Jim Danforth
Encyclopedia
Jim Danforth is a stop-motion animator
, known for model-animation and matte painting
. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
(1971), a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen
's One Million Years B.C.
(1967). Danforth later went on to work with Harryhausen on the film Clash of the Titans
(1981), in which he was mainly responsible for the animation of the winged-horse Pegasus
.
Danforth has been twice nominated for an Academy Award
for Visual Effects for George Pal
's 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
(1964), and for When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1971).
, who had previously produced the beloved children's series Gumby
during the 1950s.
, The Time Machine
(1960).
Working with two other animators and a team of artists and technicians at Project Unlimited, Danforth did the model-animation effects for the under-appreciated Jack the Giant Killer (1962), a 7th Voyage of Sinbad knock-off, which starred Sinbad's Kerwin Mathews
and Torin Thatcher
.
Danforth continued at Project Unlimited to animate the dragon in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
(1962).
In 1963, Danforth was hired by special visual effects pioneer Linwood G. Dunn
to animate miniature versions of the comedians in Stanley Kramer
's all-star comedy, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
.
Danforth returned to Project Unlimited when they were hired to produce effects and create monsters for the original The Outer Limits
TV series during the mid-60s. Some of Danforth's all-too-brief effects animation can be seen with the plant creature at the end of the episode entitled "Counterweight" and the human faced "bugs" in "The Zanti Misfits." In 1964, Danforth worked as an uncredited prop maker for 'Star Trek
's first pilot, "The Cage."
While still at Projects Unlimited, Danforth was again hired by George Pal to do model animation for 7 Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, Tony Randall
's multi-role tour-de-force and Randall's favorite film (1964). Danforth garnered his first Oscar nomination for his work animating the shape-shifting Loch Ness Monster
near the end of the film. (The film lost to Disney's big-budget effects musical fantasy, Mary Poppins
.)
In the late 1960s, Danforth aided fledgling film maker Dennis Muren
(who later became head of George Lucas
's Industrial Light and Magic
(ILM
) special effects facility, and won several Oscars of his own) by assisting with the making of a 16 mm short film titled The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural, later expanded by producer Jack H. Harris into a feature film entitled Equinox
in 1970. Danforth appeared as several 'extras' in the film and lent a hand animating cells, painting mattes, and constructing sets and equipment, but did none of the film's stop-motion animation (handled by Dave Allen and Dennis Muren). (The film was released to VHS video in the 80s under the title The Beast.)
at the time) England's Hammer Films
hired Danforth to animate the dinosaurs in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1971). Danforth refined the ability of his dinosaur models to realistically convey emotions. The discovery by a mother dinosaur of Victoria Vetri
in the shell of its newly-hatched egg, and subsequent adoption of the human by the mother dinosaur, is a masterpiece of characterization and a highlight of the film. The film merited Danforth a second Oscar effects nomination, but, sadly, lost to Bedknobs and Broomsticks
(1971), Disney big budget attempt at another Mary Poppins.
In the 1970s, Danforth was hired to do a model animation sequence for the underground feature film, Flesh Gordon
(1974). Embarrassed by the film's low-brow style of semi-porn comedy, Danforth stipulated that his name not be used. The film's producer, Howard Ziehm, gave him a credit anyway, spelled backwards. Danforth's "Beetle Man" animation, similar to Ray Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad skeleton fight sequence, remains one of the best model animation sequences in the film, rivaled only by the model animation of the "Nesuahyrrah" ("Harryhausen" spelled backwards) monster in the film's concluding sequence, animated by Rob Maine and David Allen.
Danforth then briefly joined with producer-actor (and, later, director) Dan O'Bannon
and first-time director John Carpenter
to provide some matte paintings for the independent counter-culture science fiction
cult-hit comedy, Dark Star
(1975), another project started as short film and expanded by producer Jack H. Harris into a feature film, which was nominated for an effects Oscar (losing to Albert Whitlock's polished work on The Hindenburg
).
In 1975, due to his dislike of the screen play, Danforth rejected a personal carte blanche offer from Dino de Laurentiis
to create a stop-motion sequence for the De Laurentiis remake of King Kong
, but accepted a contract with Universal to design creatures and animation for their competing film The Legend of King Kong (later shelved).
When the De Laurentiis King Kong was awarded an Oscar for best visual effects, despite the fact that the effects nominating committee for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
had made no such recommendation (and the bulk of effects were actually shots of Rick Baker in an ape suit on a miniature set), Danforth quit the committee and the Academy in protest. Danforth's publicized action was popular with film fans, but disturbed those in Hollywood who wanted the status quo
to remain unchallenged.
