INTERVIEW: All stars gear up to compete on new season of Syfy’s ‘Face Off’

Face Off continues to combine breathtaking beauty and wondrous weirdness each new season on Syfy. The competitive series pits some of the best newcomers in the special-effects makeup business against each other, and their creations are jaw-droppingly complex, unfailingly lifelike and resoundingly stunning.

More importantly, these designers are ushering in a new wave of Hollywood special effects that properly values the art of real makeup and hands-on creativity.

On the new season of the hit series, which is set to premiere Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 9 p.m., Face Off is ready to go back in time and invite some of the best contestants from the show’s history for an All Stars showdown. Among the returning faces is Tyler Green from Connecticut. He finished a runner-up on season six, and he’s back to show off his inventiveness and design prowess.

“When I got the call, I immediately just yelled on the phone, ‘Yes,’ not even realizing what I was agreeing to because I was just so excited,” Green said recently about his decision to rejoin the series. “I had a feeling for a long time that they might end up one day doing an all star or some type of everyone-comes-back [season], and I just sprang on it. And I was just so honored that the network kind of chose me out of hundreds of contestants.”

When Green returned to Face Off, he found the intensity of the competition much higher than his original episodes. After all, Face Off: All Stars features the best of the best, designers who have been through the rigors of the competitive reality series already.

“This season I felt was extremely more intense than the season I was on in season six,” he said. “I honestly came into All Stars thinking, oh, this is going to be a breeze. I’m so used to this, and it really wasn’t. It was extremely challenging between the time restraints [and] some of the expectations that I think the judges might have had for us this time around. It truly was a much [more] difficult season.”

The guest judges on this season of Face Off up the ante on Hollywood greatness. Leading the pack is legendary director John Landis of National Lampoon’s Animal House, An American Werewolf in London and Michael Jackson’s Thriller fame. Other guest judges include director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil), producer Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland) and director Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake). They even had a stunt coordinator helping out with Jeff Wolfe (Rush Hour), and, of course, host McKenzie Westmore returns for the action.

“I mean, even if you’re not a special-effects or sci-fi guru, some of the judges they bring on are such icons to all of us,” Green said. “The special guest judges that they had this time around, it was absolutely insane. We would walk on stage — I know I can’t reveal some of the names — but our jaws would just drop. Oh my gosh, this person is actually going to look at my work. I mean, I was a huge fan of theirs since they directed or produced certain projects that I either grew up with or was huge fans [of], and then that pushes it to the next level. Like, oh my gosh, our stuff has to look good in front of these people. Definitely some of the judges are huge inspirations to all of us on the show for sure.”

After appearing on Face Off’s sixth season, Green’s life changed in a positive way. He was on the TV program at the age of 25, and he was still trying to find himself as an artist. After the competition, he was able to focus his talents and realize his creative strengths.

Today Green has a studio in Litchfield, Connecticut, where he can be found teaching aspiring makeup artists the creative craft of stylistic invention. He serves as CEO of Creative Genius LLC and has developed a tool gripping system (Wonderband Systems™) that is starting to be used in the industry.

“It kind of exploded from there,” he said. “I have now gotten into the world of entrepreneurship. I’ve invented a lot of products that are actually now hitting the market. … The show has really opened a lot of personal goals for me, and I always thank the producers all the time because that experience [on season six] really has made a big impact in my life.”

This mastery of special effects and makeup design has its origins in Green’s childhood. He grew up adoring the work of the Jim Henson Company. His two favorite films include The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and as a child he would rewind his VHS tapes over and over again (“hundreds of times,” he admitted) because Henson’s world seemed so real and organic.

“I really like to create organic characters and things that look like [they] would live on this earth,” he said. “I guess my artistic style is very organic. I like to create things with realism and character, and that’s kind of what I base my work on. So Jim Henson for me was a huge inspiration in a lot of the work that I have done.”

With a title like Face Off and promos that promise cutthroat competition, the reality series seems like a mad dash to the grand prize of being named Hollywood’s next great special-effects makeup artist. It would seem that the contestants are fierce in their artistic battle and willing to leave their peers in the rearview mirror if the opportunity arose.

However, the reality on this reality series is different.

“This is not like Project Runway or the Jersey Shore,” Green said with a laugh. “There’s really not much animosity. … I mean, we all helped each other. This really is a show about the artwork and not about the drama.”

One of the added challenges this time around is the requirement to use a green screen during the design process. Green was new to this technology, and he found it difficult because as a designer he was unable to see the finished result. “It’s almost like a different type of thinking,” he said. “I mean, whatever you put on green is going to be erased and super-imposed to the background. …  I really wasn’t sure what the end result was going to look lie because we never really saw the end.”

Viewers will be able to see Green’s green-screen creation on the premiere episode Tuesday, Jan. 24. However, don’t expect any spoilers. Green was tight-lipped about how he fared on the reality series this time around. He did talk about his future plans and how he would love to expand his creativity. He sees himself as an entrepreneur and inventor who will continue teaching and growing his business interests.

“I have so many opportunities in licensing and product development, so I’m literally on the cusp of licensing several concepts to big companies,” he said. “In 10 years from now, big things are going to happen for me, and I just want to keep making those goals and see where it goes. For me, personally, being on the show was a goal, and I met it. Now that I’m working for myself finally, that was another goal. I think the next goal was to become a little bit more successful in what I’m doing, and it’s starting to go that way. So in 10 years, I do see myself being very successful, and that’s what I’m working toward right now.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Face Off: All Stars premieres Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 9 p.m. on Syfy. Click here for more information on the show. Click here for more information on Tyler Green.