Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
HORROR HOOKUP: MAKEUP & SFX ARTIST ANNA CALI!
223 Plays5 years ago
ANNA CALI is a makeup and SFX artist straight outta Chicago, and WOW has she done some amazing work. You've seen her artistry in FACE OFF on SyFy, on LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, and coming soon... Nia DeCosta's CANDYMAN! On top of that? She's just super cool! Listen in to learn more about her artistry!
--
Support FRIGAY THE 13TH: www.patreon.com/FriGay13
Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @FriGay13
Website: http://www.frigay13.com
Recommended
Transcript
US Border Patrol Career Opportunities
00:00:00
Speaker
The United States Border Patrol has exciting and rewarding career opportunities with the nation's largest law enforcement organization. Earn great pay, outstanding federal benefits, then up to $20,000 in recruitment incentives. Learn more online at CBP.gov slash career slash USVP.
Donald Trump's Controversial Comments
00:00:20
Speaker
We have some bad hombres here and we're going to get them out.
00:00:38
Speaker
Bing, bing, bong, bong, bing, bing, bing. I love China.
Horror Film Makeup Techniques
00:00:42
Speaker
Anna will be applying the possession makeup and painting most of it. Well, today we're gonna bald cap you and you're gonna have a wig. Anna knows horror and she's really good at application. Hold these up a little bit. And because there aren't that many pieces for the possession makeup, I'm having her focus on making sure everything is blended down perfectly.
00:01:01
Speaker
I want to do a great job. I really want Rob to succeed. I want to see these makeups look gorgeous and terrifying and amazing on film.
Podcast Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:01:12
Speaker
Welcome to a brand new horror hookup brought to you by Friday, the 13th horror podcast. My name is Andrew and I'm Maddie. And if you've never listened to a horror hookup before, this is an episode of the podcast where we talk to people who work in the genre, whether that's horror or LGBTQ advocacy, or sometimes both. Uh, we've talked to actors, authors, directors, and even ghost hunters. Today in this hookup, we are talking to a special effects artist superstar, Anna Cali. Anna, welcome to the show.
00:01:42
Speaker
Hi, thanks for having me.
Anna's Horror Movie Passion
00:01:44
Speaker
Oh, Anna, we're so excited about this, especially me. I'm a big theater geek, so like makeup stuff and just all of all of the other stuff besides acting always gets me going, too. So this is going to be a fun conversation. Yes. So, Anna, we always start out our horror hookups, just getting an understanding of our guest's history with horror. Did you grow up liking horror movies? And if you did, what are some of your favorites?
00:02:09
Speaker
Oh, God, yeah, I mean, I am a horror lady. My first movie was The Exorcist when I was six years old. So I have been a straight up horror chick ever since. I've been watching horror movies my whole life. My apartment is filled with, you know, horror posters, I go to conventions, I meet all the actors, you know, so I'm definitely in this world.
00:02:38
Speaker
Some of my favorites, oh God. It's always the hardest question, we understand. It is the hardest. Exorcist was my first, although it's not my favorite. It's not an easy one to just pop on and watch. Anything 80s, obviously. Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Creeps. I love Night of the Creeps. Night of the Demons, really anything 80s.
00:03:05
Speaker
Oh, that's
Becoming a Special Effects Artist in Chicago
00:03:06
Speaker
awesome. So, Anna, how did you get into this line of work? Was it because of your love of horror? Did that kind of lead you into makeup and special effects? You know, I always wanted to be an artist of some sort, but living in Chicago, I never put two and two together that, OK, I like horror movies and I can also work on horror movies. It just never clicked. I didn't know anybody who works on movies. I just really
00:03:33
Speaker
You know, I didn't grow up a lot of special effects makeup artists. They all kind of have the same story. They grew up reading Fangoria's and you know, they saw all the effects guys in Fangoria and they knew that they wanted to do that and make the monsters. And I unfortunately didn't have that growing up. I was the only one.
00:03:51
Speaker
that I really knew that was into this stuff. So I didn't really figure out until late, late teens, early adults that this was a job I can do. I always wanted to be a makeup artist. As I started getting older, I'm like, okay, I'm really into fashion and music videos were big at the time. And I'm like,
00:04:15
Speaker
You know, being a makeup artist would be a cool job to have. And it still didn't click right away that I can do special effects for movies. And then, you know, once I got a little bit older and I started kind of getting like DVDs and started getting fangorias and just kind of started, you know, realizing I'm like, oh, wait, this is an actual job. People go on set and they create these things and
00:04:41
Speaker
I don't have to be a fashion makeup artist for runways. I can go be a makeup artist and make monsters and literally just work in the world that I love. It's the kind of runway that we like, runways with monsters. Exactly. So as soon as I realized that was a job, I halted everything and I pursued this in any way I could from that moment on and I haven't stopped since.
