Jack Green will receive the American Society of Cinematographers 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration in February. “Jack Green has earned the respect of his peers with an extraordinary body of work that is constantly evolving ” says ASC president Daryn Okada. “His innovative cinematography has inspired other filmmakers to follow their dreams and explore new frontiers in visual storytelling. This recognition is an expression of our appreciation for what he has achieved but we are certain that the best is yet to come.” Photo credit: Douglas Kirkland Green earned an Oscar nomination for Unforgiven in 1993 and an ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nomination for The Bridges of Madison County in 1996. He has compiled around 40 cinematography credits beginning with Heartbreak Ridge in 1986 and subsequently including 11 films with Clint Eastwood as director. Some of his memorable work includes Bird The Dead Pool White Hunter Black Heart A Perfect World Twister Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Girl Interrupted Space Cowboys and the popular contemporary films 50 First Dates The 40 Year Old Virgin and My Best Friend’s Girl. Green began his cinematography career as an assistant cameraman on 16mm film projects including industrial films National Geographic specials and other documentaries and commercials. He was also a stringer on ABC Television network news crews. His assignments included covering the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst the Black Panther trials and the assassination of Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968. Green moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and spent the next 11 years working as an assistant and operator with an array of world-class cinematographers including William A. Fraker Donald M. Morgan Ric Waite Harry Stradling Jr. Bruce Surtees Michael Watkins and Rex Metz. “I can’t say enough about the impact all of those cinematographers and others had on my life and career ” says Green. “I was an operator for Bruce (Surtees) on Pale Rider (in 1985). When he lit a set it was like watching a painter create a work of art. After four more films operating for Bruce he told Clint Eastwood I was ready to move up to cinematographer.” Green joins a formidable list of legendary cinematographers who were previous recipients of this recognition including George Folsey Joseph Biroc Stanley Cortez Charles Lang Jr. Phil Lathrop Haskell Wexler Conrad L. Hall Gordon Willis Sven Nykvist Owen Roizman Victor J. Kemper Vilmos Zsigmond Fraker Vittorio Storaro Laszlo Kovacs Bill Butler Michael Chapman Fred Koenekamp Richard Kline Allen Daviau and Stephen H. Burum. “Cinematography is an art but it is also a craft ” Green says. “It’s like learning to mix paints to get just the right colors. You aren’t just creating looks. You are helping to tell the story by creating moods. I don’t believe in playing it safe. I would rather work on the edge and trust my instincts.” The American Society of Cinematographers www.theasc.com
