Not long ago, I had the chance to interview Tony Gardner, founder of Alterian Inc., who has worked with his teams on animating Chucky, Tiffany and Glen for over 15 years. Meet a man of a thousand talents, who tells us all about the making off and the animation of Chucky ...
Which professions/roles are present in your company? How many persons are working for Alterian Inc.
Our crew, and their job titles, change with each of the projects that we're working on, but for most of those jobs we have a a Lead Artist who is usually also the sculptor and painter, and we also have a mold maker, someone who casts up the material, and then sometimes we might also have people involved that make teeth or do hair work or animatronics. With the projects we have right now, we have 14 people working.
How did you decide to work in the Special Effects / Cinema industry ?
I always enjoyed movies as a kid, and wanted to be involved in movie making in any capacity. I was lucky enough to get hired doing makeup effects, and my main focus has been in that arena ever since.
Since you have founded your company, how many projects have you worked on?
We've worked on a lot of shows, and in different job capacities. The easiest way to list them would be through the Imdb links for myself and for our company: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307123/?ref_=fn_al_nm_4, and https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0113193.
Chucky saga might be the biggest project you’ve worked for, but which are the other most important ones?
The "Zombieland" films have been just as involved, and with just as large a crew, but the focus there has been primarily the makeup effects. The Chucky films are definitely the largest animatronic type jobs we've done.
How many kinds of dolls are required for a Chucky movie, like ‘Curse of Chucky’ for example?
There are usually about 6 different "puppets" involved in bringing Chucky to life.
Are all the dolls invented and built in your studios ?
We build the dolls, the animatronics, and the clothing for Chucky at Alterian.
Since which movie are you working for the Chucky franchise ?
We've done the work for "Seed of Chucky," "Curse of Chucky," and "Cult of Chucky."
To animate Chucky, how many people are required ?
On the average, it takes three people to operate his facial expressions, and then another two to four people to operate his body, depending on how complex his action is.
Do you fear that animatronics would be replaced by computer-generated images one day? Is it a method you’re already working with?
Computer graphics have definitely replaced a lot of the "monster making" aspects of Makeup effects. What's nice about the Chucky projects is that they're all stories with a doll coming to life. It really makes good sense to have a practical doll to work with and bring to life - it's the premise of the story.
For Don Mancini’s Chucky TV Series which should be released soon, is it Alterian Inc who’s going to ‘give life’ to the doll?
I think they're waiting to announce their decision soon - we'll all have to stay tuned.
If yes, can you say anything about this new project ?
Still waiting...
Do you have any anecdotes about the making of Chucky films ? Which one was the most interesting/exciting to work on?
I think that "Seed of Chucky" was the most exciting one to work on, primarily because we'd never done a film like this before. It was definitely difficult, but also very rewarding for the same reason.
Is there any big project for Alterian Inc soon ?
We just finished a horror comedy that will be out next year if all goes as planned. We're not allowed to talk about it yet, but it has A LOT of makeup effects in it, and most all of them are pretty gorey.
I’ve learned your company worked on the French music group Daft Punk helmets, was it a great experience ?
Creating the helmets alongside Thomas Bangalter and Guy-manuel De Hommen Christo (Daft Punk) was a great experience! Very collaborative, and very fun. We went on to do several music videos with them, once of which I wrote and directed. We also helped them produce a feature film called "Daft Punk's Electroma," which was a great time as well.
You did a cameo in Seed of Chucky, as one of the puppeteers, how was it being in front of the cameras instead of working on Chucky’s animation ? Is there a huge difference between acting and animating ?
The day we shot my character being killed off by Chucky and Tiffany was definitely a crazy day. I was in charge of the puppeteers, was occasionally puppeteering Chucky myself, and then I had to rig my body and shoot that effect as well as act in the scene that leads up to the death. Definitely a long, challenging day, but it was great to pull it off.
What would you like to say to Chucky’s fans ?
I'd like to say Thank You to all of the Chucky fans! Thank you for your enthusiasm and love of what we're doing, and Thank You for welcoming us into the Chucky family. The fans are what make a film experience rewarding, and I think that the Chucky fans are the best!
Thank you dear Tony for your kindness, and for the time you kindly granted myself and all Chucky fans by answering these questions.
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