00:05:09
Speaker
So so where did you get your training?
From Makeup School to Special Effects Artist
00:05:12
Speaker
Like, where did you did you go to a special school for this or did this just kind of evolve out of because we know, you know, a little bit of breaking the fourth wall. But, you know, we know you from our friend Casey, who you worked with at a salon when you were an esthetician. Did you then go to a special effects school here in Chicago? What was that process like?
00:05:32
Speaker
So I went the whole the whole reason I even ended up in salons is because I went to a school here for makeup because again I just always wanted to be a makeup artist and it kind of led me to the salon world and I started making money and it just kind of snowballed from there. I did tour a couple schools in California because I was dead set on
00:05:55
Speaker
Moving to LA. I'm like I'm gonna go to school in LA all the big makeup effects schools are there. I love LA. I love California So I'm like that, you know, it's Hollywood. I'm gonna go there So I toured a couple schools there and they were just so pricey. I mean really expensive and you know, I was still a little young and you know that kind of
00:06:16
Speaker
detoured me a little bit. So I started researching on my own. I started reading anything I could read, watching anything I can watch. I started going to makeup shows and conventions. I was lucky there were some special effects classes that were popping up.
00:06:35
Speaker
in the Chicagoland area. Nothing big, but I started taking those. I even went to travel to California and took like a five-day effects class there, but I never actually went to a traditional special effects school. I kind of just did everything on my own as best I could taking as many classes that I could take here and just practicing on my own and building connections and I took it from there.
00:07:03
Speaker
It's very Midwestern of you. I know, I know.
Creative Process in Makeup Artistry
00:07:07
Speaker
So Anna too, like I said in the early part of the interview, I'm a bit of a theater nerd and I was trained in theater in college. And one thing that I really love about artists in the field, whether it's in theater, whether it's in film or whether it's in dance or really whatever,
00:07:23
Speaker
is how you come to choices that you make with makeup or with fight direction or with choreography. I'm wondering if you can tell our audience a little bit about those choices that you make as a makeup artist when you're creating a character.
00:07:40
Speaker
Well, so being a makeup artist, especially for even theater, but you know, film and television, it's not so much my choices as it is production's choices. A lot of times you are handed
00:07:57
Speaker
concepts and your handed designs and you know you have to create from there and even going a step further if you're not in charge or if you're not the effects designer or supervisor you know you're not really making those choices the people above you are
00:08:13
Speaker
There are times where the production or the directors will look at you and be like, okay, we're using this gun, they're getting shot, this part of their body, how do you think the blood would spatter?
00:08:29
Speaker
So there are times where, you know, you do have to think about like, where is, you know, where is this person getting hurt? What are they getting hurt by? Are they getting bitten? Are they getting shot? Are they getting stabbed? What would happen to this part of the body if they got stabbed, you know, in the stomach? You know, so we have, you know, we kind of dictate a little bit on that end. But as far as creating like an iconic character or a creature or
00:08:59
Speaker
you know anything like that for a movie or a TV show sometimes you're just Handed it and this is what you have to create. Yeah, it's just it's so interesting to hear because you know I think a lot of folks just watch a movie. They don't always consider like how Intentional everything really is like you said somebody's getting shot in this part of their body the blood has to go somewhere What does that look like and it's just I don't know It's it's really incredible to hear from artists about how they spend time making those those intentional things happen
Research and Realism in Special Effects
00:09:29
Speaker
Oh yeah, and then the research that you have to do to create something especially realistic, you get away with a little bit more when it's fantasy or a creature, but especially any sort of trauma or realistic effect that you have to do. Some of the research that we have to do in creating these things is really, really gruesome and really hard to look at actually.
00:09:54
Speaker
Um, we always joke like the FBI is going to come after us, like with, with our like browser history and all the things we have to look up. That's hilarious. Um, no, I was first introduced to you when you appeared on season 10 of face off, which I was obsessed with face off on the sci-fi channel. Um, listeners that are not familiar. Um, this was a competition show where special effects artists would compete in a series of challenges, uh, where they would have to.
00:10:20
Speaker
kinda come up with a theme, they would be given a theme of the week and the artist would create unique characters using their imaginations as well as a very well-stocked warehouse of silicones, foams, makeup, you know, et cetera. Anna, how was this experience for you and was it as stressful as it looked?
