Chris Richard Hanson has been doing make-up and special effects for over two decades, working on films like “Hellboy”, “Underworld” and the “Men In Black” series. He’s had the privilege of working under some top directors and learning from some of the finest designers in the industry. And best yet, his shop is based right out of Salt Lake City. Hanson sat down with City Weekly‘s own Gavin Sheehan to talk about his career and the love/hate relationship with CGI.
Gavin’s Underground interview with Chris Richard Hanson
Gavin: How did you officially first break into the business with no experience?
Chris: I did have some experience in cheesy local movies, plus I worked for two years at a medical prosthetics lab making limbs out of fiberglass; they just needed a guy to spread the toxic stuff in molds for 6 bucks an hour, but I discovered silicone rubber material there, and made molds at night of my hands and developed a way to make realistic limbs just by screwing around. I sent all those pictures to FX shops in Hollywood, and just drove there one rainy day with my friend Ryan Peterson, an amazing sculptor who had been hired to work at a big FX studio. I lucked out and got a job making plaster molds on ‘The Santa Clause’ three weeks later. It only lasted like three weeks, and on my birthday, I was abruptly laid off, the show was over. The guy who laid me off laughed and said ‘Happy Birthday! Welcome to Hollywood!!’ again, I should’ve learned…
Gavin: What was the experience like working for The Jim Henson Company, and learning skills from a production outfit with such a rich history for visual effects?
Chris: Weird, very surreal at first. I came home from Michael Burnett, who I had just been laid off from after 18 months of employment, and in one day my old tape deck answering machine was filled, with all these messages from the big guys, including the Hensons! The message said “were doing ‘George of the Jungle’, the movie, and need you to come in and sculpt Gorilla heads” I was stunned. When I went in the next day with my sculpting kit, The place had no Muppets, no “Dark Crystal” creatures or “Labrynth” stuff, they kept saying “oh that’s all over in England, buddy!“ And word came down that the 15 gorillas had been cut down to three, so I sculpted gorilla feet and a giant snake. There was a guy there named Jim Ensign, I believe, and it sounded so much like Jim Henson when the paged him on the speaker my first day. I panicked! ”He’s alive!? How??” But, like everything in that town, it was just a wishful thought with a goofy truth behind it… But seriously, it was a beautiful shop and I felt like I had arrived. My family even knew the Henson name, so now I seemed legit! Now if only Rick Baker would hire me my life would be complete!
