The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced nominations in the theatrical motion picture category of the 28th Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
The nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Feature-Film Cinematography:
Barry Ackroyd (Capt. Phillips)
Sean Bobbitt (12 Yrs a Slave)
Roger Deakins (Prisoners)
Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster)
Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity)
Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska)
The winner will be revealed at the awards ceremony on February 1, at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom.
“Our members believe these cinematographers have set the contemporary standard for artful, theatrical motion picture cinematography,” says ASC President Richard Crudo. “They have mastered a complex craft which contributes vitally to the storytelling process, and augments the intentions of everyone involved with the production.”
Traditionally, the organization selects five nominees, but a three-way tie this year boosts that number to seven.
This year’s nomination brings Deakins’ total to 12. He won last year for Skyfall, and previously for The Shawshank Redemption (1995) and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2002). His other nominations were for Fargo (1997), Kundun (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001), No Country for Old Men (2008), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2008), Revolutionary Road (2009), The Reader (2009) and True Grit (2011). He was also the recipient of the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
Lubezki has won ASC Awards for The Tree of Life (2012) and Children of Men (2007), and was also nominated in 2000 for Sleepy Hollow.
Delbonnel earned top honors for A Very Long Engagement (2005), as well as a nomination for Amélie (2002).
Ackroyd was previously nominated for The Hurt Locker (2010).
Papamichael earned previous nominations in the television movie and miniseries category for White Dwarf (1996) and Wild Palms (1994), respectively.
This is the first ASC nomination for Bobbitt and Le Sourd.
Matthew Libatique, ASC (Black Swan), Wally Pfister, ASC (Inception), Danny Cohen, BSC (The King’s Speech), Jeff Cronenweth, ASC (The Social Network), and Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (True Grit) have been nominated in the feature film category of the 25th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards.
“These five people have set the standard for today’s cinematography,” says Awards Committee Chairman Richard Crudo. “Although they were nominated for a variety of films, they share the common denominator of extraordinary talent and good taste. Just their mere presence on set would elevate any production.”
This is the ninth nomination for Deakins in the ASC feature film competition. He earned top honors for The Shawshank Redemption (1995) and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2002), and other nominations for Fargo (1997), Kundun (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001), No Country for Old Men (2008), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2008), Revolutionary Road (2009) and The Reader (2009). In addition to his nomination for True Grit, Deakins will also be honored as the recipient of the ASC’s 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.
This is the third nomination for Pfister who was previously recognized for Batman Begins (2006) and The Dark Knight (2009).
Cohen, Cronenweth and Libatique are all first-time nominees.
“The artistically diverse approaches these talented cinematographers employed are a glimpse at what visionaries with a camera can accomplish,” says ASC President Michael Goi. “They are visual storytellers of the highest caliber.”
The winner will be announced at the ASC Awards celebration at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom on February 13.
Brother, if there’s one cinematographer who really should have an Oscar sitting on his mantle by now, its this guy –Roger Deakins. To an awards obsessiva like myself, its a crime that this artist has been nominated 8 times and yet no wins. Deakins has just had the rotten luck of going up against films like TITANIC and LORD OF THE RINGS…there was no way, no how he’d win up against those juggernauts. In 1997, it was his FARGO going head to head with John Seale’s THE ENGLISH PATIENT. Even as good as SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION was, Deakins didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to beat John Toll’s LEGEND OF THE FALL.
Of all the years he was nominated, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is the one he should have won the Academy Award for. He had 2 spots ( THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD & NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) in the category in 2008 and he still couldn’t pull it off. The nomination for THE READER in 2009 was pretty much a throwaway – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was a runaway train.
So after watching the trailer for TRUE GRIT, you tell me, is this Roger Deakins’ year?
LOS ANGELES, October 11, 2010- Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC will receive the 2011 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation will be made during the 25th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration here at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on February 13, 2011.
“The Lifetime Achievement Award is a reflection of the impact that a cinematographer has made on the art of filmmaking rather than the capping of a career,” says ASC President Michael Goi. “It is our way of acknowledging a true artist in his prime. Roger Deakins raises the artistic profile of our profession with every movie and he will continue to do so for many years.”
Deakins has earned Oscar® nominations for The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Fargo (1996), Kundun (1997), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), The Assassination of Jesse James and the Coward Robert Ford (2007), No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Reader (shared with Chris Menges, ASC, BSC, 2008).
His peers nominated all eight of those films and Revolutionary Road (2008) for ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards for feature film cinematography. Deakins claimed top ASC honors for The Shawshank Redemption and The Man Who Wasn’t There.
“I had mixed emotions when I was told about this recognition,” Deakins says. “To be honest, I am flattered, but I also feel like I am only just getting started. I’m enjoying what I do more than I ever have and there seems to be so much more I want to do. I feel like I’m getting this award about halfway through my career. It is great to realize that my colleagues watch my work and get something out of it.”
ASC Awards Committee Chairman Richard Crudo observes, “Roger Deakins overcame formidable obstacles during the dawn of his career and went on to help create some of the most memorable films of our times. Roger has inspired young and older filmmakers to pursue what sometimes seems like impossible dreams.”
Deakins blazed a non-traditional career path. He was born and raised in the seaside town of Torquay in Devon, England. As a boy, Deakin’s passion was for painting but when he enrolled in the Bath Academy of Art his interest shifted to photography. When Deakins wasn’t taking pictures, he was in the darkroom processing film and making prints.
