Crudo Elected President of ASC

Richard Crudo, ASC has been elected president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). His supporting cast includes vice presidents John Bailey, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC and Owen Roizman, ASC. The treasurer is Robert Primes, ASC, secretary is Curtis Clark, ASC and sergeant-at-arms is John Hora, ASC.

	Richard Crudo, ASC

"It's a humbling and awesome responsibility to be chosen by my peers
for this role," says Crudo. "The ASC was founded for the purpose of
advancing an infant art form. Our predecessors were advocates for progress,
and frequently they served as guardians at the gate...protecting the
integrity of the art form from crass commercial interests. We are determined
to be true to that heritage."

Other members of the ASC Board of Directors include Stephen Burum,
ASC, Russell Carpenter, ASC, George Spiro Dibie, ASC, William Fraker, ASC,
Victor J. Kemper, ASC, "Woody" Omens, ASC, Steven Poster, ASC, Haskell
Wexler, ASC and Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. Alternate members of the Board include
Robbie Greenberg, ASC, Francis Kenny, ASC, Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Donald M.
Morgan ASC, and Dante Spinotti, ASC.

Crudo was born and raised in New York City. He has a vivid memory of
going to see "The Godfather" at an ornate movie palace when he was 15
years old. It was a magical experience that inspired his interest in
filmmaking. Three years later, Crudo enrolled at St. Johns University, where
he majored in history.

One of his instructors was a television commercial director who gave Crudo
occasional opportunities to work as a production assistant. That experience
set him on his career path. Crudo went on to earn his master's in the film
arts program at Columbia University while work simultaneously gaining
experience working on independent film crews.

He worked on independent features, documentaries, industrial films and news
magazine crews, including 60 Minutes and 20/20. During the early 1980s,
Crudo interned with Gordan Willis, ASC on "Broadway Danny Rose," "The Purple
Rose of Cairo" and "The Money Pit." He was also an assistant cameraman on the
cinematographer's TV commercial crew.

In 1989, Crudo photographed a short film for a young director named Michael
Corrente. They subsequently collaborated on the black-and-white independent
feature "Federal Hill."

"Federal" Hill was picked up for limited theatrical release. It earned good
reviews, but it caused a bigger stir when the distributor decided to
"colorize" the home video release. Crudo spoke out frequently and
passionately about the right of the audience to experience "Federal Hill" the
way it was intended to be seen. That brought Crudo and Corrente to the
attention of David Mamet who recruited them to shoot "American Buffalo." The
film was based on one of Mamet's plays. It featured Dustin Hoffman and
Dennis Franz and earned critical raves.

Crudo has compiled some 20 narrative credits, including "Music From Another
Room," "Outside Providence," "American Pie," "Down to Earth," "Bongwater" and the upcoming "The Grind."

"I know that I'm at the beginning of my career, and I am following in the
footsteps of previous ASC presidents who were great artists and legends in
the film industry," Crudo says. "That is a humbling feeling. I believe in
our heritage and the ASC's mission to inspire and recognize innovation and
artistic excellence. I believe we have a responsibility to those who paved
the way for us."

Crudo assumes his new role at a somber time with the death last week of
Conrad Hall, ASC. Crudo led a tribute to Hall at the Palm Spring Film
Festival on Saturday, where the cinematographer received a post-mortem
lifetime achievement award.

"Conrad Hall was a great artist and human being. He was an inspiration for
all of us," Crudo said. "We will dedicate ourselves to honoring his memory."

Crudo says that ASC has an ambitious agenda to fulfill. The organization
will host its 18th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration at
the Century Plaza Hotel on Sunday, February 16. Bill Butler, ASC (Jaws,
Grease, etc.) will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Other special award
recipients include Norman Jewison, Roger Ebert and Ralph Woolsey, ASC.

"This event has multiple purposes," says Crudo. "We are honoring people who
have made exceptional contributions to the artform. We are also hoping to
inspire others to persevere and follow their dreams. In many ways, our
industry is at a crossroads where critical decisions about the future are
being made. There are exciting new avenues opening for distributing
narrative films and new technologies which could prove to be interesting new
tools for telling stories on film. There are also many challenges ahead of
us if we are going to preserve the integrity and full potential of the art
form."

Crudo says that during the coming weeks ASC will announce initiatives for
outreach programs to other sectors of the industry, schools and the general
public.

ASC traces its roots to 1906 when a handful of cinematographers organized
camera clubs in New York and Los Angeles. They met informally to discuss
technical and creative issues. Crudo points out that most of the jobs
required to produce films existed in the theatre before there were movies.
Cinematographers were a major exception. They were inventing a new language
as a form of expression.

The two clubs coalesced into one organization with 16 chart members on
January 9, 1919. For information about ASC and the 18th Annual ASC
Outstanding Achievement Awards visit www.theasc.com.