The Linnea Quigley/Kuato Case Reopened for Investigation

You may *ahem* recall me doing a few posts back in June concerning the much beloved Scream Queen, Linnea Quigley, doing some puppeteer work for the Kauto puppet in Paul Verhoeven's Sci-Fi Actioner, Total Recall. It all started when I was watching the "Imagining Total Recall" DVD featurette, and for a brief second I spotted (or at least I thought I spotted) one Linnea Quigley doing some puppeteer work on Mr. Lumpy Butt himself, Kuato. Here's that post as well as my photographic evidence below:

Looks just like her, right?! At least I thought so. Anyway, shortly after I did that post, I reached out to Miss Quigley via email and received an answer back that wasn't exactly definite, but it certainly didn't hurt my case (you can read more right here!). In any event, I considered this Quigley/Kuato mystery to be solved, that is, until about a month later when I received a very interesting email from someone who does seem to have a definitive answer in this matter.

Here's the email:

"In my opinion Linnea did not puppeteer Kuato and that is not her in the photo. I know both Steve Johnson and Linnea personally, was working with Johnson when Total Recall was being made and the lead up to it coming out... I am quite sure I would have known had she puppeteered Kuato for Bottin.  Nor does it really look like Linnea in the picture to me, and I worked with her a lot.  I recall to this day being in Johnson's shop when Rob Bottin was being interviewed by a local radio station about his work on Total Recall, certainly Linnea puppeteering for Bottin would have been discussed in shop had it somehow happened.

Kuato was a sophisticated puppet, and Bottin being a perfectionist, would be more likely to enlist either the mechanics who built Kuato or more bonified "puppeteers" (you know, the folks who can put a sock on their hand and create an entertaining character with it) and not "Scream Queens".  Total Recall was shot in Mexico, at a minimum, Bottin would have used his regular crew people to puppeteer, Linnea was not on his crew and bringing Linnea in to do this makes no sense.

From what I heard at the time, Kuato had problems getting through Mexican customs, was supposedly cut into by officials (looking for contraband?) and that it was essentially held ransom awaiting a payoff to government officials by production.  I was told at one point that Kuato got really goofed up by customs and had to be put back together or otherwise assembled or re-assembled after the fact. Whether this is true or not, it was put out there at one time by a Bottin crew member and was discussed within the make-up effects community.

Whoever did puppeteer Kuato was probably down there for most of the show as it had numerous puppeteered elements.  I would have recalled Linnea not being in town and traveling to Mexico to work with Bottin.  Even had it been shot in the states, Steve certainly would have told me of such.

Also, Bottin and Johnson were from different camps and those camps didn't really mix. Bottin kept to himself (his shop was out in the boondocks) and few people at that time that worked for Bottin, really intermingled with the rest of the FX shops.  Most people who worked in make-up effects (the regular shops in the Valley) kind of thought of Bottin as a mystery man, wondering what it would be like to work with him.  Also, at the time, a few of the shops were at odds with each other, and it is my recollection, at that time, that Bottin and Johnson didn't really talk to each other.  For this reason alone, I don't think Bottin would have had Steve Johnson's girlfriend / wife to work on his project."

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The person who sent this had no problem with me sharing a slightly edited version of the email, but he did ask to remain anonymous, which I can completely understand. I will say that this mystery man is indeed a make-up effects artist who has some seriously rad credentials listed on his impressive IMDB page, and it was pretty cool getting an email from him. There's certainly some very fascinating behind the scenes information here, and it's nice to finally have an answer to the question that has been nagging at Total Recall fans across the globe:

Linnea Quigley did not do any puppeteer work on Kuato for Total Recall. 

The Linnea Quigley/Kuato Mystery Has Been Solved! Sort of.

Following up with my last post in which I was more than certain that the one and only Linnea Quigley was briefly shown pulling the strings of America's Sweetheart himself, Kauto, in the behind the scenes featurette for the Paul Verhoeven classic, Total Recall, I believe I may have been able to nail down the answer to this incredible mystery.

Shortly after posting my findings, I emailed Miss Quigley in the hopes that this gripping saga might finally come to an end. And as luck would have it, she actually emailed me back, and fairly quick, too. In what was a genuinely sweet email, she stated that it's a very good possibility that she did do some puppeteering on Total Recall, but she doesn't recall for sure whether or not she did. She did mention that, while being married to Steve Johnson, she remembers doing some behind the scenes work, like puppeteer work and things of that nature, on films like Dead Heat (which is so awesome) and a few others, so it likely was her. 

So there you have it… while the answer is not 100% definitive, I think it's safe to say that yes, Linnea Quigley did pull da strings on the Kuato puppet in Total Recall, and for now I can put this fascinating mystery to rest.

