Movies - TV
Indiana Jones Used A Simple Styrofoam Cup For A Famous Special Effect
By JOE ROBERTS
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” had many explosions and face-melting special effects. Styrofoam cups actually became oddly useful in bringing several of those effects to life.
When actor Julian Glover’s deceitful Walter Donovan drinks from the wrong cup during the climax of “Crusade,” he rapidly ages and disintegrates before the audience’s very eyes.
To create this famous Indiana Jones moment, makeup effects supervisor Stephan Dupuis recalled the material used for the fully decayed version of Donovan’s melting head.
Dupuis said, “I needed material that would shrivel up under heat like saran wrap. [...] [I] took styrofoam cups and melted them in a solvent until I got liquid.”
He added, “I painted this liquid on the inside of the mold for [Donovan’s] [...] head. When that dried I had a very thin plastic skin that served as the outside skin on the face.”
The makeshift styrofoam skin made for the ideal effect when heated, shriveling perfectly as planned and creating the effect of Donovan aging into nothingness.