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The Lightsabre Interview Phil Tippett
Welcome to
Lightsabre. We're moving forward in
Go-motion as we introduce one of the masters of stop-motion and a two-time
academy award winner, Phil Tippett. Q -Phil, welcome to
Lightsabre. A -
Thanks for the invite. Q Youve been
involved in some of the most amazing films in cinema history, among them
Robocop, Empire Strikes Back and Dragonslayer. For Return of the Jedi and Jurassic Park
you and your teams were awarded Oscars.
As an innovator as well as an artist youve helped shape effects
techniques from the 70s to the 21st century. Which of those projects gave you the most
satisfaction, from both a technical and aesthetic sense? A Although it
wasn't as commercially successful as the ones you mention above, I'd have to
add Starship Troopers to that list. They all represent an opportunity to do
things you haven't done, develop new approaches and ultimately see things
you've never seen, at least not quite in the same way. With Empire &
Dragonslayer we developed Go-Motion. On Robo I took a step to the side and
applied what I knew of Go-Mo to techniques developed by Ray Harryhausen. On
Jurassic I was dragged kicking and screaming into a whole new technology but
was able to bring my knowledge to it. Q - Tell us something
of your career. How did you begin in the
effects industry and what led you to where you are today? A
As a child I was fascinated with the
fantastic and weird. I became a huge fan of the work of effects artists
Willis O'Brien & Ray Harryhausen. Ray especially was an inspiration who
pulled most of those I've worked with over the years into the movie racket. Q What has it been
like to be a key part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- From being one of
the first theatrical motion pictures I had worked on it was tremendously
exciting just being part of the film making process. We all felt very lucky
to have George Lucas as our boss. To be part of something so big certainly
makes you feel that you're on the winning team. Q We often hear funny
stories from the sets of the movies, and its known that the ILM guys had a
particularly fun time, despite the pressure of constant deadlines. Do you have any good stories from those
days? A
I recall torturing Jim Bloom who was
managing ILM when we relocated north for Empire. At the time space was hard
to come by and there were some safety issues. I made a cast of my finger,
painted it, bloodied it up and put it on his desk along with a note that I'd
had an accident. Things got fixed pretty fast. I Mostly recall the camaraderie; Jon Berg and Joe Johnston shooting
rockets off in the field, dart games and beer late into the night, pranks
Nilo Rodis and I played on some stodgy Union bosses, Tom St Amand and I
smoking packs of cigarettes in the machine shop. Things like that. Q Like many fellow artists,
as the original Star Wars trilogy ended you left ILM in 1983 to set up
Tippett Studios. How much of a jump
was that, to leave such a successful studio and strike out on your own? A
I'd always been freelance in LA, and
when there was no work you moved on and found some. I'd also kept in touch
with folks in LA like producer Jon Davison who I continue to develop projects
with today. I'd always imagined having my own studio in Berkeley (where I was
born) and making movies there, so it was what I wanted to do out of a sense
of excitement. It certainly wasn't a business decision. Q Apart from Empire
and Jedi, which you worked on, which of the other four Star Wars films stands
out from an effects standpoint? A Of course whatever the first Star Wars is called now was huge by virtue of its reinvention/ application of lost skills/crafts and approach to cinema. The New Ones are certainly pursuing George's vision of creating a cinema not completely reliant on material reality - with so much of the show being created artificially.
Q Your effects work
covers a multitude of skills and techniques, from stop-motion through
go-motion and to the modern usage of computers. Do you miss those hands-on days when you
could feel the texture of the model and manipulate it with your own hand? A Sure, and I think something very valuable and innate to
the human species is given up working only at the keyboard. However it has
allowed me to move on to things of more interest. Q One of your
finest effects shows was Evolution, a great film that was criminally
overlooked at the box office. For that
show you did a large number of CG creatures and approaching 200 shots. How demanding was that, given the strange
and totally alien look of the creatures? A I don't think it was the criminals who overlooked
that show. Currently 200 shots are not considered that much for a summer
picture these days, but you're right about the number of creatures that
needed to get designed. That was the real task for that picture, each time
you have a new thing you need to figure out how to make it work and when
something complicated works in only a few shots it becomes quite expensive. Q What would you
change about your Star Wars experience if you could go back and do it again? A
Ya know - nothing. I look back on that
time as one of the happiest in my life. Q You finally
realised your dream of directing a movie when you helmed Starship Troopers 2:
Hero of the Federation. How satisfying
was that, and are you looking at other projects? A I had a great time making Starship Troopers 2. I got to work with
lots of folks I liked and was reunited with Jon Davison & Ed Neumeier.
And yes I'm looking for and developing other things to direct as we email. Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Your stop-motion Walker from Empire, your
go-motion dragon from Dragonslayer and your CG alien from Starship Troopers
are nominated for Oscars, but the academy cant decide which one to give it
to. They fight it out among
themselves, but who wins and how? A No
one wins. A giant rubber Godzilla breaths fire on Hollywood and every thing
is incinerated, Then because he's so heavy the earth cracks open and he falls
in. The earth closes back up and everything is peaceful. |
