An American Werewolf in London changed how the Oscars looked at makeup effects, but it wasn't alone in creating the category.
An American Werewolf in London changed a lot about horror movies when it came out. The movie was one of the most successful werewolf movies made in years. It impressed fans and critics alike thanks to its practical effects, with director John Landis and effects maestro Rick Baker creating the werewolf transition with actual makeup and camera transitions.
The practical effects made An American Werewolf in London the first movie to win the Oscar for Best Makeup at the 54th Annual Academy Awards. While this means that the werewolf movie went down in history as the reason the category exists, it was not the only movie that played into the creation of the makeup honors.
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Many years before An American Werewolf in London arrived, the Academy Awards honored movies for makeup effects. The first two notable movies were the 1964 movie 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and the 1968 release Planet of the Apes. These honors were Special Achievement Oscars. 7 Faces of Dr. Lao was a fantasy movie based on the novel by Charles G. Finney about a Chinese showman who uses magical powers to save a Western town. The movie saw Tony Randall play multiple roles, including that of the Abominable Snowman, Medusa, a Giant Serpent, and more. The movie showcased the makeup work by William Tuttle.
Planet of the Apes is a movie that required John Chambers' meticulous makeup work, as he created the apes that ruled that society. On top of the Special Achievement Oscar for makeup, the movie also picked up a nomination for Best Costume Design. While it looked like the extremely successful Planet of the Apes proved the Oscars needed a makeup category, it took 13 years before that happened. While some fans of Landis' werewolf masterpiece might point out that it created the addition of the category, that isn't necessarily true. The Academy won't create a category for a movie released that year. However, it would create a category based on movies that ended up hurt by the omission of the category the year before. When Beauty and the Beast picked up a Best Picture nomination, the Oscars created a Best Animated Feature category, but it was too late for the Disney classic. The creation of the Best Makeup category wasn't because of An American Werewolf in London but because of a movie that missed out the year before.
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The year before John Landis created his werewolf movie, there was a drama feature that should have won the best Makeup award at the Oscars if it had existed. This movie was The Elephant Man. David Lynch directed the true-life story of John Merrick, a man born in London who lived much of his life in a Victorian freak show before receiving help and almost escaping that life. It is a tragedy, but the makeup work by Christopher Tucker done on John Hurt to transform him into Merrick was exemplary. The Elephant Man received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Costume Design, but it didn't win any. The one award it should have won was Best Makeup, and while the Oscars refused a Special Achievement Oscar for the movie, it agreed to create a new category for the next year's ceremony.
While An American Werewolf in London was not responsible for the category's creation, Rick Baker earned the award and owed this new success to Elephant Man. After winning for his werewolf effects, Baker set the record for the most Best Makeup Oscar wins in history with seven wins out of 11 nominations. On top of An American Werewolf, Baker also won for Harry and the Hendersons, Ed Wood, The Nutty Professor, Men in Black, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Wolfman. However, the man responsible for the changes, Christopher Tucker, never won an Oscar. He took home a BAFTA for his makeup work on Quest for Fire in 1985, but Elephant Man was the closest he came to the Oscar conversation.
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who received his Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma with a minor in Film Studies. He has worked as a journalist for 25 years, starting in newspapers and magazines before moving to online media as the world changed. Shawn is a former member of the Society of Professional Journalists and a current voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has work published on websites like The Huffington Post, Yahoo Movies, Chud, Renegade Cinema, and 411mania. Shawn is also a published author, with a non-fiction book about the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers and has begun work on a new fiction series as well. Visit Shawn Lealos' website to learn more about his novel writing and follow him on Twitter @sslealos.
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