feature: Great Movie Makeup Transformations From The Past Two Years
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In the past few years alone we have all witnessed a number of incredible physical transformations thanks to the work of makeup artists. And even though they have their own category in the Academy Awards—along with plenty of very special rules to follow—they’re also lumped in with hairstylists. While that’s perfectly fine, there are some issues to take to task. For one, the amount of makeup work that’s gone into certain films, particularly those that haven’t won this award (like The Dark Knight), proves that the two should be split into their own categories. Additionally, great makeup and hairstyling don’t always occur within the same film, so, again, why not break them up?
Speaking of the Oscars, which this year will air on March 2, this post aims to look back to those films that had exceptional makeup but didn’t bag the golden statue from the past two years. Now, most of the more obvious picks were left out, mostly because the Oscar winners don’t need that extra recognition, and there’s even a critically panned film in the bunch. Among the choices, you’ll find movies with complete facial transformations, actors covered in various paint colours, and even eye enhancements.
If any of this interests you personally—like, on a level you would want to try these looks out for yourself—here’s a few tips: Reel Creations offer a variety of makeup choices and accessories while Acuvue has contact lenses that can make your eyes appear brighter and make them shine. They may not have the coloured lenses required for some of the crazier concepts, but it’s actually been found that they’re risky to wear anyway, so you should avoid them.
Now, on to the list!
How this movie didn’t even get nominated for an Oscar for its makeup work is beyond comprehension. From Halle Berry to Tom Hanks to Hugo Weaving, nearly every actor involved took on multiple roles across genders and races to the point they were unrecognizable. Pretty remarkable.
Depending on who you ask, last year’s Jackass-affiliated film should be on the short list for the 2014 Academy Awards’ makeup and hairstyling category. The work done on Johnny Knoxville alone is worth noting, because the guy looked so old you would have thought you were watching someone’s actual grandfather acting foolish.
Apparently taking anywhere from two-and-a-half to nearly four hours, the transformation that Joseph Gordon Levitt went through to become a young Bruce Willis in Looper was astounding. It even got to the point that some people thought that JGL had undergone plastic surgery for the role! But no, it was merely the fantastic work of Kazu Tsuji.
If a Lord of the Rings-associated film has been released, you can count one them receiving nods for their makeup. But that doesn’t look to be the case for the second movie in The Hobbit trilogy. And why not? It’s not like all those actors have naturally pointy ears, perfectly flowing beards or, in the case of the orcs, terribly snarling faces.
This movie didn’t win over critics, but it did get a bit of well-deserved attention for Famke Janssen’s looks as the villain. Her portray of an evil witch named Muriel meant rocking serious makeup to capture the cracked white face and terrifying green eyes intended for the character. Now, if only the film itself had been a bit better.
Author Bio: This is a guest post by writer Fred Jameson. He’s a movie fanatic who will watch anything and everything on his quest to, well, watch every film out there, no matter how terrible its trailer may make it out to be.
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