Bobbie 'Bloody Mary' Weiner ('Pumpkinhead II', Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights)

Bobbie Weiner, AKA Bloody Mary, is an FX artist with her own line of specialty makeup for literally any kind of transformation. If you're wondering where you might have seen her work, try the Oscar-nominated romace-catastrophe flick Titanic; she was the special effects make-up artist who transformed hundreds of actors into blue-lipped, icicle covered corpses. She also was in charge of the makeup for the horror films Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings and Voodoo.

Bobbie's got a whole lineup of her own FX supplies and original makeup; scary stuff, of course, but also any kind of makeup anyone might need. And you can read the comic she created, Tales of Bloody Mary, in any comic book store. Bobbie shares her recent work with Pretty/Scary's staffer Andrew Shearer...

Have you, or do you ever encounter situations where an individual is clearly put off by what you do?

BW: Yes. Definitely. I did a fund raiser for the Boy Scouts recently, and there was a local church that wasn’t happy, despite the fact that I raised a lot of money for the scouts out there that are connected to the church. I was there to promote a haunted house the scouts were doing, and there were people who had driven hours to do a Bloody Mary how-to zombie workshop. The church was unhappy that signs were put up outside saying that Bloody Mary was making an appearance!

Bobbie Weiner hosting an FX workshop

Was there a particular movie, character or experience that inspired you to get involved with makeup effects?

BW: Not really. I went to makeup school and learned everything I could about the film industry as far as broken bones, old age, monsters, and horror. I was hired for Pumpkindead II basically as a gopher, worked long days and was asked to stay on for the rest of the movie. The first thing I did was dress up a dollhouse that they exploded. Then I moved on to putting blood on everything, and then next thing I know, I get the nickname “Bloody Mary”. It was low-budget, I got paid $100 for three weeks, stayed on to finish the shoot. It was so exciting to be on a real movie set just days after graduating from makeup school. After that, I never stopped working. I had to re-invent myself after my husband left me when I was 46 years old. A lot of women in that position would say, “Oh my God, what do I do?” I went to makeup school instead of working at Macy’s.

You’ve got your own line of Halloween makeup that includes your own special fake blood. Without giving away your personal formula, what would you say is the most important ingredient that makes blood appear realistic?

BW: The most important ingredient is the color. Also, I don’t use any sugar or syrup, and it dries. I worked on the TV show “Renegade” many years ago, there were a lot of fights, punching and blood. We’d be out in the desert somewhere and you’re putting blood on the actors, and the next thing you know, the bees would show up. Blood gets on the ground, then the ants come within seconds. I said to myself, “I’ve got to make my own blood. This is ridiculous.” And now, the wardrobe people love us because our blood also washes out of the clothes.

Your website makes mention of your work with children’s charities. Do you have any opinions on what the appropriate age is for kids to start watching horror films?

BW: I think twelve is okay. My first horror film, I was eight and it was House of Wax with Vincent Price. I’ll never forget that one, it was a killer in those days. That was the best.

What lead you to create a Bloody Mary comic book? Is the lead character based on you in any way?

BW: I was a guest speaker on behalf of Troma. I was asked by Lloyd Kaufman to represent them at ComicCon International on a Saturday morning. It opened up a whole new world to me. I was onstage with the Toxic Avenger and Kabukiman, I had no idea who they were. Lloyd said, “you’ve gotta clean up my act. Be my guest speaker and give me some class.” There were five or six thousand in the audience, and a large percentage were in costume, I just wanted to be part of it. I spoke to a distributor and told them I wanted to write a comic book, and they gave me their card. That’s how it started. The following year I was in a booth signing autographs.

The way I set up the “Bloody Mary” character was, she got murdered but then came back. In the first issue, she’s coming out of the grave and she has a big heart. She wants to help people, help kids, help anybody who’s in distress. The basic premise is, things that appear evil can be really good, and things that look good can be evil. It’s about not judging a book by its cover.

Curiosity is running wild here: You’ve also got a line of makeup designed for funeral directors. How did this come about, and how is funeral makeup different from the regular kind?

BW: I also make camouflage face paint for the US government. We were doing a show that was kind of the hunting and military world’s equivalent of ComicCon. A guy came into my booth who’d heard that I was a famous makeup artist. He said, “You can make people look dead, can you make somebody look alive?” I said yes. He owned a chain of funeral homes, and I sent him some samples of my makeup. Next thing I know, he wrote me a letter and raved all over the place: “You’ve got to do a funeral convention. Your makeup’s the most effective makeup I’ve used in fifteen years in the business. It covers up everything and the customers are very satisfied.” My head artist Tom Carlton named it, I had no idea what we’d call it. “The Final Touch”, he said, “the last makeup you’ll ever need.”

How have computer effects in movies changed the makeup experts’ job in the digital age?

BW: We’re doing the real deal. Stuff came along that was done digitally, like Men In Black, and it just looked weird. You could tell it wasn’t real, and that’s the difference. When I started out, there was nothing like this. I think it’s put a lot of people out of business, some really fabulous and creative makeup people. The digital age is fabulous in its’ own way, for what it is, but it did take away a lot of jobs. When you’re dealing with makeup, you want to see the real thing.

Tell us how you came to be involved in Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, and what can people expect from the Bloody Mary attraction?

BW: I got a call one morning from the head of entertainment at Universal Studios in Orlando, they wanted to do something with Bloody Mary and flew me out for a meeting. They loved my character, they loved what I created and also wanted to go back with its legend. I had final approval on everything, and they did a bang-up job. It was a wonderful experience, and we’ll be with Six Flags for the third year in a row. For Fright Fest they do “Bloody Mary’s Circus of Fear” which is from the fifth issue of my comic. It’s a carnival and everybody’s dead, it’s marvelous. All the money from that attraction goes to the Boy Scouts of America. We like to give back. I could make a lot of money on the lecture circuit. I have an agent that books me all over the country going to colleges and corporate events. This year, I decided that I wanted to go with Give Kids To The World (www.gktw.org) and paint the faces of kids with terminal illness who aren’t going to see Halloween next year.

Head to www.dearbloodymary.com to check out her FX supplies!