Experience on 'Face Off'
00:10:40
Speaker
Um, you know, I, it wasn't as stressful for me. I went in knowing that I just, I really just wanted to have fun and a great experience. I was just, I just felt so fortunate to even be on the show. I was a little bit nervous that it was going to come to an end. You know, I was on season 10, so I was like, I have to get on this.
00:11:04
Speaker
It's such a great platform to kind of showcase what you do and shine a light on this part of the industry. But as far as being nervous, I wasn't really nervous. I really had a blast on it. And maybe I should have been a little bit more nervous. Maybe I could have made it a little further along. But it is stressful.
00:11:28
Speaker
The timeframe that you're under is really stressful. You have to make decisions immediately. If you make the wrong decision or the wrong choice, you kind of just have to go with it. You don't really have time to change your mind and everything's really, really fast. The days are really long. Then you have a camera crew that's just on you all the time. You know, so it's stressful in that sense, but I personally had a blast.
00:11:54
Speaker
That's awesome. I think like one of my highlights is where the host retweeted me on Twitter. Mackenzie. That's awesome. Mackenzie is a literal angel. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know. And I always liked when her father would come on. Yes.
00:12:11
Speaker
Um, so on your time in face off, do you hack? Cause it kind of unique to your season. I think there were a lot of pairups in your season. I know that this happens, you know, in every season, but it just felt like in season 10, there were a lot of pairups, but was there a time on face off where you were very impressed with your own work and like, what was maybe your favorite creature that you helped create on that show?
00:12:37
Speaker
Ooh, I think it was episode two. Me and my friend and partner on that episode was Mel, and we had to create like a whimsical character out of just an everyday like object. So we ended up getting a watch, or I think we picked a watch. And because my thought was, you know, the numbers, you know, we can turn those into kind of, you know,
00:13:07
Speaker
a whimsical kind of clock guy you know so we created the watch guard we called him and that probably was my favorite because it was out of my comfort zone for sure I'm like I said a horror girl you know so I was really proud of us for creating something that was
00:13:25
Speaker
cute and fun. And we ended up winning that challenge, too. And, you know, I think it was a fan favorite, too. So I was I was most impressed by that one because it was so out of my comfort zone. But in the end, it just was. And the model that we had just killed it on stage. So that was probably my favorite. Awesome. Well, we are very proud that you represented Chicago on that show. Yes.
00:13:52
Speaker
Shytown represent.
Working on 'The Exorcist' TV Show
00:13:54
Speaker
And now also Anna bouncing around in a couple of projects you've worked on and bringing it back to The Exorcist, which you mentioned at the very start of the interview. We know that you worked on the TV show and many of our listeners know The Exorcist is my absolute favorite of all time. So it's exciting to talk about this. How do you feel to be working on a show like that with such legendary beginnings?
00:14:17
Speaker
Oh my God. Well, so I got on the Exorcist. To be a makeup artist for film and television, you have to be in a union. So you have to be in the union in your particular stage. So the union here is different from like the union in LA, let's say.
00:14:33
Speaker
So to even be able to set foot on set, you have to get yourself into the union. So I had just gotten into the union when The Exorcist came here. So it was one of my very first legitimate, you know, jobs as a union professional makeup artist.
00:14:50
Speaker
Um, so, you know, I was so excited because it felt like it came full circle for me personally. Like I said, my very first introduction of horror was the movie and now the TV show is filming here in Chicago and I am on set for it. You know, so it was, it was really, really exciting. It really kind of validated all the choices I had made. And, um, you know, like I said, it just came full circle getting to be on that set.
00:15:17
Speaker
That's so cool. Yeah. Um, so speaking of legendary, um, did you get to work with Gina Davis much on the set? And we just know that she's such a powerhouse. We just have to know. Yeah. I mean, I, I didn't work with her. The makeup department had, you know, worked on her. Like I said, I was just in the union. So I was basically brought on to
00:15:38
Speaker
help with additional makeups, help with some additional special effects makeups. I wasn't really a full-timer on the Exorcist, so I didn't do a lot of the principal actors. I unfortunately did not get to work on her, but I was around her a lot and, you know, geeking out internally the whole time, obviously. But she was amazing. She was amazing to watch.
00:16:03
Speaker
Yeah, that show is so underrated. And for the people that haven't watched it, I think it's streaming somewhere now so you can go back and watch the first two seasons. But the show was really incredible, to be honest. Yeah, it was really cool being on set.
