LBD_Nytetrayn wrote:Which questions are the updates?
Good question. Check them out below:
SA: In regards to your above statement, what do you mean by "shark-like"? Was the Koopa creature specifically influenced by sharks, or was it simply a fair comparison because of their shared quality of having a toothy grin?
RB: There was a lot of discussion about the coloration on Koopa at the last minute. It started out a little more patterned and tribal. As the discussions went on and we were not happy with the paint tests, Patrick started to come up with the shark comparison. It's an homage to the kind of character that he was I believe.
SA: Vincent Guastini, the special effects makeup artist on the film who also worked on the slime used for Koopa's demise, stated that Patrick Tatopolous was considering invited him to L.A. to do a complete reshoot of Koopa's demise with more T. rex and primordial creature "stages." Did you hear anything about this?
RB: Never heard a thing about it (And Patrick probably didn't want me to know!). I had always thought the transformation could use more stages as well as stages that did more "stuff" as far as twisting and deforming. Mechanically speaking, I understand that Patrick was disappointed in the final result. It didn't seem to "transform" as much as he would have liked. The CGI guys had always planned on a lot of blending between stages but the somewhat lack of movement made it a little awkward in my eyes.
SA: Craig Edwards, a production assistant and featured extra, was on-set for the shoot of Koopa's demise. He said that more was shot, including spectacular takes of the stage 2 Koopa being exploded by the Bob-Omb. Do you remember if anything additional or better was shot for the Demise?
RB: Actually, during the filming of the stuff with Dennis Hopper in the first stage, I was prepping the puppets for the next few stages. I had Jake Garber do Dennis' make-up so he was covering set for me. The stage 2 make-up on the Koopa "body double" was shot then too so I don't really know much about what was shot. They did, apparently, shoot quite a bit but it was mostly variations on the same stuff you see in the film.
SA: If you had had more time or money, what would you have liked to do bigger or better for the prosthetic Koopa stages and the climax in general?
RB: I'm not sure that it was a time or money thing so much as a re-planning of the scene and it's stages of transformation. I would have liked to see more variations in the stages and I would have liked to see the stages distort more between the CGI "blending". Bud McGrew made, and makes, some AMAZING mechanisms and puppets. I think that at the time he didn't quite understand the extremes that were expected of the puppets and the overall movement was affected by that.
SA: What do you think of MEL's work on the Goombas and Allosaurus rats and Dave Nelson's work on Yoshi? How do you feel they compare to your work?
RB: I think that their work on the film was some of MEL's best work to date. They did a nice job and proved vey reliable. Dave Nelson's Yoshi was a stupendous piece of work. Probably the best work in the film over all. If it wasn't so tricky to "perform" with and require so many puppeteers, it may have gotten more screen time - which I think it deserved.
SA: How would you have approached working on the Goombas, Allosaurus rats or Yoshi if you had been offered those creatures instead of or as well as the Koopa creature?
RB: I believe the thing that makes me special in my industry is that I have extensive experience in every stage of what I do. Some people specialize and become really good at a thing. I do it all. There are people that do things better than me but rarely can they do EVERYTHING that is needed. This makes me uniquely suited to be the "leader" on a job. The smartest and best thing I can do, therefore, is to hire the right people to get the work done.
It takes a good number of people to make a project happen. Hiring "giants" to do the work, rather than "midgets" will get the job done well and make you look good. Both Bud and I had small crews and limited time and resources. Expanding that would be my first step given the opportunity.
