INT: Bart Mixon

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews Bart Mixon

Bart Mixon has an
endless “genre friendly” resume, having tackled pretty much every
position that exists within the world of Special Effects. I’m talking makeup effects,
special effects, visual
effects
and more! His work can be seen in groovy films’ like “Nightmare on
Elm Street 2”, “Pet Semetary”, “The Ring”, “House of
1000 Corpses”,
“MIB 2” and the upcoming “Hellboy”. I had the chance to
talk shop with the lad and here’s what came out of it.

ARROW: What’s your favorite horror movie?

BART: That’s a tricky one. The 1933 KING
KONG is my all-time favorite movie, but is it really a “horror film.”
The 1960’s HAUNTING and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN are close seconds.

ARROW: How did you get into the art of makeup, visual and special
effects? Was it a long time dream or did you stumble into it by fluke.

BART:
It was something that I had wanted
to do for a long time. Growing up, I either wanted to be a comic book
artist, a stop-motion animator, or a make-up effects artist. I had
done all three on a fan level in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s, but
make-up effects won out. Movies like THE SEVEN FACES OF DR. LOA and
PLANET OF THE APES made huge impressions, but reading about Rick Baker
in “Famous Monsters” when he did SCHLOCK made the biggest. At 18
years old, I met Rick at a Houston
Con in 1977 [the same con Steve Johnson, another “Houston native,” met
him at] and kept in touch over the years
via the mail. While still living in Texas, a friend, Ernie
Farino,
got me a job at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures in 1981 on FORBIDDEN
WORLD. 

On that show, I met Mark
Shostrom, and we became friends, working together on shows like RAW
COURAGE, THE SUPERNATURALS, and ELM STREET TWO. While waiting for THE
SUPERNATURALS to start, I worked a little with Ernie Farino and my
brother, Bret, at Fantasy II Film Effects on THE TERMINATOR. Here I
met the owner, Gene Warren, for whom I would run the creature effects
shop for on such shows as FRIGHT NIGHT PART TWO, STEPHEN KING’S IT,
etc. After working on ROBOCOP in Texas in 1986, I moved to L.A. in
early 1987 to work on films full time.

ARROW: Your filmography is quite impressive with so many stellar
titles on hand such as Terminator 2, Pet Sematary 2, The Ring, House
of 1000 Corpses etc. But the title that caught my attention the most
was Nightmare on Elm Street 2, which is a guilty favorite of mine. What
effects did you perform on that show?

BART: I was a key member of Mark
Shostrom’s [small] crew, and we created all the effects involving the
boy who Freddy bursts out of. I did all types of lab work from
sculpting dummy heads and finger appliances, to building the mechanics
for the long tongue that he has while making out with his girl
friend. I did the story boards for the transformation sequence, and
suggested the gag with Freddy’s eye in the back of the boy’s throat.

ARROW: Looking back, how was the Nightmare on Elm Street 2
experience? Was it a relaxed and pleasant set?

BART:
It was GREAT! I was a fan of the
first one, so, of course, working on the sequel was a thrill in
itself. I was still living in Texas, and came out to L.A. for 11 weeks
or so to work on it with Mark. I cannot say it was relaxed, as we
had a lot to do in those 11 weeks, working 12 to 16 hour days, sometimes 7 days a week!  We worked 40 hours
non-stop getting everything
read and shooting our first [of two days on the transformation! The
set was pleasant enough, and I think everyone was happy with what we
created.

ARROW: What is your opinion of the film
itself?

BART:
Truthfully, I was disappointed. We
tried to get the production to do more creative, visual effects
type sequences, and they would not. Of course, part three was loaded
with these types of visuals, and a better film, I thought, because of
them. Also, part two was so dark [photographically] to the point of
not being able to see the new and
improved Freddy make-up. I do not think the producers really understood
what made the first one work; in fact they came VERY close to not
casting Robert England as Freddy, but
using a stunt man, ala the FRIDAY films.

ARROW: You seem to have touched upon pretty much every field of the
Special Effects and Makeup world. Which one fulfills you the most as
an artist? 

BART: By far, the make-up effects. There’s something very cool about gluing a nice prosthetic onto
a
good actor and seeing a new character born. HELLBOY is probably
the best example of this, but also
something as simple as my Pennywise in IT, or my deformed ear on the
Scottish bully in RUSHMORE are very satisfying. Of course, I have
done some effects animation and/or miniature work for other films, and
that was fun, too.

ARROW: Is there one visual
effect you’ve accomplished or helped
create, of which you are particularly most proud? Which one and why?

BART:
Of my own, personal work, I think
Pennywise the clown, is the one of which I am the proudest. I think Tim Curry
did a fantastic job bringing that make-up to life. It has been over ten
years since I created that make-up, and I still have people come up to
me and tell me how much if frightened them in their youth. Likewise,
I am such a HELLBOY fan that I HAD to be a part of that movie, and I
think we will not be disappointed by the results.

ARROW: What horror franchise would you love to
contribute to that you haven’t yet?

BART:
At the time, I was probably most
disappointed that circumstances did not permit me to be involved with
EVIL DEAD 2 with Mark Shostrom. Also, when I had my shop, ME*FX, we
were bidding on FREDDY VS. JASON [this was the 1997 version] and I
would have liked to have done that one.

ARROW: You just finished working on Hellboy. Which effect do you think
is going to knock our fanboy sox off in that picture?

BART: EVERYTHING in HELLBOY is so
fantastic, but I think by far, HELLBOY is one of the most amazing
make-ups ever! Matt Rose did a fantastic job translating Mike
Mignola’s 2-D style into a believable, flesh and blood character. Every inch of Ron Perlman is covered, but
it looks SO natural and real. He IS Hellboy!

ARROW: What’s next for you in terms of effects gigs?

BART:
Looking into a few things, but
nothing I can talk about at this time. I hope HELLBOY 2 happens soon.

ARROW: Any advice for the budding effect artist out there?

BART:
Someone asked Rick Baker this
question at the con I met him at in 1977.  He said, “don’t.” We all
had a good laugh, but now, some 20 years later, I can see what he
meant. I LOVE doing this work, and would
not want to do anything else, but it can be a major pain in the ass! It is such a competitive field, with less and less work to go around
these days; bidding on jobs is a pain; and while you work with some
great people, you also run into your share of jerks. But, hey, follow that dream!  With magazines like CINEFEX, MAKE-UP
ARTIST MAGAZINE, etc., you have all the information you need to know
how to do it, you just have to do it. If some guy from Texas can make
it, you can to. And embrace those damn computers, they are here to
help you, they can be your friend.

Thanks a lot,
Bart for dropping in and giving us some insight as to the
world behind the latex. Keep kicking butt my friend!