“RANGO” - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

CRASH McCREERY
-Biography-
Born to an Air-Force family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Crash spent his early childhood
in the vagabond style of military life. Most of Crash’s early training began from observing
nature, where he gained a deep appreciation for the natural order of things. He developed
an understanding of light and shade and how objects related to one another. Along with his
observations of present nature, he was also intrigued with visions of what once was,
namely prehistoric wildlife. He delved into the study of paleontology and soon found the
marriage between factual science and the powers of the imagination to be the perfect
testing ground for creating what was once only a world of fantasy. Crash made the
proclamation that, when he grew up, he was going to ‘do dinosaurs.’
Crash received a scholarship to the Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, graduating
with a BFA in illustration.
Crash’s first design challenge was Predator II, directed by Stephen Hopkins. He soon found
himself immersed in the work that he could before only admire as a fan.
Soon after, Crash collaborated with Tim Burton for Edward Scissorhands. Burton was
indeed a hero of Crash’s, and as such, Crash reveled in the collaboration. Incorporating the
facial features of actor Johnny Depp, Crash translated Burton’s concepts into three different
illustrations, one of which was selected as the final look for the character.
Immediately following was James Cameron’s epic science fiction sequel Terminator 2. With
Cameron’s background in art direction, Crash was challenged to satisfy the eye of a brilliant
artist as well as director. Cameron had Crash designing for what came to be a $205 million
box office sensation.
Working once again with Tim Burton, Crash was asked to design the Penguin makeup
Danny DeVito would wear in Batman Returns. The result was an unforgettable character
that redefined the villainous role portrayed in the comic books and distanced itself, through
originality, from the television series of the 60’s and 70’s. Outselling the highest
expectations with an overall box office success of $163 million. This design also attained a
makeup Academy nomination for best make-up in a film.
The following year, Jurassic Park finally gave Crash the opportunity to work with whom he
considers to be one of the greatest minds in filmmaking, Steven Spielberg, while also
fulfilling his childhood prophecy – he was about to ‘do dinosaurs’ - and do them in an
entirely unprecedented fashion. A whole new vision of dinosaurs, a whole new take on a
kind of movie that had been done a million times before – essentially, breaking the mold.
With new science and new ideas about what dinosaurs really were, the film depicted
dinosaurs that were very active, warm-blooded and even intelligent. Because the project
was cloaked in secrecy in its early stages, Crash worked in solitude on his concepts and
rendered dinosaurs for an entire year. Once the film went into actual production, Crash