Brian Penikas Answers Questions about his Career

Photos: [Bane and Poison Ivy] [Bane Flexes, Head Turned] [Bane, Another Pose] [Bane Flexes, Head Forward]

Excerpt from "THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE: BATMAN & ROBIN" by Michael Singer.

Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze, Jeep Swenson's fearsome Bane receives the most complete makeover of any Batman & Robin character. "I called Brian Penikas many months before we started shooting," notes Neill, "and asked him to design an airbrush makeup that would make Bane look like he's been infused with Venom, which was very colorful and fun rather than gruesome. 'Just do what you want,' I told Brian.

Well, he sure did.

Brian Penikas and colleague Rick Stratton embarked upon an airbrush makeup requiring up to three hours a day, painstakingly applied to Swenson's formidable body in a specially built ventilated tent. "We wanted Bane's makeup to be real comic book," continues Neill, "with the colors bright and vibrant so they would show up well against the darker sets."

Standing outside of their tent on the Warner Bros. backlot during a rainy day near the end of production, Penikas and Stratton took a moment to reflect, rather lightheartedly on their work. "The entire Bane makeup is done with Fred Blau's great tattoo ink, which we airbrush in many layers over Jeep's body," notes Stratton. "The first makeup tests took five hours to apply," adds Penikas, "but once the wardrobe was incorporated into the design, and Rick came in to help as a partner, we got it down to about two-and-a-half."

Penikas and Stratton paint freehand rather than with stencils, working from memory and full-body mannequins. "We don't usually refer to them," Stratton mock-haughtily sniffs. "But if Brian or I got hit by a truck, then the next guy coming in would know what to go for. "

Stratton both knows and respects the Bane of the DC comics, "and it's fun to elaborate on the character and make him the movie's own. The idea was to flush Bane of any healthy-looking skin tone, and then bring out clusters of veins in all the extremities. As if he's about to explode at any moment from the Venom being pumped through his body"

And how did Swenson take it? "Well," says Penikas, "it's extremely cold having your body airbrushed at four in the morning. We can heat the tent, but we can't heat the air coming through the gun." Swenson nonetheless waxes enthusiastic about his makeup artists: "I'd love to take Brian and Rick with me wherever I go."