Cinematography Prizes: ASC and Oscar

The American Society of Cinematographers recently added an very welcome category called "Spotlight" in which they note the work of DPs working in films with either very limited releases or festival only entries. It's a smart way to draw attention to work that might otherwise go unnoticed. In this new category they've nominated Lol Crawley for Childhood of a Leader (which we recently discussed), Gorka Gomez Andreu's work on the Georgian Oscar submission House of Others, Ernesto Pardo for the Mexican film Tempestad, and Juliette van Dormael's lensing of the Belgian film Mon Ange (My Angel). Why there are only 4 honorees and not the traditional 5 we do not know.

But the marquee category is of course Theatrical Motion Pictures. And here's the beauties they most loved looking at this year...

Bradford Young for Arrival
1st ASC nomination. Also his first BAFTA nomination. One previous Spirit nomination for Selma. Other key credits: A Most Violent Year, Pariah, Ain't Them Bodies Saints

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City of Link

ET First pic of Pixar's Coco though the text is greatly irritating as they seem to be very anti-musical "Don't call it a musical!"
Filmmixtape "if 2016's worst films were drag race competitors"
Playbill George S Irving, the voice of Heat-Miser for the Bankin Rass TV classic "The Year Without a Santa Claus" has died at 94. 
The Guardian why 2016 was a big year for female sexuality in film and on television 

Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds and infinite list-making after the jump...

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In Praise of Bradford Young

Chris here to spread some love for one of my below the line favorites in this year's Oscar Race. Like many of my cohorts here at The Film Experience, I am completely taken with Arrival. Director Denis Villeneuve's last two films (Sicario and Prisoners) resulted in Best Cinematography nominations for the genius Roger Deakins, but this time he partnered up with future legend Bradford Young to stunning results. If the Oscars want to reward some diversity below the line, Young is a mightily deserving talent.

Arrival seems like a fitting film to break him into the Oscar fold considering how it perfectly distills his greatest strengths: layering intimacy and the grandiose in equal measure, complimenting theme, and creating awe in the everyday. Like the film itself, his camera is only deceptively stoic with a great well of feeling underneath. Add in Arrival's many unforgettable images and fluid movement, and we have a real contender.

The cinematography branch is one of the stingiest to let in new voices, but with a major contender like Arrival he can hopefully break through. While much of his past work might have been too small for Oscar, he's been building a steady resume of immaculate work. Let's take a look back at five favorites from his work thus far...

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Tree of Life Revisited

This weekend a friend of mine invited me to join him for a screening at BAM of Terence Malick's The Tree of Life with a live orchestra. 'But that's only for silent films,' I thought. I said yes right away more to spend time with my friend than to see the film again which I had very much admired but not quite loved in 2011.

Seeing it again five years later proved unexpectedly rewarding. Perhaps it was the huge screen - the first time I'd seen it was on a tiny arthouse screen in Manhattan. Perhaps it was the live accompaniment of a huge orchestra and choir but it felt newly electric...

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Live By Night's All-Star Team

One of the advantages of opening extremely late -- though we hate to encourage it! -- is that you're fresh in the minds of voters when ballots arrive. With a film like Live By Night, which would probably not be a player next year if it had opened first quarter as originally planned (it's doing a qualifying week at Christmas) that could mean multiple nominations for its team. Ben Affleck is no fool and lined up a murderer's row of behind-the-scenes giants. Here are the most likely ways that it could affect the Oscar race...

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