John Toll, ASC, Bill Bennett, ASC and Lowell Peterson, ASC will be recognized for their contributions to the art of cinematography at the 30th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement on February 14, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Century City. Oscar winner Toll will receive the org’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Peterson will be honored with the Career Achievement in Television Award, and Bennett will take home the ASC Presidents Award.
“John, Lowell and Bill have set an extremely high bar for all of us,” said Richard Crudo, president of the ASC. “For years they each have contributed outstanding work across a variety of platforms. And of course, they’ll continue to do so. This recognition is merely the first in what I’m sure will be an avalanche of honors as time moves on.”
Toll won back-to-back Oscars for his exceptional work on Edward Zwick’s Legends of the Fall in 1995, and Mel Gibson’s Braveheart in 1996. The latter also earned the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography. Toll received a third Academy Award nomination for lensing Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line in 1999. Toll has compiled nearly 40 credits to date, collaborating with such venerable directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Carroll Ballard, Cameron Crowe, John Madden, Nancy Meyers, Lana and Andy Wachowski, Ben Affleck, Ben Stiller, and most recently with Ang Lee on the upcoming film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
Toll’s long list of memorable and award-winning films include The Rainmaker, Almost Famous, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Vanilla Sky, Gone Baby Gone, Tropic Thunder, The Adjustment Bureau, Cloud Atlas, Iron Man 3, and Jupiter Ascending. His feature film work has earned him two ASC Awards (Braveheart, The Thin Red Line), and a total of four nominations from the Society.
In 2008, Toll garnered an Emmy nomination for shooting the pilot episode of the AMC series Breaking Bad. Toll’s television credits also include the pilot of The Young Riders, for which he earned an ASC Award nomination, and the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Sense8.
Peterson, who is being honored for his achievements in television, first worked as director of photography on the popular CBS series Knots Landing, and has continued to compile an impressive list of credits on award-winning television programs. For his work on the HBO series Six Feet Under, he received an Emmy Award nomination, as well as ASC Award nominations for the telefilm Just Ask My Children, and the TV series Second Chances and Profiler. Peterson’s series credits include Jane The Virgin, The Fosters, Desperate Housewives, Moloney, Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman, and The Client. He is a member of the Television Academy’s Board of Governors. Peterson studied art and architecture at Yale University and earned a degree from the UCLA film school.
Bennett has compiled well over 1,000 television commercial credits. Known affectionately by his peers as “The Car Guy” for his innovative work on automobile spots, his list of credits by sponsor not only include the big automobile manufacturers, but also a number of the top beverage manufacturers, global communications companies, airlines, and fast food franchises. The list of elite directors Bennett has worked with includes Brent Thomas, Robert Lieberman, Gary Johns, Jeff Gorman, Bob Giraldi, David Dryer, Joe Johnston, Richard Blair, Catherine Lefebvre, Eric Saarinen, ASC, Andrew Sinagra and Terry Windell. The Presidents Award recognizes an ASC member’s remarkable body of work, combined with their devotion to the organization.
