Screaming Mad George

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Screaming Mad George
Born Joji Tani
1956 (age 67–68)[1]
Osaka, Japan
Occupation Special effects artist, film director
Notable work Society, The Guyver

Screaming Mad George (born Joji Tani) is a special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory special effects. He has collaborated with director and producer Brian Yuzna on many films.

Biography

Born Joji Tani[2] in Osaka, Japan, he took the first name George in order to stand out. Upon emigrating to the United States, where he graduated from the School of Visual Arts, he changed his name to Screaming Mad George in order to distinguish himself among the other Georges in an Anglophone country. The moniker was influenced by his love for Mad Magazine and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.[3]

Career

George began as a punk rock musician[3] and played with the late 1970s band The Mad.[4] His gory music videos led to a job in the film industry, where he worked on special make-up effects.[3] His early work includes effects on Big Trouble in Little China (1986),[5] Predator (1987),[6] A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987),[5] the cockroach scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988),[6] and Arena (1989).[7] In 1989, he began a long-term collaboration with director Brian Yuzna with Society.[5] In a negative review, Variety called the film's SFX-laden climax "sickening",[8] and the Austin Chronicle called the effects "cheesy".[9] In more positive reviews, the Los Angeles Times called George the real star of the film,[10] and Empire wrote, "Yuzna and his veteran special effects man Screaming Mad George serve up this literal slime with such verve, wit and overall verbal and visual flair that the movie also stands as one of the very finest of teen comedies."[11] In a 1990 follow-up with Yuzna, George provided special effects for Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) that Variety called "imaginative" and "just what modern horror fans crave".[12] In 1991, he made his directorial debut with The Guyver, which he co-directed with Steve Wang. Yuzna produced the film. In America, the film was recut by New Line to remove some of the humor and focus more on action.[13] Entertainment Weekly rated the film "C" and said that while the effects were good, the film was too cliched.[14] The Los Angeles Times called his creature effects in Freaked (1993) "terrific",[15] and Ain't It Cool News said that George's work was the best reason to watch the film.[16] Witney Seibold of CraveOnline wrote of Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995), "Any character that this film has is due to [George]."[17] Stuart Gordon chose George to perform special effects in Space Truckers (1996) based on his previous work and his ability to speak Japanese, as creature designer Hajime Sorayama wanted to be involved in the film's production.[18] Variety was warm toward his effects in Tales from the Hood (1995)[19] and Progeny (1998).[20] He teamed up again with Yuzna in Faust: Love of the Damned (2000) and Beyond Re-Animator (2003).[5]

Awards

Year Organization Award For Result Ref
1994 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Best Make-up Freaked Nominated [21]
2001 DVD Exclusive Awards Best Visual Effects Faust: Love of the Damned Nominated [22]

Filmography

Makeup and special effects

Director

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Room 2010, p. 194.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Paszylk 2009, p. 188.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Prouty 1994, January 15, 1991.
  13. ↑ Fischer 2011, p. 662.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Fischer 2011, p. 258.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

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External links

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