Roger Deakins
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011) |
| Roger Deakins | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Roger Deakins at the 83rd Academy Awards. |
|
| Born | Roger Antony[citation needed] Deakins 24 May 1949 Torquay, Devon, England |
| Occupation | cinematographer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Employer | Often works with the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes |
| Known for | Barton Fink The Hudsucker Proxy The Shawshank Redemption Fargo The Big Lebowski O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Man Who Wasn't There A Beautiful Mind Intolerable Cruelty The Ladykillers Jarhead No Country for Old Men Revolutionary Road A Serious Man True Grit Skyfall |
| Spouse | Isabella James Purefoy Ellis[1] (1991–present) |
Roger Antony Deakins, ASC, BSC (born 24 May 1949) is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes. Deakins is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers. He received the 2011 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Deakins was born in Torquay, Devon, England, the son of Josephine (née Messum), an actress, and William Albert Deakins, a builder.[1] He attended Torquay Boys' Grammar School. While growing up in Torquay as a young adolescent, Deakins spent most of his time in and out of school focusing on his primary interest: painting. Several years later, he enrolled in the Bath School of Art and Design (in the city of Bath) where he studied graphic design. While studying in Bath, he discovered his love of still photography. As it turned out, he was a very talented photographer, and this led him be hired to create a photographic documentary of his hometown, Torquay. About a year or so later, Deakins transferred to the National Film and Television School in England.
[edit] Career
[edit] Documentaries
Shortly after graduating, Deakins found work as a cameraman, assisting in the production of documentaries in various locations abroad for approximately seven years. During this seven year stint, his first project involved a nine month trip as one of the entrants of a ‘round-the-world yacht race called, Around the World With Ridgeway. This project captured the lives and growing tensions between several of the yacht's crewmen. Deakins received high praise for his work out at sea showing the parallels between these teammates and shipmates. After completing Around the World With Ridgeway, Deakins was immediately hired by television studios to film several documentaries in Africa. His first, Zimbabwe, was a powerful and informative depiction of the genocide that had been going on there, following Zimbabwe's devastating civil war. His second African documentary, Eritrea – Behind Enemy Lines, was another depiction of conflict, this time within the borders of Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
From the time of his work in Africa until the early 1980s, Deakins continued his cinematographic and directorial work in documentaries as well as the burgeoning field of music videos. His early work as both a director and cinematographer of music videos included Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes, and the concert film, Van Morrison in Ireland. Subsequently, he worked on Towers of Babel, Sid and Nancy, The Kitchen Toto, and Pascali's Island.
[edit] Feature films
Deakins’ first feature film in America as a cinematographer was Mountains of the Moon (1990). He began his collaboration with the Coen brothers in 1991 on the film Barton Fink. Since then, Deakins has been the Coens’ main cinematic collaborator and has been their principal cinematographer.
Deakins received his first major award from the American Society of Cinematographers for his outstanding achievement in cinematography for the internationally praised major motion picture, The Shawshank Redemption. The ASC continued to honour Deakins with outstanding achievement nominations for his later works, including Fargo, Kundun, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Man Who Wasn't There, for which he won his second ASC Award. In 2008, Deakins became the first cinematographer in history to receive dual ASC nominations for his works, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men. The latter won the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography and he received Academy Award nominations for both films. In 2009, he was double-nominated for the ASC Award again for Revolutionary Road and The Reader (with Chris Menges).[3] Deakins also worked as one of the visual consultants for the Pixar animated feature WALL-E and How to Train Your Dragon from DreamWorks Animation.
Deakins has received nine nominations for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
[edit] Personal life
Deakins married script supervisor Isabella James Purefoy Ellis, professionally known as James Ellis, on 11 December 1991. His primary hobby is taking still photographs.[citation needed] Before he entered the National Film School, he spent a year in North Devon, England, documenting the way of life on the farms and in the villages. This cemented his passion for still photography that continues to this day. On the rare days that he is not in his boat while in Devon, he enjoys traveling to various places to augment his growing series of images.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (lost to John Toll, Legends of the Fall)
- 1996: Fargo (lost to John Seale, The English Patient)
- 1997: Kundun (lost to Russell Carpenter, Titanic)
- 2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (lost to Peter Pau, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
- 2001: The Man Who Wasn't There (lost to Andrew Lesnie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
- 2007: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (lost to Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood)
- 2007: No Country for Old Men (lost to Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood)
- 2008: The Reader (lost to Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire)
- 2010: True Grit (lost to Wally Pfister, Inception)
American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)
- 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (won)
- 1996: Fargo (nominated)
- 1997: Kundun (nominated)
- 2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (nominated)
- 2001: The Man Who Wasn't There (won)
- 2007: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (nominated)
- 2007: No Country for Old Men (nominated)
- 2008: The Reader (nominated)
- 2008: Revolutionary Road (nominated)
- 2010: True Grit (nominated)
- 1996: Fargo (lost to John Seale, The English Patient)
- 2000: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (lost to John Mathieson, Gladiator)
- 2001: The Man Who Wasn't There (won)
- 2007: No Country for Old Men (won)
- 2010: True Grit (won)
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Roger Deakins Biography". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/71/Roger-Deakins.html. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ "Roger Deakins Will Receive The 2011 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Lifetime Achievement Award". wearemoviegeeks.com. http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2010/10/roger-deakins-will-receive-the-2011-american-society-of-cinematographers-asc-lifetime-achievement-award/. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ American Society of Cinematographers (2009-01-07). "ASC Names Feature Film Nominees". http://www.ascmag.com/news/News_Articles/News_200.php. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ "Roger Deakins confirms James Bond 23 involvemen". mi6-hq.com. 2011. http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9414&t=mi6&s=news. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
[edit] External links
- Video interview with Roger Deakins, FILMdetail
- Roger Deakins at the Internet Movie Database
- Filmed interview with Roger Deakins on The Reel Show
- I just had to pinch myself, interview with Roger Deakins on ITV Local Westcountry
- Information on Roger Deakins at the International Cinematographers Guild
- An interview with Roger Deakins from InDigest Magazine
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
