Scan barcode
scottlukaswilliams's review against another edition
4.0
When I was a teenager, I strongly considered becoming a special effects makeup artist. I was inspired mostly by the work of Michael Westmore, the genius who birthed hundreds of unique creations on the Star Trek series and films from 1987-2005. Somewhere, I have Westmore's response to a fan letter I mailed him in the mid-90s.
This is enjoyable memoir that begins with a history of the Westmore family: makeup artists and hairstylists in Hollywood for four generations. Westmore shares his recollections of working with stars from Greer Garson and Elizabeth Taylor to Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro.
For me, he could have spent much more time on Star Trek. I would have loved an in-depth analysis of every alien or character he ever created but such a thing is just not practical. I think the book might have benefitted from a researcher/editor. There were several occasions where Westmore repeats himself and a few spots where his recollections of dates, the spellings of actor's names or episode titles are incorrect.
Despite any shortcomings, the book is a must-read for Trekkies, fans of Hollywood history and lovers of special effects makeup.
This is enjoyable memoir that begins with a history of the Westmore family: makeup artists and hairstylists in Hollywood for four generations. Westmore shares his recollections of working with stars from Greer Garson and Elizabeth Taylor to Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro.
For me, he could have spent much more time on Star Trek. I would have loved an in-depth analysis of every alien or character he ever created but such a thing is just not practical. I think the book might have benefitted from a researcher/editor. There were several occasions where Westmore repeats himself and a few spots where his recollections of dates, the spellings of actor's names or episode titles are incorrect.
Despite any shortcomings, the book is a must-read for Trekkies, fans of Hollywood history and lovers of special effects makeup.
ojtheviking's review against another edition
3.0
I heard about this a while ago, and having a big passion for both all things filmmaking as well as all things Star Trek, I found the opportunity to read some behind-the-scenes stories from makeup legend Michael Westmore himself, quite intriguing. Having now finally gotten my hands on a copy of the book, I spent a few days reading through it all.
In short, while there's perhaps a certain bias in me that caused me to write down a few comments of critique - more on that in a moment - I am glad I've finally read this book. It had many moments that were either entertaining, informative, or both.
I knew Michael himself was the aforementioned legend in the makeup department, but this book helped me understand how long and prominently the entire Westmore bloodline runs through Hollywood. This is made even clearer by the way he sheds some light on the Westmores that came before them, their highs and lows, before he delves more into his own life and career.
There was actually less focus on the Star Trek portion of his career than I had first imagined, as it was roughly only the final third of the book dedicated to that era. However, that's admittedly my bias talking. I was initially impatient and eager to get to the Trek part, but as his overall career unfolded through the pages, I realized that he's (logically enough) had many other highlights outside of Trek. Plus, as indicated above, I've always loved the production end of filmmaking just as much as the actual stories, so this was a great opportunity to go behind the scenes through his eyes and learn more about his involvement in other very famous titles.
And it really was fascinating (to coin a phrase) to learn just how many other things Westmore has been part of that I've also enjoyed without my even realizing it, which is almost embarrassing as I do generally admire the work of good makeup/special effects artists, including Tom Savini, Stan Winston, Rob Bottin, and more. Titles such as Rosemary's Baby, Raging Bull, several installments of the Rocky franchise, Blade Runner, Psycho III, Roxanne, and Mask (from 1985, not to be confused with the Jim Carrey movie), for which he won an Oscar.
One might say I came for the Star Trek history, but stayed for the overall film/TV history. It was especially impressive to read what an intricate process it was to gradually increase the amount of damage and bruises on Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers' faces during the filming of Rocky; to storyboard the evolution of the injuries like others storyboard action scenes. It's clear that Westmore takes deep pride in his work on this movie, as he thoroughly takes us through the entire process of filming and applying makeup for it. He talks in similar detail when it comes to other titles too, giving us some insight into some of his proudest moments during his career.
All of this added an extra layer to my excitement when it finally came to the Trek portion of the book. I mean, he'd won an Oscar and half a dozen Emmys before ever setting foot in the Trek franchise, so I'd say the Trek creators were as lucky to get to work with him as vice versa.
The Trekkie part of me only has a few minor gripes with this portion of the book - emphasis on minor; basically nitpick-level comments. First of all, Westmore on just a few occasions misremembers some facts, like thinking Tuvok was on Star Trek: Enterprise (later in the book, however, he correctly remembers Tuvok to be on Star Trek: Voyager), and misquoting the TNG version of the "Space, the final frontier..." intro by ending on "to boldly go where no man-" rather than "no one". Forgivable slips of the mind that could easily have been fact-checked by someone (...his proofreader was clearly not a Trekkie).
