Okada Will Serve Second Term

Daryn Okada, ASC has been elected to serve a second one-year term as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). The other new officers are Vice Presidents Michael Goi, ASC, Richard Crudo, ASC and Owen Roizman, ASC, Treasurer Victor J. Kemper, ASC, Secretary Michael Negrin, ASC and Sergeant At Arms John Hora, ASC.

Other members of the new board of governors are Caleb Deschanel, ASC, George Spiro Dibie, ASC, Richard Edlund, ASC, William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC, Francis Kenny, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Isidore Mankofsky, ASC, Robert Primes, ASC, Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC, Kees Van Oostrum, ASC and Haskell Wexler, ASC. Alternate board members are Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Matthew Leonetti, ASC, Russ Alsobrook, ASC and Sol Negrin, ASC.

“Just being an ASC member is like a dream come true,” Okada says. “Our founders defined the mission for ASC in 1919, when the motion picture industry was still in its infancy. They were dedicated to providing a collegial environment, where members could share ideas and solve problems for the purpose of advancing a new art form. That remains our top priority today. Our industry is experiencing a renaissance of cinematography and postproduction
technology, and the ASC has kept the new techniques focused on visual storytelling. ASC members have always been generous in spreading our knowledge gained from experience to our industry colleagues and the young of filmmakers
of tomorrow.”

Okada earned his first feature credit in 1981. He has subsequently compiled an eclectic list of more than 40 credits, including Anna Karenina, Lake Placid, Dr. Dolittle 2, Joe Somebody, Cradle 2 the Grave, Mean Girls, Paparazzi, Just Like Heaven, and the TV miniseries In a Child's Name and the Dawson's Creek pilot. Okada recently completed principal photography for the sequel to Harold and Kumar. He is currently shooting Baby Mama, a comedy written by Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn, written and directed by Michael McCullers with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin and Sigourney Weaver cast in leading roles. Both films are slated for release in 2008.