While Danforth was writing, designing effects, directing, and co-producing his film Timegate (later shelved), a little film called Star Wars
forever revolutionized the film industry.
project, he was hired to paint a matte shot during postproduction. He executed a matte painting for the penultimate shot of the film, showing Conan and the princess walking down toward a painting of a landscape valley. Danforth also provided a matte painting for the little-known film, The Day Time Ended
.
Next, Danforth was hired to create the visual effects for the spoof comedy starring ex-Beatle Ringo Starr
, Caveman
(1981). Danforth designed the dinosaurs and directed the live-action scenes in which the dinosaurs would appear, but the hands-on animation was done by David Allen, Randy Cook and Pete Kleinow. Danforth left the project "about two-thirds of the way."
Then Danforth returned to England to assist on Ray Harryhausen
's last film, Clash of the Titans (1981). Danforth animated portions of the Kraken and two-headed wolf sequences and most of the Pegasus scenes.
In the mid-1980s, Danforth was hired to do the "thought-box" matte shots for Danforth-fan Mike Jittlov
's tour-de-force first feature film, The Wizard of Speed and Time
(released to theaters in 1987 and video in 1989), based on Jittlov's astounding 1980 short film of the same name. Danforth, and his wife appear briefly on camera as two space shuttle
astronauts in orbit during the film's final effects extravagaza sequence, and also appear in a sequence spoofing the Directors Guild.
During the late 1980s and early 1990, Danforth was involved with the John Carpenter films Body Bags, They Live
, Prince of Darkness
, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man
, supplying, depending on the productions's needs, matte paintings, optical effects, stop motion animation, and second-unit direction.
, a link for which is below.
Danforth continues to live and work in the general Los Angeles area
and is currently doing fine-art and fantasy-genre paintings.
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, known for model-animation and matte painting
Matte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain's Hammer Films....
(1971), a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
's One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film...
(1967). Danforth later went on to work with Harryhausen on the film Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (1981 film)
Clash of the Titans is an American 1981 fantasy–adventure film involving the Greek hero Perseus. It was released on June 12, 1981 and earned a gross profit of $41 million domestically, on a $15 million budget , by which it was the 11th highest grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film...
(1981), in which he was mainly responsible for the animation of the winged-horse Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
.
Danforth has been twice nominated for an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Visual Effects for George Pal
George Pál
George Pal , born György Pál Marczincsak, was a Hungarian-born American animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre...
's 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
7 Faces of Dr. Lao
7 Faces of Dr. Lao is a Metrocolor 1964 film adaptation of the 1935 fantasy novel The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney. It details the visit of a magical circus to a small town in the southwest United States, and the effects that visit has on the people of the town...
(1964), and for When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1971).
Career
Danforth's first job in the professional film industry was as a sculptor and artist for clay-animation pioneer Art ClokeyArt Clokey
Arthur "Art" Clokey was a pioneer in the popularization of stop motion clay animation, beginning in 1955 with a film experiment called Gumbasia, influenced by his professor, Slavko Vorkapich, at the University of Southern California.After the Gumbasia project, Art Clokey and his wife Ruth came up...
, who had previously produced the beloved children's series Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...
during the 1950s.
1960s
Danforth was then hired by a company known as Project Unlimited and assisted a team of effects technicians on George Pal's celebrated 1960 feature-length fantasy filmFantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
, The Time Machine
The Time Machine (1960 film)
The Time Machine is a 1960 American science fiction film based on the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells in which a man in Victorian England constructs a time-travelling machine which he uses to travel to the future...
(1960).
Working with two other animators and a team of artists and technicians at Project Unlimited, Danforth did the model-animation effects for the under-appreciated Jack the Giant Killer (1962), a 7th Voyage of Sinbad knock-off, which starred Sinbad's Kerwin Mathews
Kerwin Mathews
Kerwin Mathews was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , The Three Worlds of Gulliver and Jack the Giant Killer .-Life and career:...
and Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains....
.
Danforth continued at Project Unlimited to animate the dragon in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is a 1962 American film directed by Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest grossing films of 1962. It won one Oscar and was nominated for three additional...
(1962).
In 1963, Danforth was hired by special visual effects pioneer Linwood G. Dunn
Linwood G. Dunn
Linwood G. Dunn, A.S.C. was a pioneer of visual special effects in motion pictures and inventor of related technology...
to animate miniature versions of the comedians in Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
's all-star comedy, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
.