One other slightly unfortunate aspect of the Trek portion is that the segments where he talks about Voyager and Enterprise seem a bit rushed. He spends the most time talking about Star Trek: The Next Generation, then Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to a degree, but even this is shorter than the TNG segment. Then, to exaggerate a little, it's almost as if he just brushes the rest off by going "...oh yeah, and then I did some stuff on Voyager and Enterprise too." Of course, that's my eagerness speaking, as this book is clearly not meant to solely be about Trek-related memoirs. Instead, Trek is merely a portion - albeit a significant one - of his overall career.
Overall, I'd say this was a quick and fun read. There are some humorous anecdotes along the way, like the time when he inadvertently helped a card counter acquire various disguises for his gambling schemes, or when a dinner table full of Klingon cosplayers fanboyed when he went over to greet them. It was also kind of funny how he would occasionally share the recipes of certain meals he fondly remembers (usually due to the context). And when it comes to the Trek portion, it was interesting to see that some of the episodes he personally found noteworthy aren't necessarily because of their main stories - which is usually why most Trek fans remember them - but rather the creativity he utilized in the makeup department. Of course, this perspective makes sense, as that was his role on Trek.
But yeah, minor gripes of a geek aside, I enjoyed it!
In short, while there's perhaps a certain bias in me that caused me to write down a few comments of critique - more on that in a moment - I am glad I've finally read this book. It had many moments that were either entertaining, informative, or both.
I knew Michael himself was the aforementioned legend in the makeup department, but this book helped me understand how long and prominently the entire Westmore bloodline runs through Hollywood. This is made even clearer by the way he sheds some light on the Westmores that came before them, their highs and lows, before he delves more into his own life and career.
There was actually less focus on the Star Trek portion of his career than I had first imagined, as it was roughly only the final third of the book dedicated to that era. However, that's admittedly my bias talking. I was initially impatient and eager to get to the Trek part, but as his overall career unfolded through the pages, I realized that he's (logically enough) had many other highlights outside of Trek. Plus, as indicated above, I've always loved the production end of filmmaking just as much as the actual stories, so this was a great opportunity to go behind the scenes through his eyes and learn more about his involvement in other very famous titles.
And it really was fascinating (to coin a phrase) to learn just how many other things Westmore has been part of that I've also enjoyed without my even realizing it, which is almost embarrassing as I do generally admire the work of good makeup/special effects artists, including Tom Savini, Stan Winston, Rob Bottin, and more. Titles such as Rosemary's Baby, Raging Bull, several installments of the Rocky franchise, Blade Runner, Psycho III, Roxanne, and Mask (from 1985, not to be confused with the Jim Carrey movie), for which he won an Oscar.
One might say I came for the Star Trek history, but stayed for the overall film/TV history. It was especially impressive to read what an intricate process it was to gradually increase the amount of damage and bruises on Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers' faces during the filming of Rocky; to storyboard the evolution of the injuries like others storyboard action scenes. It's clear that Westmore takes deep pride in his work on this movie, as he thoroughly takes us through the entire process of filming and applying makeup for it. He talks in similar detail when it comes to other titles too, giving us some insight into some of his proudest moments during his career.
All of this added an extra layer to my excitement when it finally came to the Trek portion of the book. I mean, he'd won an Oscar and half a dozen Emmys before ever setting foot in the Trek franchise, so I'd say the Trek creators were as lucky to get to work with him as vice versa.
The Trekkie part of me only has a few minor gripes with this portion of the book - emphasis on minor; basically nitpick-level comments. First of all, Westmore on just a few occasions misremembers some facts, like thinking Tuvok was on Star Trek: Enterprise (later in the book, however, he correctly remembers Tuvok to be on Star Trek: Voyager), and misquoting the TNG version of the "Space, the final frontier..." intro by ending on "to boldly go where no man-" rather than "no one". Forgivable slips of the mind that could easily have been fact-checked by someone (...his proofreader was clearly not a Trekkie).
One other slightly unfortunate aspect of the Trek portion is that the segments where he talks about Voyager and Enterprise seem a bit rushed. He spends the most time talking about Star Trek: The Next Generation, then Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to a degree, but even this is shorter than the TNG segment. Then, to exaggerate a little, it's almost as if he just brushes the rest off by going "...oh yeah, and then I did some stuff on Voyager and Enterprise too." Of course, that's my eagerness speaking, as this book is clearly not meant to solely be about Trek-related memoirs. Instead, Trek is merely a portion - albeit a significant one - of his overall career.
Overall, I'd say this was a quick and fun read. There are some humorous anecdotes along the way, like the time when he inadvertently helped a card counter acquire various disguises for his gambling schemes, or when a dinner table full of Klingon cosplayers fanboyed when he went over to greet them. It was also kind of funny how he would occasionally share the recipes of certain meals he fondly remembers (usually due to the context). And when it comes to the Trek portion, it was interesting to see that some of the episodes he personally found noteworthy aren't necessarily because of their main stories - which is usually why most Trek fans remember them - but rather the creativity he utilized in the makeup department. Of course, this perspective makes sense, as that was his role on Trek.
But yeah, minor gripes of a geek aside, I enjoyed it!