| Wally Pfister | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Walter Pfister |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Julien (1992-present) |
Wally Pfister is an American cinematographer who is best known for his work on the films Batman Begins and The Prestige. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Batman Begins is a 2005 American Superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest 's 1995 For both, he was nominated for Academy Awards for Cinematography in back-to-back years (2005 and 2006). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Pfister has been director of photography for director Christopher Nolan's films which include Memento and Insomnia, as well as F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job. Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born July 30 1970 is a Film director, writer and producer. Memento is a Psychological thriller Film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his brother Jonathan 's short Insomnia is a 2002 American Remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969 in New York New York) is an American Music video and Film director. The Italian Job is a 2003 American Heist film directed by F Gary Gray.
Contents |
Early life
Pfister’s grandfather was the city editor of a newspaper in Wisconsin and his father was a TV news producer who began his career with CBS-TV in Chicago in 1955. Later he worked with Huntley-Brinkley and with Peter Jennings covering political conventions, space flights and the civil rights movement.
When Pfister was approximately 10 years old, a film company shot scenes for Shamus, featuring Burt Reynolds, in his neighborhood. Burton Leon Reynolds Jr (born February 11 1936 is an American Actor. The boy was fascinated by the crew setting up lights and cameras. Soon afterwards, he began shooting 8 mm home movies and short films. Pfister also emulated his father by shooting slides on Kodachrome film and assembling them into little shows for family and friends.
Career
After high school, Pfister found a job as a production assistant at a television station in Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury (ˈsɒlzbri ˈsɔːlzbri ('Solzbry' or ˈzɔːwzbri ('Zawzbry' — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in the Within a couple of months, he borrowed a CP16 news camera and began shooting little films on weekends, including a visual essay about a Victorian house. “I did these slow, little intricate moves around the architecture of the house,” he recalls, “cut it together with music, and showed it to the production manager. They made me a cameraman. I shot very low budget PSAs for $125 a week. ”
Within a few months, Pfister found a job as a cameraman for a Washington, D. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. C. news service, which provided film for TV stations around the country. With co-anchor Daniel Lockney, he covered Congress and the White House as well as breaking news from 1982 through 1985.
In 1988 Robert Altman came to Washington to direct a mini-series for HBO called Tanner ‘88. Robert Bernard Altman (February 20 1925 – November 20 2006 was an American Film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Altman was looking for a real news cameraman to play that role in his show. They hired Pfister and asked him to also shoot some B-roll. When the producers saw his work, they brought Pfister on the show as the second unit cameraman. It was the first time he was exposed to acting and dramatic material.
After that experience, Pfister enrolled at AFI. During his second year, he was nominated for an Academy Award in the short subject category for a film about a man caught up in the apartheid struggle. He drew on his documentary experience, and lit it darkly and stark, using a single light so the actor could play in and out of that source.
Janusz Kaminski, ASC had just graduated from AFI, and met Pfister that year. Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński, ASC (born June 27 1959) is a two-time Academy Award -winning Polish Cinematographer and Film director He saw Pfister’s film and recruited him as a grip and electrician for various projects, including a few with Papamichael.
Roger Corman gave Pfister an opportunity to shoot pickup shots and inserts for a Papamichael film. It was the first time he shot 35 mm film. After that, Pfister handled second unit for Papamichael on Body Chemistry and also on other Corman films.
Pfister shot The Unborn, his first feature, in 1991. After that, he filmed an array horror movies typically on 15-day schedules.
In 1995, Papamichael asked Pfister to operate for him on a studio picture called Unstrung Heroes. Diane Keaton was the director
Work with Christopher Nolan
In 1999, Pfister shot The Hi-Line in Montana in the dead of winter on a $300,000 budget. Diane Keaton (born Diane Hall on January 5 1946 is an Oscar -winning American film Actress, director and producer The Hi-Line is a geographical term referring to the portion of the northern United States south of the Canadian border along which runs the main line of the BNSF Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern It got into the competition at Sundance. Sundance is a popular Ski resort located near Provo Utah. It was bought by the Actor Robert Redford in 1968 presumably because Redford's wife That’s where he met Nolan who also had a film at Slamdance.
Pfister's first collaboration with Nolan was on the neo-noir thriller Memento (2000). Memento is a Psychological thriller Film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his brother Jonathan 's short The success of this collaboration resulted in Pfister taking over as Director of Photography for Nolan's subsequent films: Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005) and The Prestige (2006). Insomnia is a 2002 American Remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. Batman Begins is a 2005 American Superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest 's 1995
Pfister is currently working on The Dark Knight (2008) which will be his 5th collaboration with Nolan. The Dark Knight is a 2008 American Superhero film directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan.
As of 2007, Wally Pfister is the only cinematographer that Christopher Nolan has worked with (except The Following which he shot himself). Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born July 30 1970 is a Film director, writer and producer. Following is a 1998 Film noir. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a
Selected Filmography
- Memento (2000)
- Rustin (2001)
- Insomnia (2002)
- Laurel Canyon (2002) (director of photography)
- The Italian Job (2003) (director of photography)
- Batman Begins (2005) (director of photography)
- Slow Burn (2005) (director of photography)
- The Prestige (2006) (director of photography)
- The Dark Knight (2008) (director of photography)
External links
Memento is a Psychological thriller Film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his brother Jonathan 's short 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Rustin redirects here for the unrelated film see Rustin (film Bayard Rustin ( March 17, 1912 – August 24 Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Insomnia is a 2002 American Remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Laurel Canyon is a 2002 American Drama movie, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Italian Job is a British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Batman Begins is a 2005 American Superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Slow Burn is an American motion picture starring Ray Liotta, Jolene Blalock, and LL Cool J, which is notable for the extended period between Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest 's 1995 Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Dark Knight is a 2008 American Superhero film directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the CommonDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic