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And the ASC Feature Film Nominees are… Boyd, Lesnie, Schwartzman, Seale and Toll Top List Our List of TV Nominees Russell Boyd, ACS (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), Andrew Lesnie, ACS (The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), John Schwartzman, ASC (Seabiscuit), John Seale, ASC, ACS (Cold Mountain), and John Toll, ASC (The Last Samurai) have earned nominations in the Feature Film category of the 18th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards competition. The winner will be named at the awards gala on Feb. 8 at the Century Plaza Hotel. Click here for all of the Feature Film nominee bios. “According to their peers, these five outstanding filmmakers have set the highest standards for artistic excellence in feature film cinematography during the past year,” says Owen Roizman, ASC, chairman of the organization’s awards committee. “It wasn’t an easy decision because many cinematographers displayed an incredible range of talent and skill that contributed to the success of films last year.” Roizman notes that the finalists were nominated for films that ranged from pure fantasy and legends to depictions of history. He says that the nominees all demonstrated extraordinary abilities to create a sense of place and time, and to visually punctuate moods and other emotional content. “There is no easy or precise way to judge artistic achievements in cinematography because it is a subjective and collaborative art form,” Roizman says. “Many people equate strikingly beautiful pictures with artful cinematography, but that isn’t necessarily true. Great motion pictures can also be dark and the images can be ugly and menacing. One common denominator is that artful cinematography is transparent to audiences. It has more to do with the emotions they evoke than what the audience sees.” Toll previously won the ASC Outstanding Achievement Award for Braveheart (1996) and The Thin Red Line (1999), and was nominated for Legends of the Fall (1995). Seale took top ASC honors for The English Patient (1997) with additional nominations for Rain Man (1989) and The Perfect Storm (2001). Lesnie and Schwartzman each previously earned an ASC nomination in 2002 for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and Pearl Harbor, respectively. This is Boyd’s first nomination. “The ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards were inaugurated in 1986 for the purpose of recognizing excellence in cinematography,” says ASC President Richard Crudo. “That event was consistent with our historic mission. The 15 charter members who formed the ASC in 1919 literally invented an art form. They were committed to creating lasting images that would help transport audiences to imaginary worlds. Carrying on in their wake, we are committed to keeping their dream alive for future generations.” The 18th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards gala will be preceded by an open house at our clubhouse and by an Internet chat, both on Feb. 7. For more information about those events and/or the ASC Awards, visit our Awards page. Russell Boyd, ACS photo by Douglas Kirkland Andrew Lesnie, ACS John Schwartzman, ASC photo by Douglas Kirkland John Seale, ASC, ACS photo by Douglas Kirkland John Toll, ASC photo by Douglas Kirkland

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