American Society of Cinematographers Announces Television Nominees

Fourteen cinematographers are vying for top honors in the threetelevision categories of the 18th Annual American Society ofCinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards competition.Winners will be named at the ASC Awards gala on Feb. 8, at the CenturyPlaza Hotel.

Nominees for the episodic television category are John Aronson for“Dead Wives Club”/Crossing Jordan (NBC), Thomas A.Del Ruth, ASC for “7AWF83429”/The West Wing (NBC),Jeffrey Jur, ASC for “Pick A Number”/Carnivale(HBO), Chris Manley for “Dr. Germ”/Threat Matrix(ABC), and Eric Schmidt for “Time to Hate”/Cold Case(CBS).

Nominations in the TV movie/miniseries/pilot category in the basiccable or pay television competition are Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC forAngels in America (HBO), Michael Mayers for The PentagonPapers (FX), Donald M. Morgan, ASC for Out of the Ashes(Showtime), Tami Reiker for the Carnivale pilot (HBO), andAshley Rowe, BSC for Tennessee Williams’ The Roman Spring ofMrs. Stone (Showtime).

Nominees in the TV movie/miniseries/pilot category for networktelevision are Pierre Gill, CSC for Hitler: The Rise of Evil(CBS), Ernest Holzman, ASC for “The Calling/Miracles pilot(ABC), Michael Mayers for The Lyon’s Den pilot (NBC), BillRoe, ASC for the Las Vegas pilot (NBC), and Eric Van HarenNoman, ASC for Brush With Fate (CBS).

“Our juries saw a lot of very special work in allcategories,” says ASC Awards committee chairman Owen Roizman,ASC. “It isn’t easy selecting nominees because thedecisions are subjective. We are judging how effectively images conveystories. The votes were so close that there could have been seven oreight nominees in each category.”

Mayers’ two nominations mark only the fourth time acinematographer has been double-nominated in the 18-year history of theawards. It is the eighth nomination for Del Ruth who has four wins, thesixth for Roe who has two wins, the fifth for Morgan who has four wins,the fourth for Van Haren Noman, the third for Goldblatt and Holzman whohas one win, and the second each for Gill and Jur who took top prize.There are five first-time nominees.

NBC programs lead the pack with four nominations, HBO and CBS eachhave three, both Showtime and ABC have two, and the FX Network earnedone.

ASC President Richard Crudo notes that this is one of the fewcompetitions for television cinematography where judging is done solelyby peers.

“Great cinematography is generally designed to be transparentto the audience,” Crudo explains. “It’s meant toevoke emotions appropriate for the story and to create a sense of timeand place that are important sub-texts. This requires a combination ofartistic talent and technical skill and the ability to collaborate andget the work done on schedule, usually within restrictive budgets. Itgenerally takes a cinematographer to recognize thoseattributes.”

The American Society of Cinematographers is the oldest organizationof its type in the motion picture industry. It was founded in Hollywoodin 1919 by 15 cinematographers who were dedicated to advancing the artand craft of a new art form. There are currently 215 members andanother 135 associate members who work in ancillary businesses. Foradditional information about the 18th Annual ASC OutstandingAchievement Awards visit www.theASC.com or call (323)969-4333.