Stephen Campanelli and Andrew Mitchell claimed top honors in the two competitive categories at the 2012 Society of Camera Operators (SOC) Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards celebration in the Leonard H. Goldenson Theater at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Feb. 19.
Campanelli won Feature Film Camera Operator of the Year for J. Edgar and Mitchell won Television Camera Operator of the Year for his work on Glee.
Campanelli was previously nominated for Hereafter in 2011 and The Changeling in 2009. The other nominees in the feature film category were Will Arnot (The Help), Mitch Dubin (Warhorse), Peter Rosenfeld (Cowboys and Aliens), and P. Scott Sakamoto (The Defendants).
Mitchell’s win for Glee marked his first nomination in the category. The other nominees in the Television category were Grayson Austin (Memphis Beat), Greg Collier (Bones), Simon Jayes (True Blood), and Chris Tufty (The Closer).
Earlier in the night, Campanelli presented the SOC Board of Governors Award to four-time Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood in recognition of his contribution to the art and craft of filmmaking, his vast body of work and his respect for the many contributions that a camera operator brings to every production. Eastwood and Campanelli have worked together on every Eastwood film from Bridges of Madison County to J. Edgar –a collaboration lasting over 18 years.
The SOC Lifetime Achievement Award for Camera Operating was given to Paul Babin. Known for working with top directors such as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson and James Cameron, Babin added his technical and artistic contributions to an array of films including The Abyss, Always, Fearless, True Lies, The Rainmaker and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
The SOC’s celebration of the camera operator’s vital role on the set now begins at the college level. With its first College Camera Operator of the Year award, the SOC took the lead in honoring student productions that utilize a full time camera operator. The SOC honored Petr Cikhart (American Film Institute) for his work on The Skull Cap.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More