IEC
#1: 2011
#2: Photo by Willy Kurant
JAMES CHRESSANTHIS ASC/GSC
Born: 9 May 1953, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, as James Andrew Chressanthis.
Education: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [Engineering; not finished]; Arizona State University [graduated as BFA]; Southern Illinois University [graduated as MFA]; American Film Institute [AFI] [1984-86].
Career: Started shooting films in college. After graduating from Southern Illinois University, he became a professor of art, teaching sculpture and drawing in Illinois, Michigan [Western Michigan University], England and France for 7 years. Took a sabbatical and spent it at the AFI. He began his new career with ph music videos with a: Dr. Dre, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, James Brown, Barry White, a.o.
Ph commercials, e.g. 'Kids Language' [1999, Elizabeth Perrin].
Was preparing to ph a film on Eartha Kitt's life [2000, Oley Sassone], but the prod was put on hold. In 2001, Daily Variety named Chressanthis as one of 20 rising stars to watch in the film industry. He was the only cinematographer on that list.
Also active as still ph. His photo and mixed media expo 'Road Trips and Other Journeys' opened in December 2003 in the Howell Green Fine Art Gallery, Topanga, Calif., USA. His expo 'Face of Vladivostok' opened in 2011 in Vladivostok, Russia.
Member of the ASC since 2002.
Appeared in the doc 'Cinematographer Style' [2006, Jon Fauer; ph: Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller, J. Fauer & David Morgan; 86m].
Awards: As doph: CableACE Award [199?; shared] for 'Public Enemy #2'; 'Emmy' Award nom [2001] for 'Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows' [ep 'Night One']; 'Emmy' Award nom [2006] for 'Four Minutes'.
As dir: Houston IFF 'Bronze Award' [1983] for 'Remembrance of a Journey to the Village'; Houston IFF 'Silver Award' [1984] for 'Necros: An Aftermath'; American FF 'Red Ribbon' [1991] for 'A Bridge for the Children'.
Website: James Chressanthis
| FILMS | |
|---|---|
|
1979 |
Epiphany [James Chressanthis] ? |
|
1980 |
Remembrance of a Journey to the Village [James Chressanthis] 16mm/b&w-c; doc/36m; cph: George Kolozis; filmed 1980-82; aired on PBS-tv; restored in 2009 |
|
1984 |
Necros: An Aftermath [James Chressanthis] v/c; exp doc/?m |
|
1988 |
Cesar Chavez: Fast for Life [see 2013] |
|
1989 |
A Bridge for the Children [James Chressanthis] 16mm/?; doc/?m |
|
1990 |
Leather Jackets [Lee Drysdale] c; 2uc: Wally Pfister |
|
1991 |
Visions of Light [: The Art of Cinematography] [Stuart Samuels, Arnold Glassman & Todd McCarthy] HD+35mm-to-35mm/b&w-c; doc/92m; co-addph; ph: Nancy Schreiber |
|
1991 |
Hexed/All Shook Up [Alan Spencer] c |
|
1992 |
All About Lurleen [Florence Dauman] 16mm/c; short/19m; prod AFI (USA) |
|
1992 |
The Buzz [Hart Bochner] s16/c; short/13m |
|
1994 |
In the Kingdom of the Blind [, the Man with One Eye Is King] [Nick Vallelonga] c |
|
1997 |
Judas Kiss [Sebastian Gutierrez] c; ph Venezuela (+ 'b' cam op/helicopter c.op New Orleans unit): Scott Steele |
|
1998 |
Urban Legend/Mixed Culture [Jamie Blanks] s35/c |
|
2001 |
The Cinematographers' Test [Laura Anne Edwards & Kevin Stofer Smith] 35mm+HD-to-35mm; test film (22m) compares 35mm and HD 24p; cph: Aaron Schneider & John Bailey |
|
2002 |
Chicago [Rob Marshall] b&w-c; reshoot ph; ph: Dion Beebe |
|
2003 |
Footloose [Craig Brewer (replaced Kenny Ortega)] remake of 'Footloose' (1984); developed as a tvm, later as a feature; film was ph in 2010 by Amy Vincent |
