Joji Tani (Japanese: 谷譲治, Hepburn: Tani Jōji), known as Screaming Mad George (born October 7, 1956), is a Japanese special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory special effects. He has collaborated with director and producer Brian Yuzna on many films.
Born Joji Tani[3] in Osaka, Japan, he took the first name George in order to stand out. Upon emigrating to the United States, where he graduated from the School of Visual Arts, he changed his name to Screaming Mad George in order to distinguish himself among the other Georges in an Anglophone country. The moniker was influenced by his love for Mad Magazine and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.[4]
George began as a punk rock musician[4] and played with the late 1970s band The Mad.[5] His gory music videos led to a job in the film industry, where he worked on special make-up effects.[4] His early work includes effects on Big Trouble in Little China (1986),[6]Predator (1987),[7]A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987),[6] the cockroach scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988),[7] and Arena (1989).[8] In 1989 he returned to his home country of Japan to direct the special effects for Tokyo: The Last War, a big budget follow up to the dark fantasy blockbuster Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis.[9] In 1989 he also began a long-term collaboration with director Brian Yuzna with Society.[6] In a negative review, Variety called the film's SFX-laden climax "sickening",[10] and the Austin Chronicle called the effects "cheesy".[11] In more positive reviews, the Los Angeles Times called George the real star of the film,[12] and Empire wrote, "Yuzna and his veteran special effects man Screaming Mad George serve up this literal slime with such verve, wit and overall verbal and visual flair that the movie also stands as one of the very finest of teen comedies."[13]
In a 1990 follow-up with Yuzna, George provided special effects for Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) that Variety called "imaginative" and "just what modern horror fans crave".[14] In 1991, he made his directorial debut with The Guyver, which he co-directed with Steve Wang. Yuzna produced the film. In America, the film was recut by New Line to remove some of the humor and focus more on action.[15]Entertainment Weekly rated the film "C" and said that while the effects were good, the film was too clichéd.[16] The Los Angeles Times called his creature effects in Freaked (1993) "terrific",[17] and Ain't It Cool News said that George's work was the best reason to watch the film.[18] In 1993, he returned to music releasing the album Transmutation under Extasy Records with a group called Screaming Mad George & Psychosis.
