ASC Names Five Nominees Vying For Feature Honors
Remi Adefarasin, BSC, Elizabeth; Richard Greatrex, BSC, Shakespeare In Love, Janusz Kaminski, ASC, Saving Private Ryan; Robert Richardson, ASC, The Horse Whisperer and John Toll, ASC, The Thin Red Line will vie for top honors in the annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards competition. The winner will be named at the ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards dinner on February 21 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. ""The creative challenges presented by these diverse films is representative of the skill and talent a cinematographer requires today,"" says ASC President Victor J. Kemper. ""Each of the nominees did remarkable work. They all deserve to win. I frankly donít know how our members will select one of these films and say that it is the most artistic cinematography done this year. These films depict a broad range of periods and genres. There was no rulebook for shooting any of them. All of these cinematographers made unique and exceptional contributions to the collaborative process of visual storytelling."" This is Richardsonís fifth nomination in the 13-year history of the ASC awards. It is the third nomination for both Toll and Kaminsky, and the first for both Adefarasin and Greatrex. Toll won in 1996 for Braveheart. The last three ASC Outstanding Achievement Award winners also earned OscarsÆ for cinematography, including Toll for Braveheart, John Seale, ASC, ACS for The English Patient, and Russell Carpenter ASC, for Titanic. The ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards were initiated in 1987. Feature film was the only category that year. Jordan Cronenweth, ASC, won for his camerawork on Peggy Sue Got Married. Despite a remarkable career, which included such milestone films as Bladerunner, The Front Page, Cutterís Way and Brewster McCloud, Cronenweth said it was his only official recognition for his narrative filmwork. The first awards dinner was held at the ASC Hollywood clubhouse with fewer than 100 people present. ""My father was deeply touched,"" says Jeff Cronenweth, who recently completed principal photography for Fight Club, his first narrative feature. ""It meant a lot to him, because the recognition came from his colleagues who understood and appreciated his accomplishments as an artist on that film and during his career."" Kemper says the ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards were organized to recognize and inspire artistic and innovative cinematography in narrative filmmaking. He notes this is one of the few, if not the only, major competition for cinematography where peers perform the selection of nominees and winners. ""We feel that is important, because all too often artistic excellence in cinematography goes unappreciated, because the images aren't necessarily spectacular,"" he says. ""You can have spectacular images and great artistry at the same time, but the question you have to ask is 'Does the cinematography make a meaningful contribution to telling the story? Do the images create the right mood, and accurately establish a sense of time and place? What do they tell you about the characters and story?' Filmmaking is a collaborative process, but every cinematographer makes thousands of decisions on every movie, and each of them can affect how the audience relates to the characters and story."" Kemper says that it often takes a cinematographer to recognize and appreciate the subtle, as well as obvious ways cinematographers ply their art effectively. ""Chances are there wonít be a tie, and there will only be one winner,"" says Kemper, ""but I believe that each of these five nominees will savor the experience of knowing that their colleagues in ASC applaud them as artists."" ASC was founded in 1919 for the main purposes of advancing the art of narrative filmmaking, and to provide a forum where cinematographers can share experiences and ideas. Membership is by invitation only and is based upon the individualí s body of work. For additional information visit the ASC Web site at www.cinematographer.org.