Robert Elswit
| Robert Elswit | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert Christopher Elswit April 22, 1950[1] California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Known for |
Good Night, and Good Luck There Will Be Blood |
| Title | ASC |
| Awards |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography CBS Schoolbreak Special: The War Between The Classes 1986 Academy Award for Best Cinematography There Will Be Blood 2008 ASC Award There Will Be Blood 2007 Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography Good Night, and Good Luck 2005 |
Robert Christopher Elswit, ASC (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer. He has had multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit nominations for several films, including winning for There Will Be Blood (2007). Elswit frequently works with director Paul Thomas Anderson.[2]
Life and career
Elswit was born in California. An early short film he worked on, was a 1982 TV adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short story 'All Summer in a Day'.
Elswit is a fierce defender of shooting with film, and whenever possible refuses to use digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he says, have "no texture, no grain."[3]
Elswit has also worked with director George Clooney several times. He shot Clooney's black and white, multiple-Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. Notably, Elswit shot the film in color, then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, this technique preserved the subtlety of the colors (as complex shades of blacks and greys) and made the overall look much richer in the final film.[4]
Elswit received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography in 2006 for his work on the movie Good Night, and Good Luck. He lost that Oscar to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. Two years later, Elswit would again be nominated and this time win the Oscar for Best Cinematography, for his work on There Will Be Blood.[5]
Elswit has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence. Elswit is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant in the 1970s.
Filmography
Awards and Nominations
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (won)
American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2008: There Will Be Blood
Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
CableACE Award for Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction for a Dramatic or Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries
- 1988: Long Gone (nominated)
Camerimage Golden Frog Award
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2014: Inherent Vice (nominated)
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- 1986: CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984)
(For episode "The War Between The Classes")
Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Inherent Vice (nominated)
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 1998: Sydney (nominated)
International Online Cinema Awards for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Best Cinematography
- 2009: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (2nd place)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (2nd place)
- 2003: Punch-Drunk Love (3rd place)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (2nd place)
New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Nightcrawler
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (2nd place)
Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
- 2015: Inherent Vice (nominated)
- 2010: Salt (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
St. Louis Film Critics Association
- 2014: Nightcrawler (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Nightcrawler
References
- ↑ Robert Elswit - Biography. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7th, 2010.
- ↑ Eugene Hernandez, "Decade: Paul Thomas Anderson on 'There Will Be Blood'," indieWIRE (December 24, 2009) Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- ↑ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck," StudioDaily (January 1, 2006) Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck," StudioDaily (January 1, 2006) Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ Robert Elswit - Awards. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7th, 2010.