Face Off veteran Patrick Tatopolous will be passing the torch to Neville Page for this season of Face Off as he leaves to work on 300: Battle of Artemisia. Syfy’s most popular unscripted show will return Tuesday, August 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT as eleven contestants battle it out for a shot at $100,000 and the opportunity to become a guest lecturer at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Academies in New York and Paris.The challenges this season are some of the most high profile yet, with contestants creating creatures inspired by Dr. Seuss, an original alien in the flavor of the Star Wars cantina scene, and a challenge inspired by NBC’s Grimm. Contestants this year include:The contestants are definitely as diverse looking as always, but the ages seem to be leaning a bit older than past season � but maybe that’s just me. You can get more details on the competitors at www.syfy.com/faceoff.UPDATE: As it turns out Alana Schiro is actually 20 years old, not 36 as previously reported. Also she is from Staten Island, NY but is currently residing in Northridge, CA. This makes her the youngest competitor so far on Face Off, as well as rendering my statement about the cast skewing older into a big plate of eggs, which I will now smear all over my face. NEW YORK � June 27, 2012 � A new season of infinite imagination and fantastic make-up magic ignites with the third season of Syfy’s most popular unscripted series, Face Off, premiering on a new night and time, Tuesday, August 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The season will introduce a talented group of special effects make-up artists who will meet face to face in Los Angeles to compete in a series of elaborate challenges that will ultimately determine just who has the skillful hand to win Face Off.Face Off is an authentic depiction of the high creative standards necessary for a special effects make-up artist to succeed in their craft. The series debuted in January 2011 as a new reality competition program to critical and ratings success. The second season finale of Face Off became the most watched unscripted telecast in Syfy’s nearly 20-year history, transforming 3.58 million total viewers, based on Live +7 data. This also established a Syfy original series record � for scripted and unscripted programs � for most Adults 18-34 viewers with 1.01 million.Returning to the lab for the new season is actress and host McKenzie Westmore, along with judges Ve Neill (The Hunger Games, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Glenn Hetrick (Mad Men, Heroes). Patrick Tatopolous will sit on the judges’panel for the premiere episode, before he starts production design on his latest project, 300: Battle of Artemisia.Joining the series as the new judge is Neville Page, Lead Creature Designer on the highest grossing movie of all time Avatar, Character Designer on Ridley Scott’s recent blockbuster Prometheus, Lead Creature and Character Designer on J.J. Abram’s Star Trek, Lead Concept Designer on Tron: Legacy and Creature Designer on Super 8. Page’s upcoming films include Creature Designer on The Amazing Spider-Man and his most recent work on J.J. Abram’s highly anticipated next installment of the Star Trek film-franchise.The season also boasts an array of prominent guest judge appearances including Academy-Award winning producer Brian Grazer (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind), Kevin Smith (Red State), Gale Ann Hurd (Aliens, The Walking Dead), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), LucasFilm collaborator and actor Matthew Wood (Star Wars prequels), Paul WS Anderson (Alien vs. Predator, Resident Evil: Afterlife), boxer Laila Ali and Oscar-nominated makeup artist Barney Burman (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III).The challenges featured will be some of the most difficult, creative and inventive yet: the contestants will create eye-popping new creatures inspired by the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss, an original alien character inspired by the classic cantina scene from Star Wars: A New Hope, as well as creations for a challenge inspired by the NBC series Grimm. The challenges will be set against the backdrop of Southern California, from the high seas off the coast of San Diego to the WhoVille set at the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot.The Face Off contestants will be whittled down week by week as they compete to outshine their competition. The winning artist will receive $100,000 and will also be given the opportunity to become a guest lecturer at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Academies in New York and Paris.Jon’s writing has appeared on CraveOnline, BuddyTV, UGO.com and numerous other online publications. He is a charter member of the Broadcast Television Journalist’s Associations (BTJA), the organization behind the Critic’s Choice Awards.
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