Norman Jewison Will Receive ASC Board of Governors Award

LOS ANGELES-- Norman Jewison will receive the American Society ofCinematographers (ASC) Board of Governors Award, which is presentedannually to an individual who has made a significant and enduringimpression on the art of filmmaking. The Board of Governors Award isthe only recognition that ASC reserves exclusively for individuals whoare not cinematographers. Jewison will be feted at the 17th Annual ASCOutstanding Achievement Awards on February 16 at the Century PlazaHotel.

"Norman Jewison is a complete filmmaker who is creating anextraordinary body of work," says Owen Roizman, ASC, chairman of theAwards Committee. "His films range from dark and intense dramas touplifting fantasies and musicals produced for both television andcinema release. The common denominator is that he always touches yourheart and soul."

Jewison has earned Oscar nominations for directing In the Heat ofthe Night (1967), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) andMoonstruck (1987). He also produced The Russians are Coming,The Russians are Coming (1966), Fiddler on the Roof, ASoldier's Story (1984) and Moonstruck, which were nominatedfor Oscars in the Best Picture category.

"Norman Jewison is a consummate artist with unique sensibilities forvisual storytelling," says ASC President Steven Poster. "He has aninstinct for recognizing talent and bringing the best out of everyonewho collaborates with him."

A long list of cinematographers who worked with Jewison havesubsequently earned ASC Lifetime Achievement Awards. The list includesHaskell Wexler, ASC (In the Heat of the Night, The ThomasCrown Affair, Other People's Money), Joe Biroc, ASC (TheRussians Are Coming), Philip Lathrop, ASC (The CincinnatiKid), Sven Nykvist, ASC (Agnes of God), Laszlo Kovacs, ASC(F.I.S.T.) and Victor J. Kemper, ASC (And Justice forAll). Jack Cardiff, BSC (Dogs of War, Jesus ChristSuperstar), Doug Slocombe, BSC (Rollerball) and OzzieMorris, BSC (Fiddler on the Roof) were recipients of the ASCInternational Achievement Award.

Jewison's films have collected 12 Academy Awards and 46 nominations.In 1999, he received the Irving B. Thalberg Award from the Academy ofMotion Picture Arts & Sciences. His television credits range fromthe 1960s classics Your Hit Parade, The Andy WilliamsShow and The Judy Garland Show to such artful contemporarytelefilms as Walter and Henry and Dinner WithFriends.

Roizman also cites Jewison's leadership in nurturing the nextgeneration of filmmakers in Canada. In 1986, Jewison established theCanadian Film Centre, which provides promising young filmmakers withopportunities to hone their art and craft. Jewison was born in Toronto,where he played his first role on the stage at age five. He performedin and staged dramas and musical comedies while studying at MalvernCollegiate Institute. His education was interrupted during World War IIwhen Jewison served in the Canadian Royal Navy. After the war, hecompleted his education at Victoria College, in Toronto, where heearned a bachelor's degree in arts in 1949. Jewison supported himselffor several months after graduation by driving a taxi whileoccasionally performing as an actor on the stage and radio. He spentthe next two years in London participating in a work/study program as awriter-actor for the BBC-TV. After completing that program, Jewisonreturned to Toronto, where he spent seven years writing, directing andproducing TV musicals, dramas, comedy-variety shows and specials forthe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He moved to New York in 1958,where he directed television series and specials for CBS for about fouryears. Jewison earned his first credit as a film director some 40 yearsago for a 1962 comedy called 40 Pounds of Trouble.

Previous recipients of the ASC Board of Governors Award include suchlegends as Gregory Peck, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, WarrenBeatty, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Wise, Sally Field,Jodie Foster, Fay Kanin, Stanley Donen, Sheldon Leonard and criticCharles Champlin.

The ASC was chartered in January 1919 for the purpose of advancingthe art and craft of filmmaking. There are some 230 members today, andanother 100 associate members from allied disciplines. For informationabout ASC and the 17th Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards, visit theASC website (www.theasc.com).