*I'm a Windows Paint master!*

Linnea Quigley Played Kuato in Total Recall?!

So I was watching the "Imagining Total Recall" documentary from the awesome Mars shaped Total Recall Special Limited Edition DVD recently, when about 20 minutes into the featurette I noticed a certain famous Scream Queen playing puppeteer to one Mr. gross himself, Kuato. 

That fine piece of blond is indeed Linnea Quigley (or it sure as hell looks A LOT like her), who somehow is able to be the only person in this screen grab to seem as if she's in a sexual position, but I suppose that's just how she works it. I mean, she is Linnea Quigley and all. I think.

Anyway, if you want to see the video for yourself, I actually found Imagining Total Recall on You Tube, but because nothing can ever be convenient, I am not able to embed the video itself. However, the following link is set to start a few moments before Quigley is briefly shown. And when I say briefly, I mean it's about a second long. So don't blink.

http://youtu.be/Qm-dHbh34z8?t=20m9s

Now, while this discovery is quite awesome (to me, at least), I have absolutely no idea why Quigley would have ever been in a position to actually work the Kuato puppet. There's absolutely nothing that I can find online connecting her to the film or Rob Bottin (who did the FX work on Total Recall) in any way whatsoever, and I don't see any of her films from that time having effects work done by Bottin's studio. The only connection I can make is Quigley was married to the great Steve Johnson at this time, and both Bottin and Johnson apprenticed under Rick Baker together before they became successful on their own. So who knows… maybe it was a set visit or something, but I still think it's sort of strange that I can't find anything about Quigley working the famous Kuato puppet. I mean, you would think that would be a story told by Quigley at some point or at least someone before me would have noticed her in the video. Either way, it's pretty awesome that Linnea Quigley may have had a small part in bringing one of cinema's ugliest characters to life, and I hope to one day find the truth. Unless I forget, which is likely.

Some longwinded thoughts on SyFy's Face Off

Last evening the SyFy channel premiered the new original series, Face Off, a reality competition show where 12 professional makeup effects artists compete for a grand prize of $100,000, a year's supply of makeup and, most importantly, bragging rights. I had the chance to check out the premier episode after hearing about it - from the lady that tolerates me - only a few hours before its 10:00 PM air time. I had heard the title of the show a few times before, but I wasn't aware of its content up until that point. More so, if it didn't star Cage and Travolta, how was I supposed to care, right? Either way, being a horror fan that grew up in a time when makeup FX artists where hailed, I was very excited so see how Face Off would play out.

Much like nearly every reality competition TV show out there, from Top Chef and Project Runway, to my favorite, Scream Queens, Face Off's contestants are asked to face-off (I know) against one another in a sort of quick-fire challenge, where they have to create something on the fly and under the gun (not Tim Gunn), with the hopes that either one of them can win immunity from being sent home at the show's end. This is followed by a main challenge, which is much larger in scale and, at least in the first episode, teams up two artists, both of whom have to bring their A-game, or worry about being sent home by a panel of surprisingly noteworthy judges. As I said, it's just like every other show on the market, but what sets it apart is, of course, the subject matter.

As I mentioned (more than once), I grew up in a time when Savini was a god, KNB was to be reckoned with and Steve Johnson was banging Linnea Quigley. Special effects artist were like rock stars for the horror community and, with the advent of CGI, that has deteriorated quite a bit over the years. It looks like the contestants will be challenged in all aspects of the form, including CGI, at one point or another, but the core of this show is creating art using foam-rubber, latex and paint. Highlighting this aspect of filmmaking is a wonderful idea, and this reality competition format plays perfectly to the form.

It may be far from original, but many shows that follow this same formula are very successful, and a big part of that is people like to see others create. Creativity and adaptability are key, and it's fun to watch people do those things in a competitive fashion and either succeed by making something amazing, or fail miserably when they create something completely awful. An art form such as practical makeup effects fits like O.J.'s glove couldn't, and I believe a show like this does great things by shining the spotlight on this style of artistry, as well as serving a hearty meal for us horror fiends to chew on every week. And based off the first episode, which showcased some mighty fine creature work, there will be some incredible things to look forward to.

I'll give credit to SyFy, mostly because they get shit-on a lot for some of their better-known attributes, namely SyFy movies, but those have obviously proven to be successful for the channel, so how can you really blame them. Even if it's not breaking down any walls of originality, at least SyFy tries to put out entertainment that caters to people like us that, in turn, translates to ratings. They often seem to have trouble getting the formula down right, it seems. I think Face Off might just have the right mixture of what we want, well, at least me, as a horror audience, as well as something that could grab the more casual viewer who is simply curious as to what so-and-so will create next.     

On a slightly related side note, doesn't Mega Python vs. Gateroid look awesome?! Finally, Tiffany and Debs in a picture together!