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Dear Colleague:
Here's an advance look at the March 2006 issue
of American Cinematographer magazine,
which will have a special focus on indie productions
and “shooting on a shoestring.”
Tsotsi
(Miramax Films)
This South African drama details a few days in the
life of a young gangster who becomes the reluctant custodian
of a newborn boy after a carjacking attempt goes badly
awry. Adapted from Athol Fugard's novel by director/writer
Gavin Hood, the film was shot by Lance Gewer, who has
worked on film and television projects in South Africa
for 20 years. “I'd read Fugard's book when it was first
published and had always thought it would make a great
film,” Gewer says. “The story is set in a world of contrast:
love and hate, wealth and poverty, revenge and forgiveness,
anger and compassion. The challenge was about getting
to know the main character, an antihero, so well that
you eventually start seeing yourself in him, even though
he appears to be very different from you.” An audience
favorite at the AFI, Toronto and Edinburgh film festivals,
Tsotsi was South Africa's submission for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2005.
It will be released in major U.S. cities on Feb. 24.
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
(Paramount Classics)
Ellen Kuras, ASC supervised a team of top cinematographers
while shooting this Neil Young concert film for director
Jonathan Demme (who previously made his mark in the
genre with the innovative 1984 Talking Heads performance
film Stop Making Sense). The filmmakers strove
to take a fresh approach to the concert-film format
while shooting footage of Young performing over two
nights at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Kuras will discuss
the striking results, as well as the logistics involved
in coordinating a large crew of crack camerapeople.
The Notorious Bettie Page
(Picturehouse)
W. Mott Hupfel III was behind the camera on
this stylishly shot biopic, which presents the life
story of 1950s pin-up model Bettie Page, who became
a famous American sex icon — and the target of a Senate
investigation after posing for a series of bondage photos.
Collaborating with director Mary Harron (I Shot Andy
Warhol, American Psycho), Hupfel mixed film
stocks to create a range of different looks, from home-movie
style to an eye-catching simulation of 1950s Technicolor.
Director Sydney Pollack, the recipient of this
year’s Board of Governors Award at the annual ASC Awards
ceremony, will be profiled in a piece analyzing some
of the highlights from his memorable career as an A-list
producer, director and actor. Pollack earned a pair
of Academy Awards in 1986 as both producer and director
of Out of Africa; he previously garnered two
Oscar nominations in 1983 (as producer and director
of Tootsie) and a nomination for Best Director
in 1970 (for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?).
His other memorable credits as a filmmaker include
Three Days of the Condor, Absence of Malice
and The Interpreter.
The making of the classic British film Black
Narcissus will be the focus of a historical
article penned by Robert S. Birchard, who recently interviewed
the film’s influential cinematographer, Jack Cardiff,
BSC. The renowned British cameraman, who earned
an Academy Award for his work on the classic 1947 film,
will share his creative methods and memories of his
collaboration with director Michael Powell. Over the
course of his long and illustrious career, Cardiff also
earned Oscar nominations for his work on War and
Peace, Sons and Lovers and Fanny.
In 1994, he earned the ASC International Award, and
in 2001, he received an honorary Oscar for his indelible
contributions to cinema.
The March issue's departments will also offer
illuminating insights:
DVD Playback will present reviews of three visually
stunning films that have been lovingly restored for
home viewing: Lifeboat (1944), shot by
Glen MacWilliams, ASC; The Tales of Hoffmann
(1951), shot by Christopher Challis, BSC; and The
Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970), shot by
Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC.
Production Slate will include coverage of two
inventive independent films: Trail of the Screaming
Forehead, shot by Kevin Jones, and Formosa,
shot by Tyler Oliver.
Points East will present an overview of Roller
Palace, a student project shot in high-definition
video by a group of Boston University undergraduates.
Short Takes will present a look at The
Big Empty, a short film shot by esteemed ASC
cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, whose feature credits
include Three Kings, X-Men and Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind.
Post Focus will explore new distribution
options for independent films, and detail the innovative
postproduction techniques that were used on the indie
production Katiebird.
ASC Close-Up will present a Q&A profile of Society
member M. David Mullen, who has contributed stunning
cinematography to a number of memorable indie films,
including Twin Falls Idaho and Northfork.
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