Robert_Elswit
Robert Elswit
American cinematographer
Robert Christopher Elswit, ASC (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer. He has collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson on six of his films and won 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.
Robert Elswit | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Christopher Elswit (1950-04-22) April 22, 1950 (age 73)[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | AFI Conservatory |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Known for | Good Night, and Good Luck There Will Be Blood |
| Title | ASC |
| Awards |
|
Elswit was born in Los Angeles.[3] An early short film he worked on was the 1982 television adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story All Summer in a Day. Elswit 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,[4][5] 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."[6] He started shooting digitally, starting with Nightcrawler. Elswit has worked with George Clooney several times. He shot his black and white, multiple-Oscar nominated films Good Night, and Good Luck. Elswit shot the film in color, and 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.[7] Elswit was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Good Night, and Good Luck, but lost to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. Elswit won the award for There Will Be Blood in 2008.[8] Elswit has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence.[9] Elswit is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant. Elswit is the godfather to the actor Jake Gyllenhaal.[10]
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Cadillac Dreams | Matia Karrell | |
| 1998 | Richard Lester! | Stacy Cochran | Documentary short |
| 2010 | Lost Masterpieces of Pornography | David Mamet | |
| 2019 | Apple Snowbrawl | David Leitch | |
Television
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | A Single Light | Karl Epstein | |
| 1982 | All Summer in a Day | Ed Kaplan | |
| 1983 | Tiger Town | Alan Shapiro | |
| 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 | |
| Opposites Attract | Noel Nosseck | ||
| Steel Magnolias | Thomas Schlamme | ||
| 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 | ||
| Vidiots | Howard Storm | ||
| 1992 | A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story | Martin Davidson | |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Episode: "The War Between the Classes" |
| 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 | 8 episodes[11] |
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (won)
American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2008: There Will Be Blood
Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
CableACE Award for Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction for a Dramatic or Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries
- 1988: Long Gone (nominated)
Camerimage Golden Frog Award
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2014: Inherent Vice (nominated)
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
- 1986: CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984)
(For episode "The War Between The Classes")
Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Inherent Vice (nominated)
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 1998: Sydney (nominated)
International Online Cinema Awards for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Best Cinematography
- 2009: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (2nd place)
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (2nd place)
- 2003: Punch-Drunk Love (3rd place)
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (2nd place)
New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography
- 2007: There Will Be Blood
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
- 2008: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2006: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Nightcrawler
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (2nd place)
Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
- 2015: Inherent Vice (nominated)
- 2010: Salt (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
St. Louis Film Critics Association
- 2014: Nightcrawler (nominated)
- 2007: There Will Be Blood (nominated)
- 2005: Good Night, and Good Luck (nominated)
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
- 2014: Nightcrawler
- Robert Elswit - Biography. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7th, 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.
- "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.
- Dillon, Mark (September 2022). "The Traditionalist". American Cinematographer. 103 (9). Hollywood, Los Angeles: American Society of Cinematographers: 53. ISSN 0002-7928.