Hall, Primes, Jur, And Barrett Take Top Honors From ASC

18-Feb-03

Conrad L. Hall, ASC took top honors for ""Road To Perdition"" in the feature film category at the 17th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards ceremony at the Century Plaza Hotel. It marked an emotional high point in the evening. Hall died on January 4. The award was accepted on his behalf by his son Conrad W. Hall.This was the fourth time that Hall has taken top honors in the annual ASC competition. He previously won for ""Tequila Sunrise"" (1989), ""Searching For Bobby Fischer"" (1994), and ""American Beauty"" (2000). The award was presented to Hall's son, who is also a cinematographer, by Lucy Liu.The other feature film nominees were Michael Ballhaus, ASC (""Gangs Of New York""), Pawel Edelman (""The Pianist""), Ed Lachman, ASC (""Far From Heaven""), and Rodrigo Prieto, ASC (""Frida""). Liu observed, ""There is no simple way to define cinematography...Each of the five nominated films tonight is a singular, artistic achievement.""No other cinematographer has won more than three times in any category of the annual competition. ASC President Richard Crudo remarked, ""Conrad Hall taking top honors four times in 17 years is a remarkable achievement. Conrad was one of a kind. He was a great artist who blazed new trails that inspired many other filmmakers in every part of the world. I am happy to announce that a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be dedicated to Conrad Hall on May 1.""Andy Garcia, who worked with Hall on Jennifer 8, opened the awards show with a homage to the cinematographer and the art form.Outstanding Achievement Awards for 2002 were also presented to Robert Primes, ASC, who won the episodic television competition for the ""Wing And A Prayer"" episode of ""MDs;"" Michael Barrett, who won the broadcast television competition for movies/miniseries/pilot for ""Cross Jurisdiction,"" the pilot of ""C.S.I. Miami;"" Jeffrey Jur, ASC won the movie/miniseries/pilot competition for cable television for ""Last Call."" Jill Hennessy, Joe Mantegna, and Elizabeth Perkins presented these awards, respectively. Bill Butler, ASC (""Jaws,"" ""Grease,"" ""The Conversation,"" ""Rocky II,"" ""Rocky III,"" ""Rocky IV,"") received the Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation was made by Bill Paxton, who directed and starred in ""Frailty,"" a 2002 thriller photographed by Butler.""I know this is as good as it gets,"" said Butler. ""I am very proud of this honor. This award is given by the most talented cinematographers in the world--the members of the ASC. These talented people are my peers, and that makes it the best honor I could ever hope to receive.""Roger Ebert received a special achievement award. It was the first time ASC has recognized a film critic or journalist.The organization's International Achievement Award was presented to Witold Sobocinski, PSC, whose principal body of work was compiled in Poland and other Eastern European countries. Presentations were made by cinematographers Haskell Wexler, ASC and Janusz Kaminski, ASC, respectively.Ralph Woolsey, ASC, a veteran cinematographer who worked mainly in the television realm (Maverick, Cheyenne, Sunset Strip), received the Presidents Award from Robert Wagner, who collaborated with him on ""It Takes A Thief,"" a classic TV series that earned Woolsey an EmmyÆ. The organization also gave a nod to the future with the presentation of the John Seitz Heritage Award to film students Masanobu Takayanagi from the American Film Institute and Zack Resnicoff from New York University, by ASC Education Chairman Laszlo Kovacs, ASC.The ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards were inaugurated in 1986 to recognize and inspire artistic and innovative cinematography in narrative filmmaking. The organization was founded in 1919 to advance the art of filmmaking and to provide where cinematographers could share ideas and experiences. For additional information, visit www.theasc.com.

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