After a brief stint as a professional photographer Deakins continued his education at the National Film School in London. Deakins estimates that over three years he shot more than 15 films for student directors, both dramatic films and documentaries ranging from 30 to 90 minutes each.
After graduation, he primarily spent the first seven years of his career shooting documentaries, the first of which required him to play the role of crew member as well as director/cameraman during a nine-month yacht race around the world.
Deakins went on to work on many documentaries for British television, which included films on the liberation wars in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Eritrea, a study of mental patients within the UK National Health Service, and the life of the Nuba people of Southern Sudan. His first of some 50 narrative film credits was in 1983 for Another Time, Another Place, which aired on Channel 4 in England.
“I’ve always chosen to work on films that are more than entertainment,” he says. “I believe film can also be provocative and send audiences home thinking.”
Deakins has collaborated with an impressive array of directors, including Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Norman Jewison, Ed Zwick, Andrew Dominik and Michael Apted. True Grit, which is slated for release in December, is his 11th co-venture with brothers Ethan and Joel Coen at the helm.
What happened to Joaquin Phoenix? That’s a question lots of people have asked, and whether you feel he’s has a real change in his life or if this is merely a gigantic publicity stunt, one thing is for sure… Phoenix has been a little weird lately.
Now, Casey Affleck has spoken out about the last year of Joaquin Phoenix’s life and the “documentary” that he has made of that year of the former actor, now turned rapper. The film is called I’M STILL HERE: THE LOST YEAR OF JOAQUIN PHOENIX and is currently looking for distribution.
Anyone who watches TV is surely aware of Phoenix’s most recognizable moment of weirdness lately, when he appeared bearded and shaded on the LATE SHOW with David Letterman. It was one of those “What the… this can’t be for real” moments.
Well, according to early reports from west coast sources who’ve seen the film and the interview with Casey Affleck on ABC News Now’s Popcorn with Peter Travers, the film contains some things that may just make you believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’M STILL HERE is either a BORAT-style mockumentary, or else Joaquin Phoenix truly has blown a fuse.
On Saturday night in Los Angeles, actor Timothy Dalton presented the 2010 ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography to Christian Berger for his stunning work on THE WHITE RIBBON. Berger surprisingly triumphed over fellow nominees Barry Ackroyd – THE HURT LOCKER, Dion Beebe – NINE, Mauro Fiore – AVATAR and Robert Richardson – INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Also an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, THE WHITE RIBBON is the ninth predominantly black-and-white film to be nominated for Best Cinematography since 1967, when the separate category for black-and-white cinematography was eliminated.
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman received the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Board of Governors Award for making significant contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking. Actresses Emily and Zooey Deschanel presented their father, Caleb Deschanel, with the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award. Lastly, Chris Menges (THE KILLING FIELDS, THE MISSION, THE BOXER) received the 2010 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) International Award for his significant and enduring contributions to the international art of filmmaking.
I’m so disappointed and quite miffed to see that Greig Fraser’s exquisite work on BRIGHT STAR is missing from the list. Truly, his lush cinematography was the best of 2009.
Earlier today, the finalists in the feature film category of the 24th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards competition were announced:
THE HURT LOCKER: Barry Ackroyd, BSC
NINE: Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS
THE WHITE RIBBON: Christian Berger, AAC
AVATAR: Mauro Fiore, ASC
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: Robert Richardson, ASC
“It is a daunting challenge for our members to narrow a very competitive field down to five films that represent the most artful cinematography we have seen during the past year,†says ASC President Michael Goi. “We believe these very different films have set the contemporary standard for compelling visual storytelling.â€
Beebe previously won the ASC Award for Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and earned another nomination for Collateral. This is the ninth nomination for Richardson (Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, A Few Good Men, Heaven & Earth, The Horse Whisperer, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Aviator, The Good Shepherd).
All films eligible for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar competition were candidates for the ASC Outstanding Achievement Award. Last year’s ASC winner in the feature category — Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF for Slumdog Millionaire — went on to take home the Academy Award.
Goi notes that art and craft of cinematography is a global language. Fiore was born in Italy, Berger is Austrian, Ackroyd is British, Beebe was born in Australia, and Richardson is a native of the United States.
“Our members conceived this annual competition to let our peers know that their colleagues believe they have set the contemporary standard for artful cinematography,†says ASC Awards Committee Chairman Richard Crudo. “It requires mastering a complex craft which enables them to help create a sense of time and place while evoking emotions that augment the intentions of everyone involved in the collaborative process.â€
He adds, “We hope that this celebration also inspires a broad appreciation of the art of cinematography, and inspires the next generation to reach for the stars.â€
The winner will be announced during the ASC Awards celebration here at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on February 27. On a sidenote, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (THE RIGHT STUFF, THE PATRIOT, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST), will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award.
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)has announced its nominees in the Feature Film category of the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards competition.
-Roger Deakins (Revolutionary Road and The Reader)
-Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)
-Chris Menges (The Reader)
-Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)
-Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight)
*Dont count out ‘Doubt’, ‘Frost/Nixon’, ‘Australia’, and ‘Milk’ for Oscar nominations in Best Cinematography.
The winner will be announced during the awards gala on February 15 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
