Rick Baker, the master make-up and special effects artist who won seven Oscars for his work between 1982 and 2011, has announced plans to retire. Despite his amazing resume, he is having trouble finding work in the CG-heavy world of Hollywood.
In an interview with KPCC this week, Baker said that he plans to retire, now that he’s 64. He noted that Hollywood also wants things done quick and cheap, which isn’t the way he works.
“I said the time is right, I am 64 years old, and the business is crazy right now,” Baker said, notes Entertainment Weekly. “I like to do things right, and they wanted cheap and fast. That is not what I want to do, so I just decided it is basically time to get out.”
Baker’s last big Hollywood project was Disney’s Maleficent, which even then required very little practical make-up work. He told KPCC that he could have done that “in a garage basically.”
Like his late mentor Dick Smith, Baker worked on more movies than you can possibly imagine, with credits dating back to the early 1970s. He won his first Oscar for 1982’s An American Werewolf in London and his last for 2011’s The Wolfman. Other Oscar wins came for How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Men In Black and Ed Wood.
Baker also helped create the make-up on Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video.
Baker is set to auction off many of his pieces through the Prop Store, beginning today. He has also been sharing photos of his incredible work on Twitter.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com