00:16:23
Speaker
the atmosphere that they would create and actually just being there. A lot of overnight shoots, working all night long, sometimes in some actual spooky locations. It was really incredible to be a part of. Unfortunately, season two went to Canada, I believe. So I was only able to be a part of season one.
00:16:43
Speaker
Damn those Canadians. I know. Who do they think they are? So Anna, I'm thinking about you as specifically as a Chicago makeup artist who's worked on so much.
Chicago's TV Production Boom
00:16:55
Speaker
So many Chicago shows like Chicago PD recently Fargo. I know you worked on which just also happens to star my old pal Ira Amick says Oni Milligan this season.
00:17:06
Speaker
What has it been like for you to watch a city like Chicago grow in popularity in such regular TV shows and how has that given you opportunities? Oh my god, I I'm so excited because you know as I said before I was like I had to move to LA I have to be in Hollywood like it's it's what am I doing in Chicago if I want to pursue this and
00:17:30
Speaker
And it just, you know, I always knew that the Chicago shows filmed here and there was some movies that had filmed here prior, but it was never, it was never a thought of mine that I was going to stay here. And it actually was with The Exorcist coming here that, you know, I started realizing more and more, you know, productions were coming here and it kind of snowballed from there.
00:17:52
Speaker
And it's allowed me to not have to move away from home and actually pursue a legitimate professional career in this industry, you know, something that I wanted to do. Like, you know, when I was when I figured out I wanted to do this, I think it was like 18 or 19. And now, you know, just.
00:18:13
Speaker
having an actual career in this and watching the city just explode with productions and getting to work on these quality shows and quality movies and meeting all these actors and just everybody else on set. It's literally been a dream come true. I sometimes can't even believe that it's actually happening in Chicago the way that it is.
00:18:39
Speaker
That's beautiful. Yeah, production here has just blown up. It feels like it feels like Atlanta like 10 years ago. You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely.
Special Effects in 'Lovecraft Country'
00:18:48
Speaker
But so we know that you were on the makeup crew of the pilot episode of Lovecraft Country, which we are currently watching both of us right now. And it's it's honestly a crazy show. Yes. Watching the show. It is insane. But
00:19:03
Speaker
Uh, the pilot episode specifically had some pretty grotesque, uh, parts in it. I'm, and I'm not spoiling anything, but there were a couple of police officers that get brutally ripped apart. And, um, looking at your Instagram feed, it looks like you were part of some of those makeup. So what was your, kind of your part in creating those, those creations?
00:19:24
Speaker
Yeah, so I work with a special effects studio here in Chicago, Cozart Studios, owned by Anthony Cozart. He also, you know, was a face offer. And, you know, I've known him for a long time. And when I got back from face off, I started working with him.
00:19:46
Speaker
And we do a lot of the effects for a lot of the things that film here. So he got a call to do the trauma effects for the pilot. So working for him is how I got involved. And we basically created
00:20:06
Speaker
all the pieces and all the effects and all the gags at the shop. And once we started filming, we went to set with them. And then I was one of the on-set makeup artists along with Anthony. He was the effects supervisor for all the trauma effects that we did. So we applied those together on set and did the gags for all those as well. So it kind of went hand in hand starting with the shop all the way to set with them.
00:20:36
Speaker
That's really cool. Can you talk a little bit about, obviously you said earlier that a lot of it is dictated by production, but was there any opportunity to kind of give any creative license to any of those kind of creations?
00:20:50
Speaker
Not with those two particular, they were pretty straightforward. Those were designed by production. They had a designer and a concept artist for those two specific gags that we did. So we had to basically create the 3D version from the concepts that were given to us. So there was really not a whole lot of room to
00:21:17
Speaker
be creative, but when it comes to bodies being ripped apart, it's pretty straightforward. Well, you should be very proud because those were pretty awesome. Thank you. Thank you.
00:21:32
Speaker
So also, Anna, we know that you can't spoil anything about it, of course, but you worked on the set of the film that I think every single horror fan is going nuts waiting for
Excitement for 'Candyman' Film
00:21:43
Speaker
right now. Yes. As a new candy man. Um, so can you tell us anything about working on that set? And, um, and just how did it, I don't know, as a horror fan for you, how did it feel to be working on, on fucking candy man?
