MastersFX is a Multi-Award Winning Character and Special Makeup FX Company
Todd Masters and his character FX team MASTERSFX (MFX) have just won their third Emmy® Award. The 2021 Daytime Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Special Effects Costumes, Makeup” was given to the MASTERSFX team for its work on the Universal Studios/1440 produced TV movie "Aliens Stole My Body," the second entry in the young-adult, fantasy/sci-fi book series “Aliens Ate My Homework” by Bruce Coville.
For “Aliens Stole My Body,” Masters and his MFX team designed and created the alien characters, prosthetics, puppets and creature suits, and even some of the alien costumes and conceptual production design.
Similar to his extensive FX role on the series’ 2018 movie, “Aliens Ate My Homework,” Masters also served as a Co-Producer on both of the ambitious Universal/1440 features — along with producers Roger Lay, Jr., and Eric Carnagey of Lay-Carnagey Entertainment. The features were directed by Sean McNamara and written by Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
“Aliens” Producer Eric Carnagey, commenting on Todd Masters’ latest Emmy Award, said, “Roger and I were thrilled to see MASTERSFX win the Emmy for their work on ‘Aliens Stole My Body!’ Todd played an integral role in the creative process of bringing these beloved characters to life and it was truly an honor working with him and his team on both films. Their creativity and attention to detail on the creature costumes and make-up was part of what made each of these movies so much fun for the cast, crew, and the viewers.”
Regarding the “Aliens” series’ outer space adventures, Masters notes, “Practical characters work very well for horror films – and wacky comedies – especially twisted, youth, space adventures like the ‘Aliens’ series! Practical creature FX are right there onset, for actors and directors to interact with, helping to develop the scene and performance in person – or in this case, in-alien.”
Masters’ involvement included choosing the alien actors themselves. “I actually hand-picked this tremendous alien cast,” Masters recalls. “Each one of them had some previous monster experience, so we knew that they could handle the extensive make-up and costumes that would be required.”
True to that, each of the alien galaxy warrior actors from the “Aliens” TV movie series links back to some earlier MASTERSFX project:
Dan Payne (“Grakker”) has worked with Masters on several “Stargate” episodes, as well as the “Underworld” series, where he performed as a werewolf. Recently, Dan picked up his second Leo Award for his colorful “Aliens” character, “Grakker.”
Alex Zahara (“Tar Gibbons”) is another alumni from Masters’ “Stargate” days. Alex has portrayed numerous aliens on that long-running series, and has also worked with Masters on such additional and diverse projects as “Sanctuary,” “Arrow” and “The Man in the High Castle.”
Tristan Risk (“Madame Pong”) first worked with Masters on the award-winning body-mod feature “American Mary” by the Soska Sisters. Tristan can also be seen performing in MFX prosthetics in the recent remake of “Rabid.”
Brad Proctor (“Phil the Plant”) is actually a part-time actor and part-time monster-maker himself at MASTERSFX. He was cast to appear inside the 8’ tall plant suit (with a character voiced by “Star Trek” icon George Takei) featured within the “Aliens” series. Brad’s on-screen work can also be seen in “Fringe,” “Eureka” and the currently-in-production feature, “Corrective Measure,” starring Bruce Willis.
The 2021 Daytime Emmy® Award for “Aliens Stole My Body” is Todd Masters’ third career Emmy® Award. He and his team have previously won top Emmy honors for their contributions to the HBO series “Six Feet Under” and to the Hulu series “Monsterville.”
The MASTERSFX team members behind the 2021 Emmy® Award win for “Aliens Stole My Body” are:
Todd Masters, Prosthetic Designer
Paige Yeoman, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Bonny Bahry, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Amelia Smart, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Quinn Heinrichs, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Mariana Fernandez, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Harriet Sales, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Brian Kim, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Caitlin Carmichael, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Alex Roseberry, Special Makeup Effects Artist
James Skuse, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Sarah Pickersgill, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Jason Ward, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Luke Stalker Switzer, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Lori Sandnes, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Jeannie Satterthwaite, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Brad Proctor, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Josh Raymond, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Yukiyo Okajima, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Arwen Hargreaves, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Amanda Duff, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Chris Devitt, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Anna Dalmau Forcano, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Jon Berezan, Special Makeup Effects Artist
Currently, MASTERSFX is wrapping up character and special FX work on Season 3 of “The Boys,” Season 3 of “The Umbrella Academy,” and starting Season 7 of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” In addition, the company recently wrapped its FX contributions to the upcoming Blumhouse feature film, “Firestarter.”
About LAY/CARNAGEY ENTERTAINMENT (LCE)
LCE is a media production company that creates innovative content for film, television, and themed entertainment attractions across the globe. Founding partners Roger Lay, Jr., and Eric Carnagey have produced content based on major global brands and intellectual properties for such clients as CBS Paramount, Universal 1440, and eOne, to name a few.
LCE’s recent film/TV producing credits include Universal 1440’s “Aliens Ate My Homework” and its sequel, “Aliens Stole My Body,” based on the works of best-selling children’s author Bruce Coville; eOne’s sci-fi feature “Chrysalis,” based on the short story by Ray Bradbury – the internationally acclaimed author of such classics as “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Martian Chronicles;” the Ray Romano HBO Comedy Special “95 Miles to Go;” and the Star Trek 50th anniversary project “Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault” for CBS.
Other LCE projects include the 3D ride films for Trans Studio Cibubur’s PACIFIC RIM SHATTERDOME STRIKE and Trans Studio Bali’s ROAD RAGE immersive attractions. For more information, please visit: www.laycarnagey.com and follow the company on Facebook at @LayCarnagey.
About MASTERSFX
Founded in 1987 by three-time Emmy® Award winner Todd Masters, MASTERSFX (MFX) is a multi-award winning character and makeup FX company. MASTERSFX's creative teams produce a distinctive blend of practical and digital makeup FX, prosthetics and animatronics, through a process called “dMFX,” for hundreds of hit feature films, TV shows, and commercials, for nearly 35 years.
Included among the TV projects to which MASTERSFX has contributed its work are “Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Magicians,” “The Good Doctor,” “The Expanse,” “The Flash,” “This is Us,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “True Blood,” “Six Feet Under,” “Tales from the Crypt,” “Fringe,” and others. Among the company's film credits are “Child’s Play,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The Predator,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Slither,” “Snakes on a Plane,” “Look Who's Talking,” and many more.
NBCUniversal and Group Black Launch ExcellencE! on Peacock
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