There isn’t a weekend, or weekday for that matter, in
February that isn’t dedicated to an award show, dinner or luncheon, and movie
stars aren’t the only people attracting accolade attention. Those behind the
camera who inspire outstanding performances, bring a story to life with a their
own palette of atmospheric color, or create complicated and stunning visual
effects will also be honored during this busy award season.
Each year, members of the Directors Guild nominate a
candidate to win the Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature
Film. In a statement published when the nominations were announced DGA President
Michael Apted talked about the poignancy of this particular DGA honor. “What
makes this award truly meaningful to directors is the knowledge that only this
award is decided solely by their peers—the men and women who know the look,
passion, and fear that go into each production.” What also makes this award
meaningful is that, according the DGA, 50 of the last 56 winners also went on to
win the Academy Award for Best Director.
This year’s nominees range from veterans Martin Scorsese for
“The Aviator,” Clint Eastwood for “Million Dollar Baby” and Taylor Hackford for
“Ray” to first-time nominees Marc Forster for “Finding Neverland” and
Alexander Payne for “Sideways.”
Established in 1919, the American Society of Cinematographers
(ASC) is the oldest organization in the motion picture industry and inaugurated
the ASC Outstanding Achievement Award in 1986. ASC President Richard Crudo said
that the awards were initiated to create a forum where cinematographers are
evaluated by their peers and inspire others to excellence. “Many people equate
artful cinematography with beautiful images but that isn’t necessarily true.
Great cinematography can also be dark, ugly, or simply realistic. Our members
judged whether the images evoked appropriated emotional responses for the
stories.”
From the unrelenting blue-black nightscape of Dion Beebe and
Paul Cameron’s “Collateral” to the lofty brightness and art deco-hued Americana
of Robert Richardson’s “The Aviator,” this year’s ASC stories as varied as the
DGA nominees. Other Cinematographers in the running include Caleb Deschanel for
“The Passion of the Christ,” Bruno Delbonnel for “A Very Long Engagement” and
Pawel Edelman for “Ray.”
Although not quite as established as the American Society of
Cinematographers Awards, Visual Effects Society (VES) President Eric Roth shared
his excitement about the VES’s growing presence. “We are thrilled,” say Roth
“with the Caliber of talent represented by this year’s nominees. This year marks
a significant increase in submissions for the VES Awards, which demonstrates the
tremendous growth in awareness and visibility we are enjoying as an
organization.”
Award nominations were announced in January and included
LA411 listees Jerry and Jo Steele of Steele VFX for their work on the Duran
Duran Music Video for “What Happens Tomorrow.”
We’d like to congratulate all of our nominated listees!
