“You have to understand that rightly or wrongly, I consider myself an artist and I consider the work that we do art. In helping to tell stories by creating these characters. I came out as an actor. I am not a technician. I am techno-ignorant, but I love creating characters and telling wonderful stories. Thinking of myself as an artist doesn’t allow me to think of size having to do with importance.”
~from Imdb.com’s Stan Winston page.

One of the most important figures in my inspirations for film making died last night.

His name was Stan Winston, and he is solely responsible for the amount of Aliens, Predator, and Terminator toys within the storage of my old collection. He was a living legend- the single most creative special effects artist in the industry and quite possibly of all time, having crafted both the dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park series and the physical suit that Robert Downey, Jr. used in the recently succesful Iron Man

It is quite rare for a special effects artist to be so well known by name and not just his studio, but many people were big fans of his work. He was a big enough deal to be one of two special effects artists on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nominated for over 30 cinematic achievement awards in his lifetime, he was also a four time Oscar Winner for his work on Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, and Aliens. His works with James Cameron, Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg and many, many others have crafted the imaginations and fascinated a whole generation of film going kids and adults.

For all his hard work and his endless amount of entertainment, realism in effects, and memorable characters and creatures, Strike a Pose Films salutes you, Stan Winston. There certainly wouldn’t be a Bodangofish without you.

EDIT:
I’d like to throw this video up on the site- a very tastefully done and touching piece by our friends over at joblo.com and Arrow in the Head that details some of the best moments in Stan’s legacy. I swear I nearly cried. This man WAS my childhood.