Cinematography

The cinematographers (ASC) guild announces their award tomorrow night...a look at the guild's past recipients:

In blue is where the guild correlated with Oscar!

2009: The White Ribbon- Christian Berger
2008: Slumdog Millionaire- Anthony Dod Mantle
2007: There Will Be Blood- Robert Elswit
2006: Children of Men- Emmanuel Lebuezki
2005: Memoirs of a Geisha- Dion Beebe
2004: A Very Long Engagement- Bruno Delbonnel
2003: Seabiscuit- John Schwartzman
2002: Road to Perdition- Conrad L. Hall
2001: The Man Who Wasn't There- Roger Deakins
2000: The Patriot- Caleb Deschanel
1999: American Beauty- Conrad L. Hall
1998: The Thin Red Line- John Toll
1997: Titanic- Russell Carpenter
1996: The English Patient- John Seale
1995: Braveheart- John Toll
1994: The Shawshank Redemption- Roger Deakins
1993: Searching for Bobby Fischer- Conrad L. Hall
1992: Hoffa- Stephen H. Burum
1991: Bugsy- Allen Daviau
1990: Dances with Wolves- Dean Semler
1989: Blaze- Haskell Wexler
1988: Tequilla Sunrise- Conrad L. Hall
1987: Empire of the Sun- Allen Daviau
1986: Peggy Sue Got Married- Jordan Cronenweth

So they don't always agree; often it seems the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) tend to go with the more daring, or unconventionally filmed choice rather than just the pretty landscape that typically wins the Oscar.  Lenser\poet Roger Deakins has been honored twice by the guild, and despite a plethora of Oscar nominations to his credit hasn't won the Oscar yet.  He's likely the predicted frontrunner this year for his work in True Grit, which features very pretty landscapes.

2010 NOMINATIONS

• Black Swan- Matthew Libatique
• Inception- Wally Pfister
• The King's Speech- Danny Cohen
• The Social Network- Jeff Cronenweth
• True Grit- Roger Deakins

I'm predicting that Libatique will take home the ASC award, since Deakins will be receiving a lifetime achievement award from the guild this year...if they'll embrace an unsettling black and white Michael Hanake (last year's The White Ribbon), then a ballet freakout is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.