|
2004 |
Venus & Vegas [Demian Lichtenstein] c; released in 2009 |
|
2005 |
Outside In [James Chressanthis & Laura Carruthers] HD/c; dance film/12m |
|
2006 |
That's Amore! [Nick Vallelonga] pre-production; status unknown |
With Vilmos Zsigmond - "No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos"
|
2007 |
No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos [James Chressanthis] s16+s8+HD/b&w-c; doc/105m; co-addph (with Zoltán Honti, Tarina Reed, a.o.); ph: Anka Malatynska; + co-prod/scrpl |
|
2009 |
King of Vampires [Nick Vallelonga] pre-production; a promo trailer (3m26s) exists |
|
2009 |
Kodak 2-Perf / 3-Perf Demonstration [James Chressanthis] c; demo film/11m |
|
2013 |
Cesar's Last Fast [Richard Ray Perez & Lorena Parlee] c; doc/100m; cph: Byron Shah, Kristy Tully, a.o.; premiered in January 2014; Chressanthis filmed (dv) Cesar Chavez during his 36-day 'Fast for Life' in July/August 1988 |
|
2013 |
Deaf Ghost [Troy Kotsur] pre-production |
| TELEVISION | |
|---|---|
|
1990 |
Patterns [Jay Levey & Al Yankovic] tvm/?m; for Children's Television Workshop |
|
1990 |
Voices That Care [David S. Jackson; (music video) Jim Yukich; (doc footage) James Chressanthis & Ashley Wells Lewis] mus special/30m/s16; cph: Ted Baker, Shawn Maurer (as Mauer), a.o.; for FOX-tv |
|
1991 |
Death Dreams [Martin Donovan] tvm |
|
1991 |
The Second City - Life As We Know It! [Jay Levey] sketch comedy special/?m; for Comedy Central |
|
1991 |
Public Enemy #2 [David Jablin] comedy special/37m; cph: Bryan England; addph: Bill Webb; for Showtime-tv |
|
1992 |
[Father & Son:] Dangerous Relations/On the Streets of L.A. [Georg Stanford Brown] tvm |
|
1992 |
Inside America's Totally Unsolved Lifestyles [Paul Flaherty] comedy special/60m; for ABC-tv |
|
1992 |
Majority Rule/Majority City [Gwen Arner] tvm |
|
1993 |
Sex, Shock & Censorship in the '90's [David Jablin] comedy special/60m; for Showtime-tv |
|
1993 |
Night Driving [Anne Makepeace] tvm/30m; ep Showtime-tv '30-Minute Movie' |
|
1993 |
Harts of the West [ep #8 'Jake's Brother' dir by Bill D'Elia] 15-part series, 1993-94; other ph: Earl Clark, Robert New & James O'Dea; pilot ph in March - ph series started in August |
|
1994 |
Reform School Girl [Jonathan Kaplan] tvm; remake of 'Reform School Girl' (1957, Edward Bernds; ph: Floyd Crosby) |
|
1994 |
American Cinema [ep #5 'The Western' dir by Sasha Alpert & #8 'Night for Night: Film Noir' dir by Jeffrey Schon] 10-part doc series/b&w-c, 1995; cph: Joan Churchill (#5), Gregory Andracke (#5), Mark Trottenberg (#8), a.o.; for PBS-tv |
|
1995 |
Lost & Found [?] doc series; other ph: Kurt Brabbee, Nicholas Hutak, a.o.; for FX Network |
|
1995 |
Crazy Love [Claudia Weill] unaired pilot; for NBC-tv |
|
1995 |
Nowhere Man [21 ep dir by various] 25-part series, 1995-96; other ph: Ric Waite & Isidore Mankofsky; 2uc: Scott Steele; pilot ph in April |
|
1996 |
High Incident [9 ep dir by various] 32-part series, 1996-97/b&w-c; other ph: Bing Sokolsky, Christopher Tufty & Jack Wallner |
|
1996 |
The Cape [Ian Toynton] tvm & 2-part pilot/35mm; cph: Alan Degen; followed by series |
|
1996 |
The Cape [various] 20-part series, 1996-97/16mm; other ph: Scott Steele |
|
1997 |
The Love Boat: The Next Wave [ep #1 'Smooth Sailing' dir by Dennis Dugan, #2 'Remember?' dir by Tony Mordente & #5 'True Course' dir by Sandy Smolan] 25-part series, 1998-99; other ph: Rick Gunter; 2uc: Scott Steele |
|
1998 |