00:22:01
Speaker
Oh my God, it was it was a literal dream come true. I got
00:22:08
Speaker
win that candy man that, you know, Jordan Peele was going to produce candy man. Um, and since we had just finished Lovecraft, you know, that was a monkey pop production, which is Jordan Peele's company. They had just filmed here. The original candy man was filmed in Chicago, set in Chicago. Um, I was just convinced. I'm like, it's coming to Chicago and we're working on it, you know? And everybody's like, don't get your hopes up, you know, just cause it's
00:22:32
Speaker
You know, the original was said in Chicago doesn't mean anything. And I'm like, it's coming to Chicago. And, you know, that's that. And it did. And, you know, and there was there was no guarantee that I was even going to be on it. You know, but we we interviewed for the job and we we obviously got it. And I mean, I.
00:22:54
Speaker
I don't even know what to say. It was an actual dream come true, especially being such a horror movie fan. I had yet to work on a horror movie. You know, Lovecraft was horror. Exorcist was horror. But I'm like, I need to work on a horror movie. It needs to be in theaters. You know, I have not gone my whole life pursuing this and just not getting to actually work on an actual horror movie. So it was it was a dream. That's awesome. Oh, yes. That's so fucking cool.
00:23:23
Speaker
And we saw from your Instagram feed that you got to meet Tony Todd. How was that? Yeah, I met Tony Todd at a convention. I met him at a few conventions, actually. I have a bunch of, you know, Candy Man stuff signed by him. Tony Town's amazing. I met him first
00:23:44
Speaker
many many years ago when I was first starting to get into this and he actually took the time to talk to me about the industry and was like giving me advice and was so supportive and I'm just yeah and I'm just you know a guest in a line paying to for his autograph you know and you know he talked to me for a really long time and there was a long time ago but he was great and I met him again recently at that at a convention was I think a flashback weekend
Meeting Tony Todd
00:24:13
Speaker
I'm not really sure. Um, there's so many horror conventions here. Um, but yeah, he, he's so nice. He's such a nice guy. That's awesome. So, so outside of face off, cause we, we've kind of already hit on that. Do you have a makeup or creation that you specifically are really particularly proud of? Oh my God. Um, like one that you sat back and said, hell yes, I made that. You know,
00:24:40
Speaker
They're all just, they all come with their own set of challenges. And then with that, you are proud of, you know, the final results. So I don't, you know, I think what, I don't know if it's a particular makeup, but I got the opportunity to work with Jessica Lang in 2017.
00:25:02
Speaker
And we turned her into seven influential women in history. And Jessica Lange is my all-time favorite everything. I mean, she is the Supreme, you know? So when I got the call that we were gonna work on Jessica Lange, I was beyond floored, you know? So that day in particular probably
00:25:29
Speaker
We did seven makeups on her, but that day as a whole might be my absolute favorite job that I've ever done, just because I couldn't even believe that I was working on Jessica Lange. That's awesome. That's really cool.
COVID-19's Impact on Productions
00:25:42
Speaker
Yeah. And so, you know, we know to Anna that with with covid and, you know, Lord knows when this motherfucker will finally end. But we know that the whole industry has just been totally rocked. But what's what's next for you? Are you working on anything currently? Do you have anything coming up?
00:25:59
Speaker
Well, we had to finish Fargo. So I was on Fargo season four when the whole industry and the whole world shut down, really. And we had a couple episodes left to finish. So it came back at the end of August. And I worked on finishing the season throughout September. And it went great.
00:26:24
Speaker
No COVID cases. Everything went great. And I just finished that not too long ago. So at the moment, I'm not currently working on anything. Productions are starting to pick up again. The whole industry has kind of come up with a plan as to how to safely move forward and safely work and continue. So things are starting to pick up again. So we shall see what I will end up on next.
00:26:51
Speaker
God, don't you wish the rest of the world would just follow the industry? I know. You know, it's crazy. I was a little nervous going back, but I felt so safe going back on set with everything that they did to keep everybody safe. It was great.
00:27:06
Speaker
That's awesome.
Anna's Social Media Handles
00:27:07
Speaker
So, uh, before we end things, where can people find you on the internets? Uh, you know, what's your social media so people can take a look because specifically I wasn't, I found myself scrolling through your Instagram for quite a while. So, um, well, I'm on Instagram and I'm on Twitter at Anna Kelly makeup.
00:27:27
Speaker
Well, Anna, we totally enjoy having you on the show. We've never had a special effects person. So this is quite unique for us. So just learning about your process and about everything that goes on with you. Um, we really had a great time talking. Oh my God, I had a blast. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah. Well, as always, we want to end the show while encouraging you to get slayed.
00:28:59
Speaker
The U.S. Border Patrol has exciting and rewarding career opportunities with the nation's largest law enforcement organization. Earn great pay with outstanding federal benefits and up to $20,000 in recruitment incentives. Learn more online at CBP.gov slash career slash USBP.