Robert Christopher Elswit, ASC (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer.
Robert Elswit | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Christopher Elswit April 22, 1950[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California (BFA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Title | ASC |
He has collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson from 1996 to 2014, winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for There Will Be Blood.[2]
Elswit has also collaborated with directors and screenwriters Tony and Dan Gilroy on all of the six films that either brother directed.
Early life
editElswit was born in Los Angeles.[3]
He is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant.
Elswit is also the godfather to the actor Jake Gyllenhaal.[4]
Career
editAn early short film he worked on was the 1982 television adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story All Summer in a Day.
He worked as a visual effects camera operator at John Dykstra's Apogee Productions Inc. on each film, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Empire Strikes Back and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,[5][6] before shooting made-for-television films and shows.
Elswit has been a fierce defender of shooting on film, and whenever possible avoids using digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he said, have "no texture, no grain"[7], though he started shooting digitally with Nightcrawler.
He shot his black and white, Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. He first shot the film in color, and then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, the 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.[8] His work on the film earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha.
Elswit later won the award for There Will Be Blood in 2008.[9]
He has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence.[10]
Filmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | CBS Library | Seth Pinsker Sam Weiss |
Episode "The Incredible Book Escape" |
| 1985 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Episode "The War Between the Classes" |
| 1989 | Dream Street | Mark Rosner | Episode "Pilot" |
| 1992 | Human Target | Max Tash | Episode "Pilot" |
| 1997 | Prince Street | Roger Spottiswoode | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2016 | The Night Of | Steven Zaillian | Episode "The Beach" |
| 2024 | Ripley | Miniseries[11] |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | All Summer in a Day | Ed Kaplan | |
| 1983 | Tiger Town | Alan Shapiro | |
| 1984 | A Single Light | Karl Epstein | |
| 1986 | The Children of Times Square | Curtis Hanson | |
| 1987 | A Different Affair | Noel Nosseck | |
| Long Gone | Martin Davidson | ||
| Into the Homeland | Lesli Linka Glatter | ||
| 1989 | Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White | Lawrence Schiller | |
| 1990 | A Killing in a Small Town | Stephen Gyllenhaal | |
| Steel Magnolias | Thomas Schlamme | ||
| Opposites Attract | Noel Nosseck | ||
| 1991 | Prison Stories: Women on the Inside | Donna Deitch Joan Micklin Silver |
Segments "Esperanza" and "Parole Board" |
| The Summer My Father Grew Up | Michael Tuchner | ||
| Paris Trout | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ||
| Vidiots | Howard Storm | ||
| 1992 | A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story | Martin Davidson |
Feature film
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Cadillac Dreams | Matia Karrell | |
| 1998 | Richard Lester! | Stacy Cochran | Documentary short |
| 2010 | Lost Masterpieces of Pornography | David Mamet | Video short |
| 2019 | Snowbrawl | David Leitch |
Accolades
edit| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won |
American Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Outstanding Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
Boston Society of Film Critics
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won |
British Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Golden Frog Award | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Inherent Vice | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | CBS Schoolbreak Special (For episode "The War Between The Classes") | Won |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Cinematography | Inherent Vice | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Best Cinematography | Hard Eight | Nominated |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won |
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Won |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | 2nd place |
National Society of Film Critics
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Best Cinematography | Punch-Drunk Love | 3rd place |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | 2nd place | |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | 2nd place |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Won |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Ripley (For episode "V Lucio") | Won |
San Diego Film Critics Society
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Cinematography | There Will Be Blood | 2nd place |
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Won |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Salt | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Inherent Vice | Nominated |
St. Louis Film Critics Association
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Cinematography | Good Night, and Good Luck | Nominated |
| 2007 | There Will Be Blood | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Nominated |
Other awards
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | CableACE Award | Best Cinematography | Long Gone | Nominated |
| 2007 | Austin Film Critics Association | There Will Be Blood | Won | |
| International Online Cinema Awards | Nominated | |||
| New York Film Critics Online | Won | |||
| 2014 | Utah Film Critics Association | Nightcrawler | Won |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Frost, Jacqueline B. (March 17, 2021). Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers: The Eye Behind the Lens. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN 9781000359855.
- ^ "Conversations with Jake Gyllenhaal". YouTube. 10 March 2014.
- ^ "ROBERT ELSWIT". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck - Studio Daily". Studio Daily. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "A Little More Than Luck on Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck". StudioDaily. January 2006.
- ^ Dillon, Mark (September 2022). "The Traditionalist". American Cinematographer. 103 (9). Hollywood, Los Angeles: American Society of Cinematographers: 53. ISSN 0002-7928.