Martial Law [various] 44-part series, 1998-2000/s16; 1st season, 1998-99; other ph: Scott Steele |
|
1999 |
Martial Law [various] 2nd season, 1999-2000; other ph: Jeffrey Mygatt (+ 2uc); see 1998 |
|
2000 |
American Family [pilot 'American Family' dir by Gregory Nava] 22-part series, 2002; other ph: Brian J. Reynolds |
|
2000 |
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows [Robert Allan Ackerman] 2-part tvm/b&w-c/s16 |
|
2001 |
Thieves [10 ep dir by various] 10-part (2 unaired) series/s35 |
|
2001 |
Brian's Song [John Gray] tvm/s8+35mm-to-35mm; ep #82 of 138-part series 'The Wonderful World of Disney', 1997-2008; for ABC-tv; remake of 'Brian's Song' (1971, Buzz Kulik; ph: Joseph Biroc) |
|
2002 |
Nancy Drew [James Frawley] tvm; originally developed as a pilot; ep #94 of series 'The Wonderful World of Disney'; see 2001 |
|
2002 |
The Music Man [Jeff Bleckner] tvm; 2uc: Jens Sturup; ep #99 (2003) of series 'The Wonderful World of Disney'; see 2001; remake of 'The Music Man' (1961, Morton DaCosta; ph: Robert Burks) |
|
2002 |
Eloise at the Plaza [Kevin Lima] tvm; ep #102 (2003) of series 'The Wonderful World of Disney'; see 2001 |
|
2003 |
Eloise at Christmastime [Kevin Lima] tvm; ep #109 of series 'The Wonderful World of Disney', see 2001 |
|
2003 |
Joan of Arcadia [pilot dir by James Hayman & Jack Bender] 45-part series, 2003-05/HD; 1st season, 2003-04; co-addph; ph: Charlie Lieberman |
|
2003 |
The Reagans [Robert Allan Ackerman] tvm; developed and shot (s16) as 2-part tvm for CBS-tv; aired as tvm (170m) on Showtime-tv in 2003 |
|
2003 |
Eye of the Beholder [with Serena Yang] [Serena Yang] doc series/HD, 2004; other ph: ?; for Travel Channel |
|
2004 |
3 [: The Dale Earnhardt Story] [Russell Mulcahy] tvm/s16; 2uc: Edward Gutentag & Bob Newcomb; for ESPN-tv |
|
2004 |
[Jules Verne's] Mysterious Island [Russell Mulcahy] 2-part tvm/s35; 2uc: Rich B. Moore Jr.; aph: Jeremy Braben |
|
2005 |
Ghost Whisperer [pilot dir by John Gray] 107-part series/s35, 2005-10; 1st season, 2005-06; filmed in March |
|
2005 |
Four Minutes [Charles Beeson] tvm/s16; for ESPN-tv |
|
2005 |
Ghost Whisperer [19 ep dir by various] 1st season, 2005-06; started filming in July; see 2005 |
|
2006 |
Ghost Whisperer [10 ep dir by various] 2nd season, 2006-07; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Nancy Schreiber; see 2005 |
|
2007 |
Ghost Whisperer [9 ep dir by various] 3rd season, 2007-08; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile; see 2005 |
|
2008 |
Ghost Whisperer [9 ep dir by various] 4th season, 2008-09; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Bruce Pasternack; see 2005 |
|
2008 |
Living Proof [Dan Ireland] tvm |
|
2009 |
Ghost Whisperer [9 ep dir by various] 5th season, 2009-10; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Bruce Pasternack; see 2005 |
|
2010 |
No Ordinary Family [ep #19 'No Ordinary Future' dir by Milan Cheylov] 20-part series/HD (ARRI ALEXA & D-21), 2010-11; other ph: David Boyd (pilot), Oliver Bokelberg (#2-12 & #14), Joaquin Sedillo (#13, 15 & 17), Dennis S. Hall (#16) & Lloyd Ahern (#18 & 20) |
|
2011 |
Grace [Lesli Linka Glatter] pilot/HD; for ABC-tv |
|
2011 |
Hide [John Gray] tvm |
|
2012 |
The Client List [10 ep dir by various] tvm (2010) + 25-part series, 2012-13; 1st season, 2012 (10 ep); series followed tvm (2010; dir: Eric Laneuville; ph: Tony Westman) |
|
2012 |
Prosecuting Casey Anthony [Peter Werner] tvm/HD |
|
2012 |
The Makeover [John Gray] tvm; ep #351 of 'Hallmark Hall of Fame'-series (2013) |
|
2012 |