Danforth returned to Project Unlimited when they were hired to produce effects and create monsters for the original The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
TV series during the mid-60s. Some of Danforth's all-too-brief effects animation can be seen with the plant creature at the end of the episode entitled "Counterweight" and the human faced "bugs" in "The Zanti Misfits." In 1964, Danforth worked as an uncredited prop maker for 'Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
's first pilot, "The Cage."
While still at Projects Unlimited, Danforth was again hired by George Pal to do model animation for 7 Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
's multi-role tour-de-force and Randall's favorite film (1964). Danforth garnered his first Oscar nomination for his work animating the shape-shifting Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
near the end of the film. (The film lost to Disney's big-budget effects musical fantasy, Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
.)
In the late 1960s, Danforth aided fledgling film maker Dennis Muren
Dennis Muren
Dennis Muren, A.S.C. is an American film special effects artist, most notable for his work on the films of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and George Lucas. He has won eight Oscars for Best Visual Effects.-Early life:...
(who later became head of George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
's Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
(ILM
Ilm
Ilm or ILM can refer to:*Ilm, Arabic for knowledge, referring to knowledge of Islam*I Love Music, an Internet music forum*Ilmr, a goddess in Norse mythology, sometimes written as Ilm- Acronyms :...
) special effects facility, and won several Oscars of his own) by assisting with the making of a 16 mm short film titled The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural, later expanded by producer Jack H. Harris into a feature film entitled Equinox
Equinox (film)
Equinox is a 1970 American horror film. Originally made in 1967 under the title The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural it was directed by Dennis Muren, and stars Edward Connell as Dave, Barbara Hewitt as Susan Turner Frank Bonner as Jim Hudson and award-winning science fiction/horror writer...
in 1970. Danforth appeared as several 'extras' in the film and lent a hand animating cells, painting mattes, and constructing sets and equipment, but did none of the film's stop-motion animation (handled by Dave Allen and Dennis Muren). (The film was released to VHS video in the 80s under the title The Beast.)
1970s
Looking for a sequel for its hit 1967 Ray Harryhausen film One Million Years, B.C., and unable to hire Harryhausen again (who was working on The Valley of GwangiThe Valley of Gwangi
The Valley of Gwangi is a 1969 American western-fantasy film directed by Jim O'Connolly and written by William Bast. The film is also known as Gwangi, The Lost Valley, The Valley Time Forgot, and The Valley Where Time Stood Still...
at the time) England's Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
hired Danforth to animate the dinosaurs in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1971). Danforth refined the ability of his dinosaur models to realistically convey emotions. The discovery by a mother dinosaur of Victoria Vetri
Victoria Vetri
-Biography:Vetri was born in San Francisco, California to parents who were immigrants from Italy. She attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California between 1959 and 1963 and later studied art at Los Angeles City College. She began acting and modelling in her teens. Vetri is a singer and...
in the shell of its newly-hatched egg, and subsequent adoption of the human by the mother dinosaur, is a masterpiece of characterization and a highlight of the film. The film merited Danforth a second Oscar effects nomination, but, sadly, lost to Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company which combines live action and animation and was released in North America on December 13, 1971...
(1971), Disney big budget attempt at another Mary Poppins.
In the 1970s, Danforth was hired to do a model animation sequence for the underground feature film, Flesh Gordon
Flesh Gordon
Flesh Gordon is a 1974 American science fiction adventure comedy film. It is an erotic spoof of the Flash Gordon serial films from the 1930s. The screenplay was written by Michael Benveniste, who also co-directed the film with Howard Ziehm...
(1974). Embarrassed by the film's low-brow style of semi-porn comedy, Danforth stipulated that his name not be used. The film's producer, Howard Ziehm, gave him a credit anyway, spelled backwards. Danforth's "Beetle Man" animation, similar to Ray Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad skeleton fight sequence, remains one of the best model animation sequences in the film, rivaled only by the model animation of the "Nesuahyrrah" ("Harryhausen" spelled backwards) monster in the film's concluding sequence, animated by Rob Maine and David Allen.
Danforth then briefly joined with producer-actor (and, later, director) Dan O'Bannon
Dan O'Bannon
Daniel Thomas "Dan" O'Bannon was an American motion picture screenwriter, director and occasional actor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres.-Early life and career:...
and first-time director John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
to provide some matte paintings for the independent counter-culture science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
cult-hit comedy, Dark Star
Dark Star (film)
Dark Star is a 1974 American comedic science fiction motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon.-Backstory and plot:...
