ASC Cites Five Feature Nominees

Michael Ballhaus, ASC ("Gangs of New York"), Pawel

Edelman ("The Pianist"), Conrad Hall, ASC ("Road to Perdition"), Ed Lachman, ASC

("Far From Heaven") and Rodrigo Prieto, ASC ("Frida") claimed nominations in the

feature film category of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)

Outstanding Achievement Awards competition. The winner will be named at the

17th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards gala at the Century Plaza

Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 16.





This is the fifth ASC Award nomination for Hall, who passed away on Jan.

4. Hall took top honors for "Tequila Sunrise" (1988), "Searching for Bobby

Fischer" (1993) and "American Beauty" (1999). These are the first nominations

in the annual competition for Ballhaus, Edelman, Lachman and Prieto.





"The truth is that there is no easy or exact way to judge artistic

achievements in cinematography, because it is a subjective and collaborative

art form," says Owen Roizman, ASC, chairman of the awards committee. "These

five amazingly talented artists were selected by their peers in ASC based on

how effectively their images tell stories. I can assure you that it wasn't

an easy decision, because many cinematographers displayed an incredible

range of talent that contributed to the success of last year's films."





In each instance, Roizman says, the cinematographer

was nominated because they succeeded in creating images that accentuated

compelling stories.





"Most movie fans and even critics tend to look for striking or beautiful

pictures when they judge cinematography," Roizman says. "How often have you

read a review that said, 'The photography was gorgeous.' The truth is that

great cinematography is usually transparent and non-obtrusive. It's

something you feel rather than see. When our members judge artful

cinematography, they dig beneath the surface and look at how nuances in

colors, textures, light, shadows, movement and composition serve the story."





The organization's Outstanding Achievement Awards competition was

inaugurated in 1986 for the purpose of recognizing and inspiring artistic

achievements in cinematography. The first competition was a modest event

hosted by Gregory Peck with fewer than 100 people in the audience. Jordan

Cronenweth won the first award for "Peggy Sue Got Married."





Crudo points out that the ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards are unique in

that the nominees and ultimate winners are chosen solely by their peers. He

says that it generally takes a peer to recognize and judge how subtleties in

images accentuate performances and provide a sense of place and time.

The annual ASC awards have proven to be a reliable precursor of the Academy

Awards in the cinematography category. Almost 90 percent of the finalists in

the ASC competition have also earned Oscar nominations. Four of the past

seven ASC Outstanding Achievement Award winners also took home Oscars.





The awards ceremonies will be preceded by an open house and Internet chat

with the nominees on Sat., Feb. 15. For additional information about

the ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards visit www.theasc.com.