When I first decided that I wanted to do this costume, I immediately realized that I was getting in "over my head". I had never attempted anything so ambitious. People suggested that Grinch masks would probably become available by Halloween, and as it turns out, they did. However, I knew then that I wanted to be different and really special. I had been collecting any magazines I could find with articles about the Grinch. The most helpful were the industry magazines. Cinefex, Make-up Artist Magazine and others were very helpful. I also turned to the internet and did searches on make-up and special effects. The book, "How The Grinch Stole Hollywood" by Andy Lipschultz was also very, very helpful.
Another issue was the fact that the movie would be leaving theaters soon and not coming to video or DVD for some time. I suspected they would wait until Christmas 2001 and I was right. Not having the movie as reference made it harder because I could not refer to it for costume reference. Also, once in the costume, I would be acting like the character. I would have loved to have it just to watch for that! I didn't want to be one of these people you see on Halloween who have a great costume but they just walk like mannequins in it and don't become the character. In the old days of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, cast members didn't have the luxury of home video (or tons of merchandising) to refer to for costume reference or to learn and practice their character with. However, they at least knew they could watch the film twice a week, every weekend, catching bits and peices each time. When I joined the cast of Rocky Horror, I was told by the older cast members how lucky I was to have the luxury of video tape availability! I saw the Grinch in the theaters many times (I beat my own record which was held by Star Wars, Espisode 1). Pictures, trading cards, magazines, books, the soundtrack, toys and the internet would be my link.
The first thing I did was buy the fabric for the Santa suit. I chose the Santa suit because it would be the most recognizable, but also the easiest. Jim Carrey's costume was made of red terrycloth but I chose red fleece which was easier to find, on sale, and warmer for a Northeastern climate on Halloween. I have been frozen near to death on Halloween many times in the past and in this case, it was nice not to.
Another important point was that with the Santa suit, I knew I would not have to worry about covering the whole body with fur. Since I had no idea how I was going to do the fur part, I figured that the least I needed, the better.
I got as far as making the Santa coat, hat and shoes. I had enough experience to figure that much out fairly easily. Commerically sold Santa suits wouldn't due because they wouldn't look close enough to Jim Carrey's. By making it myself, I was able to alter it and make it the way I wanted to. Okay, that's the easy part. Now what do I do for the rest? I was in trouble.
The next part was trying to find the fur. I was looking at all kinds of fur for all kinds of applications, but none of them were right. The various trade magazines said that the fur suit was made by hand tying yak hair to a stretch backing. Great. But I'm just one person with limited time. Fake furs were totally wrong and it was looking bleak.
One night I was on the verge of giving up when an internet search led me to a remarkable experience! I found the page of an old friend who apparently was also quite smitten with the Grinch! Imagine that! Once reunited, we joined forces and became fairly invinsible! With her living in Los Angeles and me living in New York we had the best of both cities. She also had some special connections and the ability to find people in the industry right in her own backyard. Is this fate or what?
The first breakthrough was finding the website for National Fiber Technologies (NFT) who provided the Grinch green yak hair for Universal. They apparently made a material with yak hair on a 4-way stretch backing which was used by the Universal theme park. The hitch.............it isn't cheap! My friend bought enough for us to make the legs, hands, neck and around the face and it came out to around $500 all told. Now, the problem was cutting it. This was unlike anything I had ever seen or worked with before. No furs, real or fake were anything like this stuff.
The next big obsticale would be the face. By chance, my friend was vending at a science fiction convention and met a guy who was not only a Grinch fan, but the owner of an appliance he won on Ebay a few months back. After some negotiating, he sold it to my friend for the amount he paid for it; $200. That was a big stroke of luck, but the mask was too big for my face and it didn't allow me the range of expression I wanted. Still, at least it would be 100 times better than any over-the-head masks that we might see for Halloween. But then, I asked the big question............."Can't I make one for myself?"
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