The Client List [14 ep dir by various] 2nd season, 2013 (15 ep); other ph (cph #23 & ph #25): Nancy Schreiber; see above |
|
2013 |
The Watsons Go to Birmingham [Kenny Leon] tvm/HD (ARRI ALEXA + Canon EOS C300 & XF100)+s8-to-HD; for Hallmark Channel |
|
2013 |
Christmas in Conway [John Kent Harrison] tvm; ep #353 of 'Hallmark Hall of Fame'-series |
|
2013 |
In My Dreams [Kenny Leon] tvm; ep #354 of 'Hallmark Hall of Fame'- series (2014) |
|
2014 |
American Horror Story [(cph) ep #48 'Orphans' dir by Bradley Buecker & (addph) #50 'Show Stoppers' dir by Loni Peristere] series/s8+s16+s35-to-HD, 2011-present; 4th season (titled: 'American Horror Story: Freak Show'), 2014-15; ph: Michael Goi (cph #48 & ph #50) |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |
|---|---|
|
1985 |
The Witches of Eastwick [George Miller] cam intern + inserts ph; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond |
|
1988 |
Tales from the Darkside [ep #90 'Basher Malone' dir by Anthony Santa Croce; tv-series] grip; ph: Michael Cardone |
|
1991 |
Open Window [Rupert Wainwright; tvm/25m] co-add c.op; ph: Chuck Colwell |
|
2000 |
How to Go Out on a Date in Queens [Michelle Danner] co-c.op 2u; ph: Jens Sturup; released in 2006 |
|
2014 |
American Horror Story [ep #40 'Massacres and Matinees' dir by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, #41 'Edward Mordrake (1)' dir by Michael Uppendahl, #42 'Edward Mordrake (2)' dir by Howard Deutch (HD), #44 'Bullseye' dir by HD, #45 'Test of Strength' dir by Anthony Hemingway, #46 'Blood Bath' dir by Bradley Buecker (BB), #47 'Tupperware Party Massacre' dir by Loni Peristere, #49 'Magical Thinking' dir by Michael Goi & #51 'Curtain Call' dir by BB] 4th season, 2014-15; co-c.op; ph: Michael Goi; see Television (2014) |
| FILMS & TELEVISION AS DIRECTOR | |
|---|---|
|
1979 |
Epiphany [+ ph] see Films |
|
1982 |
Remembrance of a Journey to the Village [+ ph] see Films |
|
1984 |
Necros: An Aftermath [+ ph] see Films |
|
1989 |
A Bridge for the Children [+ ph] see Films |
|
1992 |
Holocaust Survivors Testimonies for the Holocaust Museum [interviews; + ph] ph over 50 testimonies of holocaust survivors living in the Los Angeles area |
|
1996 |
The Cape [ep #14 'The Accusation'] see Television |
|
2005 |
Outside In [co-d: Laura Carruthers; + ph] see Films |
|
2005 |
Ghost Whisperer [ep #18 'Miss Fortune'] ph: Scott Steele; 1st season, 2005-06; see Television |
|
2006 |
Ghost Whisperer [ep #38 'The Cradle Will Rock'] ph: Nancy Schreiber; 2nd season, 2006-07; see Television |
|
2007 |
No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos [doc; + co-prod/scrpl/co-addph] ph: Anka Malatynska; also ep PBS-tv series 'Independent Lens' (2009); see Films |
|
2008 |
Ghost Whisperer [ep #71 'Pieces of You'] ph: Bruce Pasternack; 4th season, 2008-09; see Television |
|
2009 |
Ghost Whisperer [ep #92 'Devil's Bargain'] ph: Bruce Pasternack; 5th season, 2009-10; see Television |
| MUSIC VIDEOS [Selection] | |
|---|---|
|
1987 |
Opportunity [a: Bobby McFerrin; d: Alan Bloom] |
|
1989 |
Turn This Mutha Out [a: M.C. Hammer; d: Rupert Wainwright] |
|
1989 |
Let the Bells Ring [a: 7A3; d: Alan Bloom] |
|
1990 |
Scared of Guns [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom] loc ph; stage ph: Vilmos Zsigmond |
|
1992 |
Kill the Messenger [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom] |
|
1992 |
Smells Like Nirvana [a: 'Weird Al' Yankovic; d: Jay Levey] |
|
1993 |
Summer Single [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom] |
