The Board of Governors of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has held its annual election to appoint its new slate of officers. Richard Crudo will serve as president, along with VPs Owen Roizman, Kees Van Oostrum and Lowell Peterson; treasurer Victor J. Kemper; secretary Fred Goodich; and sergeant-at-arms Isidore Mankofsky.
The members of the Board, elected in May by the organization’s active membership, include: Curtis Clark, Dean Cundey, George Spiro Dibie, Richard Edlund, Fred Elmes, Francis Kenny, Matthew Leonetti, Stephen Lighthill, Michael O’Shea, Rodney Taylor and Haskell Wexler. Alternate Board members consist of Kenneth Zunder, Steven Fierberg, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, and Sol Negrin.
“I am honored to have another opportunity to serve this great organization,” said Crudo, who previously served three terms as ASC president from 2003 through 2005. “Our 94-year history makes us the longest standing group in the motion picture industry. As always, we will be aggressively promoting our art and craft, as well as the related interests of cinematographers everywhere.”
The ASC carries out its mission of inspiring the next generation of filmmakers through many industry events and initiatives, such as its Student Heritage Awards, Breakfast Club seminars, panel discussions by their Education and Outreach committee, the burgeoning Friends of the ASC membership level, and the org’s ongoing collaborations with other industry associations vital to the image-making process.
“I want to thank Stephen Lighthill for his hard work and dedication during the past term,” Crudo added. “We operate in an astonishingly fast-moving world, and I look forward to working with him and the other Board members as we expand our efforts on all fronts, from pre-visualization through post-production and image delivery.”
Crudo is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving as an Academy governor and chairman of the Cinematographers Branch. In addition, he has chaired and co-chaired the ASC Awards for several years throughout the past decade.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Crudo began his film career as an assistant cameraman. As a director of photography, he has shot a wide range of feature, television and commercial productions. Among his feature credits are Federal Hill, American Buffalo, American Pie, Music From Another Room, Outside Providence, Down To Earth, Out Cold, Grind, Brooklyn Rules, and My Sexiest Year. He has also directed several independent films, and currently shares cinematography duties with Francis Kenny, ASC on the popular FX Channel series Justified.
ASC was founded in 1919. There are 330-plus active members today who have national roots in some 20 countries. There are also 150 associate members from ancillary segments of the industry.
“Beatles ’64” Documentary Captures Intimate Moments From Landmark U.S. Visit
Likely most people have seen iconic footage of the Beatles performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show." But how many have seen Paul McCartney during that same U.S. trip feeding seagulls off his hotel balcony?
That moment — as well as George Harrison and John Lennon goofing around by exchanging their jackets — are part of the Disney+ documentary "Beatles '64," an intimate look at the English band's first trip to America that uses rare and newly restored footage. It streams Friday.
"It's so fun to be the fly on the wall in those really intimate moments," says Margaret Bodde, who produced alongside Martin Scorsese. "It's just this incredible gift of time and technology to be able to see it now with the decades of time stripped away so that you really feel like you're there."
"Beatles '64" leans into footage of the 14-day trip filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles, who left behind 11 hours of the Fab Four goofing around in New York's Plaza hotel or traveling. It was restored by Park Road Post in New Zealand.
"It's beautiful, although it's black and white and it's not widescreen," says director David Tedeschi. "It's like it was shot yesterday and it captures the youth of the four Beatles and the fans."
The footage is augmented by interviews with the two surviving members of the band and people whose lives were impacted, including some of the women who as teens stood outside their hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of the Beatles.
"It was like a crazy love," fan Vickie Brenna-Costa recalls in the documentary. "I can't really understand it now. But then, it was natural."
The film shows the four heartthrobs flirting and dancing at the Peppermint Lounge disco, Harrison noodling with a Woody Guthrie riff on his guitar... Read More