The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has named Terry McCarthy as CEO of the organization. In this newly created role, McCarthy is responsible for all business matters relating to the Society, including events, educational efforts, and publishing.
With more than 30 years of experience in journalism, McCarthy is a four-time Emmy® winner and recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award. He also brings extensive non-profit management experience to the ASC, having previously served as president of the American Academy in Berlin, and prior to that as president and CEO of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
“Terry’s exceptional background in media and global relationship building will help to guide our ongoing outreach and visibility, and expand our publishing and web activities,” said Kees van Oostrum, ASC president. “Our mission is to drive cinematography into the future, steering the conversations around modern image making. The Society and its members are uniquely able to play an important role in maintaining the intentions of filmmakers amidst an expansive landscape of new tools and distribution platforms.”
McCarthy has traveled throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America as a reporter, covering political, military and societal issues for TIME magazine, ABC News and CBS News. He speaks six languages–English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
McCarthy said, “The entire industry is going through a period of creative disruption. Cinematographers, with one foot in the artistic side and one foot in the technology side, are perfectly placed to play a major role in determining how movies, television and even video games will look in the future. The ASC will shape this discussion through our educational efforts both with our Master Classes, technology committees and public talks at the Clubhouse, as well as in the pages of our magazine, American Cinematographer.”
On the heels of announcing ASC’s associate membership with IMAGO (the International Federation of Cinematographers), van Oostrum highlights ambitious plans for the ASC moving into 2020. “We plan to further expand our international sessions of the popular ASC Master Classes. We will also program and host our biennial International Summit in June.”
McCarthy added that there will be special events throughout the year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of American Cinematographer. “This magazine continues to have iconic status, and by the end of this year we will have every one of its 1,200 issues available in a searchable online database–a real treasure trove of 100 years of cinematography!”
The work of several ASC Committees rounds out the Society’s commitment to advancing the art of cinematography, including the Motion Imaging Technology Council, Vision Committee, and Education and Outreach group.
The ASC comprises over 400 members around the world, with over 200 associate members working in allied sectors of the industry.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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