Kenneth J. Hall

Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1958, Ken and his brother 'Cleve Hall' were adopted within a year of each other and grew up there. His love of film came at an early age, when his mother began taking both boys to the movies while they were still toddlers. He was exposed to all genres, from the fluffy Doris Day/Rock Hudson films to James Bond to musicals to Hammer horror films, but it was sci-fi and horror films, with their scary effects and futuristic creatures that got him hooked at an early age. He began creating creature suits in his bedroom using upholstery foam and any other materials he could get his hands on. He attended horror/sci-fi conventions long before there were Trekkies and ComicCons, meeting his favorite B-Movie stars and winning costume contests. It was at one such convention that Ken came to the attention of a young, up-and-coming effects artist named Rick Baker, who encouraged him to follow his talents and dreams wherever they took him. He followed them all the way to California in 1982 to become a writer/director, inspired not only by the Universal and Hammer classics, but also by the likes of Roger Corman, Michael McCarty, Herschell Gordon Lewis and Russ Meyer, to name a few. Ken's first screen-writing assignment was _The Tomb (1986)_, produced by Fred Olen Ray. For awhile he was a script- writer for various Charles Band companies, producing such screenplays as _Dr. Alien (1988)_ and Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000 (1994). His breakthrough film came in 1989 with the release of Puppetmaster (1989). From there he went on to pen such films as _Ghost Writer (1989)_ (a MOW showcasing sisters Audrey Landers and Judy Landers, which he also directed) and _The Clown at Midnight (1998)_ starring 'Christopher Plummer' and Margot Kidder. During his 13 years working as a writer/ director, he also became established as a makeup/effects artist and special effects creature/costume fabricator. Ken is one of a small handful of experts in the field of foam fabrication, a technique that's part pattern making, part sculpting. His best known creatures are the title character of Roger Corman's Carnosaur (1993) (and sequels) and the famous octopus prop used in Ed Wood (1994).