Making Billy Butcherson "Sexy" and Other Hocus Pocus Facts
Photo courtesy Alterian Inc.
Today is our Halloween episode! Halloween and Hocus Pocus are synonymous with each other, and if you grew up watching the 1993 classic, chances are it has a special place in your heart. Hocus Pocus is one of Kirbie's top 5 favorite films, and today's guest is the creator of Billy Butcherson's incredible special effects makeup and the animatronic puppet, Binx the cat.
Special effects makeup artist and puppeteer Tony Gardner's story is truly what movies are made of. He’s known for his SFX makeup work in film, tv and music videos, including Zombieland, Bad Grandpa, 127 Hours, Hairspray and Sasha Baron Cohen’s ‘Who is America.’ He’s transformed stars like John Travolta, Gwyneth Paltrow and Katy Perry and is the man responsible for Daft Punk’s incredible helmets. Today he joins us because of his work on some fabulous Halloween films, from The Addams Family to The Blob, The Craft to the Chucky series, and of course, Hocus Pocus.
Today he shares his first experience on set (which is nothing short of iconic), talks about getting a job offer from legendary SFX makeup artist Rick Baker, dropping out of school to follow his dreams, debunking some myths about the movie, the makeup and filming process for Binx and Billy, and even offers a preview of what we can expect from Hulaween, the mini Hocus Pocus reunion Bette Midler is putting on tonight for the New York Restoration Project.
All details on Tony, his company Alterian and Hulaween will be available on our website for you to check out, and be sure to head to our Instagram to see some behind the scenes pics too! Enjoy the full moon this weekend, stay safe, and Happy Halloween!
Follow Tony’s daugher, Kyra, who is an incredible director