Wednesday, January 31----The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the guild of film cinematographers, was founded in 1919, and today has almost 300 members from all over the world. The ASC announced its top nominees vying for top honors at the 21st Annual American Society of Cinematographers Achievement Awards, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angels on February 18th.

The ASC has nominated the following for its higher honor: Emmanuel Lubezki (CHILDREN OF MEN), Dick Pope (THE ILLUSIONIST), Robert Richardson (THE GOOD SHEPHERD), Dean Semler (APOCALYPTO) and Vilmos Zsigmond (THE BLACK DAHLIA).

This is the eighth ASC nomination for Richardson, the third for Zsigmond, the second for Lubezki and Semler, and the first for Pope. The group is also quite international, with Richardson the only American-born nominee. Semler was born and launched his career in Australia; Zsigmond in Hungary; Lubezki in Mexico; and Pope in England, where he still resides.

Russ Alsobrook, who chairs the organization’s Awards Committee, said in a prepared statement: "These five, amazingly talented individuals were selected by their peers who believe they have set the standard for artful visual story-telling in a sharply competitive field from 2006."

For more information on the American Society of Cinematographers, visit their website: ASC

Sandy Mandelberger
Awards Watch Editor