Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, Jonathan Freeman, ASC, Michael Weaver, ASC, and Martin Ruhe claimed top honors in the four competitive categories at the 26th annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards held tonight at the Hollywood & Highland Grand Ballroom.
Lubezki won the ASC Award for feature film excellence on the strength of The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick. In his acceptance remarks, Lubezki thanked his crew as well as Malick, whom he described as “my friend, my teacher and one of my favorite directors.”
This is the second career ASC Award win for Lubezki who first earned the honor in 2007 for Children of Men. He was also nominated in 2000 for Sleepy Hollow.
Lubezki topped a field of ASC feature nominees which also consisted of Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Robert Richardson, ASC, for Hugo, Guillaume Schiffman, AFC, for The Artist, and Hoyte van Hoytema, FSF, NSC, for Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy.
The ASC win puts Lubezki deeper into the Academy Award conversation as he too is nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar as are Cronenweth, Richardson, Schiffman, and Janusz Kaminski for War Horse.
TV winners
For the second consecutive year, Freeman won the ASC Award for an episode of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire–the latest for an installment titled “21,” which took the Television Episodic Series/Pilot category for one-hour shows. This marks the third career ASC win for Freeman who took home an award back in 2005 for Homeland Security.
This year the ASC added a TV Episodic Series/Pilot category for half-hour shows, the inaugural winner being Michael Weaver for Showtime’s Californication episode titled “Suicide Solution.” This was Weaver’s first career win and nomination.
Another first time ASC Award nominee and winner was Ruhe for PBS’ Page Eight which topped the TV Movie/Miniseries category.
Special awards
Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC, received the 2012 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award. He has compiled more than 60 credits to date, shooting for such notable directors as Bruce Beresford, Garry Marshall, Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson.
Spinotti collaborated with the latter on L.A. Confidential in 1997 which led to the DP’s first Oscar nomination, followed by a second nom for the Michael Mann-directed The Insider in 2000. Both those films also earned Spinotti ASC Award nominations, with an additional nod from ASC for The Last of the Mohicans.
Also garnering special honors during the ASC gala ceremony were actor Harrison Ford, William Wages, ASC, Francis Kenny, ASC, and Fred Godfrey.
Ford earned the ASC Board of Governors Award in recognition of his body of work and contributions to the art of filmmaking.
Wages won the Career Achievement in Television Award. He has bee nominated for two Emmy Awards and eight ASC Awards, winning twice. One of his first major narrative credits was Resting Place, the first of many Hallmark Hall of Fame productions Wages would photograph. In 1988, Gore Vidal’s Lincoln was nominated for an ASC award, with additional nods for Caroline?, Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase, I’ll Fly Away (pilot), The Moving of Sophia Myles, and Miss Lettie and Me. Wages won consecutive ASC Awards in 1997 and ’98 for Riders of the Purple Sage and Buffalo Soldiers, respectively.
Buffalo Soldiers also earned an Emmy nomination, as did Into the West in 2006. Wages became a member of the ASC in 1992 and counts more than 50 narrative TV projects, commercials and documentaries among his credits.
Meanwhile the Presidents Award was bestowed upon Kenny. The honor is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the art form and to the progression of the ASC. Kenny began his career as a documentary filmmaker. His 50 credits as a cinematographer include the feature films Heathers, New Jack City, She’s All That, and Jason’s Lyric. His documentary credits include films shot throughout the world ranging from Afghanistan to the North Sea. Kenny is currently DP on the FX television series Justified. He became a member of the ASC in 1998. He has been the ASC membership chairman for the past 10 years and is also serving his second term on the ASC board of directors.
And Godfrey became the first recipient of the ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking. The late Burton “Bud” Stone was president of Deluxe laboratories in Hollywood from 1976 until 1994. He was a founding member of the ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards and served as chairman for 17 years.
Godfrey’s film industry career began in a Hollywood warehouse, where Kodak motion picture film was stored. Within a few years, that led to an opportunity for Godfrey to become a customer service representative at the Kodak motion picture office in Hollywood. He served as a liaison between cinematographers and the film manufacturer until he retired in 1986. Godfrey is an associate member of ASC, and ws also on the committee that planned the first and subsequent ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards.