(1975), another project started as short film and expanded by producer Jack H. Harris into a feature film, which was nominated for an effects Oscar (losing to Albert Whitlock's polished work on The Hindenburg
The Hindenburg (film)
The Hindenburg is a 1975 American film based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link based on the book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney .A.A...
).
In 1975, due to his dislike of the screen play, Danforth rejected a personal carte blanche offer from Dino de Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
to create a stop-motion sequence for the De Laurentiis remake of King Kong
King Kong (1976 film)
King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
, but accepted a contract with Universal to design creatures and animation for their competing film The Legend of King Kong (later shelved).
When the De Laurentiis King Kong was awarded an Oscar for best visual effects, despite the fact that the effects nominating committee for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
had made no such recommendation (and the bulk of effects were actually shots of Rick Baker in an ape suit on a miniature set), Danforth quit the committee and the Academy in protest. Danforth's publicized action was popular with film fans, but disturbed those in Hollywood who wanted the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
to remain unchallenged.
While Danforth was writing, designing effects, directing, and co-producing his film Timegate (later shelved), a little film called Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
forever revolutionized the film industry.
1980s
In 1979, Danforth was hired, along with Rick Baker, to design effects for Edward Pressman's proposed production Conan. This film mutated into a different version (Conan the Barbarian, 1982), with which neither Danforth nor Baker were involved. Although Danforth was not firstly involved on the visual effects of the John MiliusJohn Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
project, he was hired to paint a matte shot during postproduction. He executed a matte painting for the penultimate shot of the film, showing Conan and the princess walking down toward a painting of a landscape valley. Danforth also provided a matte painting for the little-known film, The Day Time Ended
The Day Time Ended
The Day Time Ended is an independent science fiction film released in 1980. The film starred Jim Davis, Christopher Mitchum and Dorothy Malone and was directed by John 'Bud' Carlos...
.
Next, Danforth was hired to create the visual effects for the spoof comedy starring ex-Beatle Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, Caveman
Caveman (film)
Caveman is a 1981 American slapstick comedy film written and directed by Carl Gottlieb and starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach.-Plot:...
(1981). Danforth designed the dinosaurs and directed the live-action scenes in which the dinosaurs would appear, but the hands-on animation was done by David Allen, Randy Cook and Pete Kleinow. Danforth left the project "about two-thirds of the way."
Then Danforth returned to England to assist on Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
's last film, Clash of the Titans (1981). Danforth animated portions of the Kraken and two-headed wolf sequences and most of the Pegasus scenes.
In the mid-1980s, Danforth was hired to do the "thought-box" matte shots for Danforth-fan Mike Jittlov
Mike Jittlov
Mike Jittlov is an American animator and the creator of short films and one feature length movie using forms of special effects animation, including stop-motion animation, rotoscoping, and pixilation...
's tour-de-force first feature film, The Wizard of Speed and Time
The Wizard of Speed and Time
The Wizard of Speed and Time is a 1989 low-budget feature film written, directed, and starring animator Mike Jittlov, as well as a 1979 16 mm short film, also by Jittlov.-1979 Short film:...
(released to theaters in 1987 and video in 1989), based on Jittlov's astounding 1980 short film of the same name. Danforth, and his wife appear briefly on camera as two space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
astronauts in orbit during the film's final effects extravagaza sequence, and also appear in a sequence spoofing the Directors Guild.
During the late 1980s and early 1990, Danforth was involved with the John Carpenter films Body Bags, They Live
They Live
They Live is a 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Frank Armitage ....
, Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darkness (film)
Prince of Darkness is a 1987 horror film directed, written, and scored by John Carpenter. The film is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with The Thing and concludes with In the Mouth of Madness .-Plot:The movie opens with a dying priest clutching...
, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a 1992 film directed by John Carpenter and released by Warner Bros., with many scenes taking place in and around San Francisco. The film is loosely based on a 1987 novel of the same name by H.F. Saint...
, supplying, depending on the productions's needs, matte paintings, optical effects, stop motion animation, and second-unit direction.
1990s
Throughout the 1990s, Danforth has kept a somewhat lower profile, mainly providing matte paintings and supervising composite matte work on scores of films, a continuation of his matte work on films going back into the 1960s. Comprehensive lists of them can be found on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, a link for which is below.
Danforth continues to live and work in the general Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
and is currently doing fine-art and fantasy-genre paintings.