The only person in Hollywood who has 4 different references in the credits - actor, director, make-up artist and extras - will celebrate 72 years in 2018. This fact causes sincere bewilderment, since Tom Savini has a taut torso, and strong muscles attract attention and cause admiration. Such a handsome man cannot be called an old man.
"Duck Slayer"
The future illustrious filmmaker was born in Pittsburgh, the second largest city in the state of Pennsylvania in early November 1946. From early childhood, he was fond of makeup experiments, inspired by the work of Lon Cheney, known as the Man with a Thousand Faces. In the future, Tom Savini will name his son in honor of the outstanding actor and make-up artist of silent films, and he, in turn, will give his daughter the name Cheney to please his father. In the teenage period, while his peers were naughty, Tom spent hours sitting near the mirror, improving his makeup skills, fantasizing, inventing new images.
Savini served as a war photographer in Vietnam. In 1970, he was drafted into the army. Being on the contact line, Tom became the initiator of indiscriminate shooting, in which his entire platoon was involved. As it turned out, the noise heard by the young recruit was made by a duck, who died under heavy fire. After this incident, Tom Savini was given the nickname Duck Slayer, and he was sent to the rear.
Beginning of a creative career
Climbing the career ladder for Savini began with work in the movie "Deadly Dream" as a special make-up artist. His talent was appreciated and noticed by many filmmakers, so for the next five years he worked in a crazy mode, combining the guises of a day photographer and a night director, a make-up artist in one of the North Carolina theaters.
Acquaintance with George Romero allowed Tom to realize his skills in cinema. Collaboration with the creator of the zombie horror genre brought Savini not only fame in narrow cinematic circles, but also the well-deserved Saturn award. Their first collaboration was the movie Martin, in which Tom made such a realistic cut wrist that most viewers were sure that this episode was an insert of documentary chronicles. After came the cult "Dawn of the Dead." The film owed much of its stunning success to Tom Savini, who worked on special effects.
As a director
For the first time, Tom took the director's chair in the television series "Tales from the Dark Side"; he directed three episodes of the project.
In 1990, with the support of Romero, Tom Savini released his directorial full-length debut, “The Night of the Living Dead”. The remake is practically not inferior to the original. Savini was able to skillfully combine in his creation the motives of the original tape and "Dawn of the Dead." At the same time, the director-debutant emphasized brutality and graphic violence. Despite the fact that the first reviews were rather negative, over time, the criticism of the horror “got warm”.
Then “From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Children of Spies”, “Land of the Dead”, “Planet of Fear” are released, films by Tom Savini in which he realizes his acting potential. But among all his works, the character from the comedic horror Robert Rodriguez was and remains the most memorable way. In the movie "From Dusk Till Dawn," Tom Savini appeared in the form of a sex machine. In the scene, when the hero fights off the evil spirits surrounding him, the actor got into the role so much that he distributed many real cuffs to stuntmen and extras playing vampires. They say that George Clooney himself got it.
Pursuing Perfection
All the special effects of Tom Savini are of the highest naturalism. It is no coincidence that the filmmaker was given the nickname Blood Genius. To achieve the maximum realistic effect, he is capable of much. For example, in 1982, working as part of the creative team of the project "Tales from the Crypt", he dragged a real human skeleton onto the set. He put on the remains in clothes and used as a vampire flying outside the window.