--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY 2007
The KNB EFX Group Inc. was formed in 1988 by Gregory Nicotero, and Howard Berger. Over the last decade KNB has become one of the most prolific make-up effects studios in Hollywood. They have over 500 feature film and television credits to their name including Kill Bill, the Spy Kids Trilogy, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Men in Black, Spawn, Army of Darkness, Pulp Fiction, The Green Mile, Boogie Nights. Current projects include Sin City, The Amityville Horror and the film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. They received the 2001 Emmy Award for Best Visual Effects for the mini-series Dune as well as two Cable Ace Award nominations in recent years. Their contributions to The Cell and The Time Machine earned Academy Award Nominations for Best Achievement in Make-up.
Greg Nicotero began his career in Pittsburgh working under the tutelage of famed Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero and special effects pioneer Tom Savini. It was his skill as an fx coordinator on films such as Day of the Dead and Monkey Shines that helped him adapt to the demanding needs of the film industry. He relocated to Hollywood and began working on Sam Raimi’s horror classic Evil Dead II and co-ordinated various prosthetics labs before co-founding KNB EFX Group. Greg has directed 2nd unit on a variety of KNB’S films including the 4th installment in Romero's zombie series entitled LAND OF THE DEAD as well as supervising the zombie make-up effects and animatronic chores for the 4 month shoot in Toronto Canada in the winter of 2004. Greg along with remaining partner Howard Berger, continues to work with clients such as Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and Frank Darabont.
Howard Berger grew up in Los Angeles where he spent his younger years visiting the studios of Oscar winning special effects wizards Stan Winston and Rick Baker. He would later work with both famed effects innovators on such films as Harry and the Hendersons, Pumpkinhead, and Predator. His early credits include Child’s Play, Nightmare on Elm Street 4, and Night of the Creeps. Howard’s skill and love of sculpting, painting, and prosthetic make-up application helped KNB move to the forefront of the make-up effects industry. Over the past decade KNB has created some of the most memorable special effects for many of Hollywood’s top film-makers including Steven Speilberg, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven and Rob Reiner.
Their creature and make-up creations on such horror favorites as From Dusk Till Dawn, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Evil Dead II, 13 Ghosts, as well as the Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street series has earned them legions of horror fans around the world. Eli Roth’s sleeper hit Cabin Fever garner Greg and Howard a Best Make-up Award at Spain’s Sitges Film Festival.
After establishing themselves as master effects creators within the horror/science fiction genre, the trio began pursuing more mainstream productions and soon landed a string of A-list studio pictures.
For the now classic buffalo hunt sequence in Dances With Wolves, KNB created several hydrauliccally operated buffalos and twenty-four slain animals that would be scattered over the fields of South Dakota. It would mark the team’s first foray into animal effects and would help establish KNB as one of Hollywood’s premiere animal makers. The success and realism of their work in Dances would soon lead to assignments on other big budget pictures such as City Slickers, Wild America, Jungle to Jungle, Disney’s The Jungle Book. Recently, Greg was contacted by Universal Studios to recreate the famous shark made famous in the 1975 film JAWS. After a 6 week prep period, the 1:1 scale head of the Great White Shark was unveiled at the 30th Anniversary commemorating the release of JAWS in Martha's Vineyard this June of 2005.
KNB's attention to detail has earned them a reputation for providing exceedingly realistic dummy heads and "cadavers". Their work can be currently seen on Law & Order, 24 and HBO’S upcoming western series Deadwood.
