)

SC: Maybe he should read it, if he actually acknowledged that I did that, and gave me credit for doing it, that would be a first.

LMC: What is the reality of working in a studio compared to the glamour some might think?

SC: There is no glamour working in Hollywood, especially in creature shops. Actually, working in the shops is exactly the same as high school. The shop owner is the principal, the coordinators and shop foremen are the teachers, and the crew are all the kids. Certain teachers like certain kids better than others, if you stay late and work overtime, you get extra credit, if you mess something up, you have to stay for detention, and fix it. There’s cliques, just like in high school, you’ve got the cool kids, the dorks, the designers, the “we’re better than all of you” sculptors, the mold makers, the painters, the runners, and at lunchtime, the cliques all go their separate ways, just like high school… Going on set, is like the fucking PROM, you hope you get asked to go, but some people never get asked, and go home and cry… and EVERYONE talks shit about everyone else… If the student makes it the four years, he might become a teacher after he graduates, and run a department, and if that teacher works at that school long enough, he might actually get an offer to be a principal at his own school… See, I told you…high school all over again. 

LMC: How did you meet Henry Alvarez?  How has that relationship helped your growth?                     

SC: That, actually is a whole other interview in itself, but I’ll give you the extremely condensed version…I met Henry when I was 19 years old, and he had the wisdom, experience and foresight to see through my immaturity, and what was then, shall we say… A “difficult” exterior. He gave me a chance, and saw my deep  desire to learn and grow as an artist, particularly as a sculptor. Though even Henry will admit to it now, at that time, he thought my talents were far greater as a designer, and pushed me in that direction. I wouldn’t budge, I wanted to learn how to sculpt, so Henry took me under his wing and the rest, as they say, is history. If you look at my sculptures even after one year with Henry, the growth was astounding…After a few years, I was actually sculpting heads and stuff for his studio… Now, to look at the work that was pre-Alvarez…ecchh, no form, no finesse, no depth. It was all surface and very crude, God, I can’t even look at it. Henry is without a doubt, the most influential person in my life, he’s been the best mentor someone could ever hope to have, and a great friend. He’s taught me not only about art and sculpture, but about life. Growing up at Henry’s studio, working there through my 20’s was a truly great time in my life. What I’ve been so fortunate to learn from Henry and his talented family is truly without measure. I’ve also, in recent years developed a strong friendship with Henry’s son Nick, who is a tremendous talent in his own right, and someone whom I’ve grown to trust and respect a great deal. Nick and I write together quite a bit, and have developed several scripts over the past few years that I’m hoping to direct in the near future. I’m in a constant state of amazement at how my relationship with Henry has developed over recent years, into more of a friendship from the teacher/student scenario. It’s funny how things in life like that come full circle. Now I’m mentoring a young artist who I’ve introduced to Henry, and he just smiles, I guess seeing parts of himself in me. He’s my surrogate dad, and I love him very much. Just the other day, we were sitting at a convention, signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans, he just looked over and flashed me that huge, signature Henry Alvarez smile, it was all right there on his face, he didn’t need to say a word. That pretty much sums up our relationship, we’ve learned to know what the other is thinking, and we have a lot to smile about--- I need a tissue.

LMC: What influences your design work?

SC: Lots of things… Fish, insects, reptiles, birds, amphibians, cephalopods, crustaceans… Skulls and bones. Other artists… Steve Wang, Jordu Schell, Simon Bisley, Alex Ross, Brom, Frazetta…

LMC: How do you go about conceptualizing a fantasy character.

SC: Usually they start as rough sketches, then I’ll flesh the design out in a tighter rendering or painting. After that I’ll work it out three dimensionally in clay.

LMC: How do you keep the ideas fresh and not so much a reproduction of existing designs?

SC:  That’s actually a hard thing to do when you’ve been doing this as long as I have. Jordu and I actually have discussions about this all time… You just have to keep being inspired, and make sure fresh ideas and material are being processed constantly by the brain. We’re always giving each other obscure films to watch and exposing each other to new artists, etc… You have to try and think outside the box, and come up with a different approach to a familiar situation… One that is uniquely you, but is a different application or approach. A lot of it is actually trial and error, you find out what works and what doesn’t.

LMC: Are you constantly making mental notes when you watch movies or read books or even just see things in nature that you might incorporate into your design work?  Do you keep a notebook or jot pictures down on the spot?

SC: Absolutely… I carry a sketchbook with me everywhere I go. It especially comes in handy when I’m making a film, quick sketches are a big part of my repertoire when I communicate with the cast and crew. It’s so much easier sometimes to just do a quick marker or pencil sketch to get an idea across to the DP, or prop master, whoever… here, this is what I want, go make this. It’s invaluable to know how draw when you’re making a movie, at least to me.

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