One of Hollywood's greatest special effects artists has retired, citing CGI as one of the reasons.
Rick Baker has been behind many classic moments and characters in films such as An American Werewolf in London, Men in Black and The Nutty Professor, but he has decided to end his career at the age of 64.
Speaking to California public radio station KPCC, Baker said he will now consider consulting and design work, but decided not to "have a huge working studio any more". He also sold his creature shop in Glendale last year.
He added that his recent work on Angelina Jolie's Maleficent could have been done "in a garage", and that studios are now seeking more technology to replace traditional effects.
"I said the time is right, I am 64 years old, and the business is crazy right now. I like to do things right, and they wanted cheap and fast," said Baker. "That is not what I want to do, so I just decided it is basically time to get out.
"First of all, the CG stuff definitely took away the animatronics part of what I do," he added. "It's also starting to take away the makeup part."
Baker has won makeup Oscars for An American Werewolf in London, Harry and the Hendersons, Ed Wood, The Nutty Professor, Men in Black, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Wolfman, and received five other nominations.
He also worked on Michael Jackson's iconic 'Thriller' video after the singer saw his work on An American Werewolf in London.
"Seeing the 'Thriller' dance live for the first time, it was amazing," he explained. "Landis said, 'You're going to be known more for this than anything you do'. And I just said, 'No, you're crazy!' But when people say, 'Oh, what do you do for a living?', 'I'm a makeup artist', 'Have you done anything that I've seen?'... I know that if I say 'Thriller', they've seen it."
Baker has appeared on screen on a handful of occasions, including an uncredited cameo as Figrin D'an and Hem Dazon in the Mos Eisley Cantina Band in Star Wars.