Reed Morano

Reed Morano (born April 15, 1977) is an American cinematographer and director. Morano was invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers in 2013, making her the youngest member and one of only 14 women in an organization of approximately 345 active members.^[1] Reed is known for her cinematography on feature films such as Kill Your Darlings,^[2] The Skeleton Twins,^[3] and Frozen River,^[4] all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2015, Morano made her directorial debut with her feature film Meadowland, starring Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and John Leguizamo.^[5]

Early life

Morano attended New York University and graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts Film and TV program in 2000.^[6] She later returned to NYU as an adjunct cinematography professor and co-instructed the first Advanced Television classes offered.

Career

Cinematography

Morano's cinematography has appeared regularly at the Sundance film festival beginning in 2008 with Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury prize^[7] and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (best actress for Melissa Leo and Best Screenplay)^[8] and seven Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture;^[9] Morano’s work on the film was the subject of an article in American Cinematographer.^[10]

In 2011, Little Birds, shot by Morano, directed by Elgin James, and starring Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker, premiered at the festival.^[11] The following year, two films shot by Morano premiered including a feature-length documentary about the band LCD Soundsystem, Shut Up and Play the Hits,^[12] and So Yong Kim’s For Ellen, starring Paul Dano.^[13]

In 2013, Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the beat poets set in 1943, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen, Kyra Sedgwick, David Cross, and Jennifer Jason Leigh premiered at Sundance,^[14] as well as the Toronto^[15] and Venice film festivals,^[16] and was released theatrically that fall.^[17] Also in 2013 and shot by Morano, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, premiered at the festival^[18] and theatrically released;^[19] the drama stars Jennifer Hudson, Anthony Mackie, and Jeffrey Wright.

In 2014, two feature films shot by Morano premiered; The Skeleton Twins,^[20] a dark comedy starring Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell, directed by Craig Johnson,^[21] and Mark Jackson’s War Story, a dark drama filmed in Sicily starring Catherine Keener and Sir Ben Kingsley both premiered at Sundance in 2014.^[22]

Other theatrical premieres of 2014 included the cult drama, Autumn Blood, which was shot in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria on 35mm and 65mm and stars Sophie Lowe and Peter Stormare.^[23] Also premiering in 2014 was Rob Reiner’s latest feature, And So It Goes, starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton^[24] (this is Morano's second feature with Reiner following her work as cinematographer on The Magic of Belle Isle (2012) which stars Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen).^[25]

2014 also marked the premiere of the first season of HBO’s original series Looking, lensed by Morano and directed by Andrew Haigh (Weekend).^[26] Currently, Morano is in production on another upcoming HBO series being produced by Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter and Mick Jagger.^[27]

Morano is currently leading the charge on a movement to control motion interpolation aka “the soap opera effect” on our HDTVs; Reed’s change.org petition is supported by almost 11,000 signatures and has gained momentum, attracting the attention of both the film and technology communities.

Morano's thoughts on the digital revolution and how it has affected filmmaking were featured in Keanu Reeves’ acclaimed documentary Side by Side.^[28]

Directing

In the summer of 2014, Morano began production on her first feature as both the director and DP; the dark drama Meadowland stars Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Juno Temple, John Leguizamo, Mark Feuerstein, Scott Mescudi and Merritt Wever.^[29] While directing, Morano also served as the DP on the film, which premiered in the dramatic competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, 2015.^[30]

Filmography

Awards

In 2011, Morano was honored at the Women in Film and Television International's Crystal + Lucy awards with the 2011 Kodak Vision Award.^[31] In the same year, she was named one of Variety’s “10 Cinematographers to Watch”.^[32] Morano has also been featured as one of Ioncinema.com’s “American New Wave 25″^[33] and one of five innovative cinematographers in ICG Magazine’s “Generation Next” spotlight.^[34]

Later in 2012, Morano's work was featured in Indiewire’s “On the Rise ’12: 5 Cinematographers Lighting Up Screens in Recent Years.”^[35] Indiewire has also featured Morano as a “Heroine of Cinema” in both 2011 and 2013. Also in 2012, Morano was featured in Kodak’s long-running OnFilm series.

In 2015, Morano was honored at the Fusion Film Festival and named their 2015 Woman of the Year.^[36]

Personal

Morano currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Matt, and their two sons.^[37] Reed’s son Casey, played Olivia and Luke’s son in Meadowland.^[38]

References

External links

• Official website
• Reed Morano at the Internet Movie Database
• Reed Morano on Twitter
  
• Reed Morano on Instagram