Feature and commercial DP Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS capped an amazing awards season this week, winning the best cinematography Oscar for Memoirs of a Geisha. This came on the heels of Beebe’s work on the film earning a BAFTA Award and then the top honor in the feature film competition at the 20th annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards.
It was the first ASC Award and second ASC nomination for Beebe, who was also nominated last year with Paul Cameron for Collateral. Beebe previously garnered Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Chicago.
Having recently wrapped the upcoming Miami Vice, Beebe reported that he is returning to commercials, to take what he described as a “necessary break” from features and to allow more time with his family.
At press time, he had just lensed a Ford campaign, directed by John Dolan of bicoastal Anonymous Content. And on the eve of the ASC Awards, Beebe served as DP on USTA work for director Sunu, also of Anonymous Content.
“The great thing about commercial work is the opportunity to work in short form with a number of different directors,” Beebe told SHOOT. “Every time I work with a different director I learn new things and watch their process of interpretation.”
When asked his thoughts about the state of his art, Beebe explained that the tools have changed but the goal has not. “The tools are changing and with that, our approach to our craft changes. But we still tell a story no matter what format.”
Looking back on Geisha, Beebe said he was very proud of the effort of the crew. “We had to create a believable 1930s Japan,” he explained. “It was a complicated world to create, and the fact that we managed to create it almost entirely in California is a testament to the efforts of everyone involved.”
Beebe’s Geisha topped a field of ASC Award nominees that included Robert Elswit, ASC for Good Night, and Good Luck; Andrew Lesnie, ASC, ACS for King Kong; Wally Pfister, ASC for Batman Begins; and Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC for Brokeback Mountain.
The award was presented by actor Bill Paxton who observed, “All of the nominees have artfully rendered images that create a sense of time and place… They guided the audience under the surface, where they discovered the souls of the characters and the spirits of the stories.”
Robbie Greenberg, ASC and Nathan Hope claimed ASC Awards in the two television categories. Greenberg led the field in the television movie competition for HBO’s Warm Springs. Hope won the episodic television competition for the episode “Who Shot Sherlock?” of CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It was the fourth ASC Outstanding Achievement Award for Greenberg, and the second for Hope.
Richard Kline, ASC–who earned Oscar nominations for Camelot (1968) and King Kong (1977)–received the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award. As well, director Sydney Pollack was bestowed the Board of Governors Award; Woody Omens, ASC, the Presidents Award; documentary filmmaker Fredrick Wiseman, the Award of Distinction; and Gilbert Taylor, BSC , the International Achievement Award.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More