Meet visual effects artist Mark Siegel this Friday, March 28th, 2014 at 10:00am at the Regis Center for Art in the In-Flux Gallery.
Siegel's exciting career path started with a Theatre Arts degree at the University of Minnesota. He is now a visual effects artist for major motion pictures and has worked on such monumental films as Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean. He was kind enough to share some special images and stories as a sneak preview to his upcoming visit.
"People often ask me what my favorite movie I ever worked on was. And the answer, invariably, is Ghostbusters."
Siegel (in the plaid) sculpted the Slimer's teeth and tongue and was one of the puppeteers.
"Some people know this, but not a lot. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, when they were creating Ghostbusters, wanted John Belushi to be part of the project, but John Belushi had already passed away and so the intention was that this character, The Slimer... was supposed to embody kind of the spirit of John Belushi, especially his character in Animal House, you know, who's really kind of horrible looking and, you know, stuffing his face all the time, but somehow manages to be charming and funny at the same time."
Photo credit Sean Casey, Photoshop composite by Mark Siegel.
Siegel was asked to create a model of ET for the filming of remastered scenes in the 20th Anniversary Edition of the movie. This project involved a personal meeting with Steven Spielberg. The legendary director was amazingly open, down-to-earth and hands-on. "When he got to talking about some of the sequences and some of the things he wanted to see in the updated animation," Siegel recalls, "he was up on his feet acting things out." A few years later, Siegel's work was featured on one of the US Postal Service "American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes" stamps. You can see his fingers!
The incredibly passionate and humble U of M graduate is eager to share his stories and advice with the community this Friday.
