Earned Oscar Nom for Unforgiven, ASC Award for Bridges of Madison County

Jack Green, ASC, will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be feted by his peers during the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration in Los Angeles on February 15, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
“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.”

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 16 mm 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, ASC, BSC; Donald M. Morgan, ASC; Ric Waite, ASC; Harry Stradling, Jr., ASC; Bruce Surtees, ASC; Michael Watkins, ASC; and Rex Metz, ASC.

“I can’t say enough about the impact all of those cinematographers and others had on my life and career,” emphasizes 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, ASC; Joseph Biroc, ASC; Stanley Cortez, ASC; Charles Lang, Jr., ASC; Phil Lathrop, ASC; Haskell Wexler, ASC; Conrad L. Hall; ASC, Gordon Willis, ASC; Sven Nykvist, ASC; Owen Roizman, ASC; Victor J. Kemper, ASC; Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC; Fraker, Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC; Laszlo Kovacs, ASC; Bill Butler, ASC; Michael Chapman, ASC; Fred Koenekamp, ASC; Richard Kline, ASC; Allen Daviau, ASC; and Stephen H. Burum, ASC.

“Cinematography is an art, but it is also a craft,” Green observes. “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.”

For information about the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards call 323-969-4333 or visit www.theasc.com.