Dear Colleague:
Here's an advance look at the May 2005 issue
of American Cinematographer magazine,
which will highlight not only major releases, but also
independent films, including standouts from the
Sundance Film Festival.
The Interpreter (Universal)
Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC was behind the camera on this
tense thriller, in which an FBI agent (Sean Penn) is
assigned to protect a United Nations interpreter (Nicole
Kidman) who overhears an assassination plot. The production
was the first ever allowed to film within the walls
of the U.N. building, and Khondji will share many details
about the shoot, including his approach to this fascinating
location.
House of Wax (Warner Bros.)
After experiencing car troubles, a group of college
students wander into a museum overseen by a sadistic
curator, who proceeds to terrorize them with his horrifying
methods. Serving as cinematographer on this Australia-based
chiller was Stephen F. Windon, who will share his insights
(as well as detailed lighting diagrams) with the magazine.
Sundance Film Festival standouts
Each year, AC sends a team of writers to Park
City, Utah, to see as many films as possible at the
Sundance Festival. In this issue, we will spotlight
a number of cinematographers whose projects were especially
noteworthy.
Topping the list is ASC member Amelia Vincent, who
won the festival's Dramatic Cinematography Award for
her work on the audience favorite Hustle &
Flow. We will also interview Gary Griffin, who
earned the Documentary Cinematography Award for The
Education of Shelby Knox.
Other cinematographers who will be featured in this
special section include Bobby Bukowski (The Dying
Gaul); Steve Yedlin (Brick);
Lisa Rinzler (Drum); and Jo Willems (Hard
Candy).
ASC/Academy Award winners and nominees
In our annual salute to the year's best cinematography,
we will reserve space to acknowledge all of the directors
of photography who were honored at this year's ASC and
Academy Award ceremonies: Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS and Paul
Cameron (Collateral), Bruno Delbonnel,
AFC (A Very Long Engagement), Caleb Deschanel,
ASC (The Passion of the Christ), John
Mathieson, BSC (The Phantom of the Opera),
Robert Richardson, ASC (The Aviator),
Pawel Edelman, PSC (Ray) and Xiaoding
Zhao (House of Flying Daggers).
Academy Sci-Tech Awards
This piece will offer a full rundown of this year's
ingenious honorees, whose technical contributions to
filmmaking were feted during a prestigious dinner at
the Pasadena Ritz Carlton Hotel on February 12.
The May issue's departments will also offer
illuminating insights:
DVD Playback will review new DVD presentations
of shows that tell hard-hitting stories: the Deadwood
Season One box set (featuring cinematography by Lloyd
Ahern II, ASC; David Boyd; James Glennon, ASC; and Xavier
Perez Grobet; Raging Bull (1980, shot by
Michael Chapman, ASC); and New York, New York (1977,
shot by Laszlo Kovacs, ASC).
Production Slate will open with a piece on Brothers,
another standout from this year's Sundance Film Festival
that was shot by Danish cinematographer Morten S?.
We will also cover Little Athens,
a low-budget indie project that cinematographer Lisa Wiegand
shot with a mixture of Super 35 and 16mm and fine-tuned
with a digital intermediate.
Points East will reveal the unique methods that
were used on the film Murderball,
which also screened at this year's Sundance festival.
Cinematographer Henry Alex Rubin used creative means
to help chronicle the brutal sport of quad rugby, which
is played by quadriplegics in metal-plated wheelchairs.
Short Takes will present an interview with promising
cinematographer Paul James Raval, who recently earned
the ASC Heritage Award for student filmmaking.
Post Focus will offer insights on taking DV
footage to film; posting a project in "do it yourself"
fashion; and using time code to create cost savings
and efficiency.
