IEC
#1: From the doc "Cinematographer Style"
Born: 18 November 1946, San Francisco, California, USA, as John Newton Green.
Career: Started as c.asst to aph Joe Dieves in San Francisco. Moved to Hollywood in 1968. Was c.asst working for doph Donald Morgan for 7 years; became c.op in 1975 and worked with William Fraker, Ric Waite, Harry Stradling Jr., a.o. Met actor/dir Clint Eastwood during the shooting of 'The Gauntlet'.
Became active member of the ASC in September 1992.
Also active as director.
His son Peter [born 1970] is a c.asst/doph, his son Ryan is a c.op and his daughter Heather is a camera loader.
Appeared in the doc's 'Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'' [1992, Richard Schickel; ph: Don Metz], 'Wiecej swiatla. Festiwal Operatorów Filmowych Camerimage '97' [1997, Piotr Lazarkiewicz; ph: Adam Sikora], '[American Masters:] Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows' [2000, Bruce Ricker; ph: Vic Losick], 'History vs. Hollywood' [2001; in 1 ep of this tv-series] & 'Cinematographer Style' [2005, Jon Fauer; ph: J. Fauer, Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller & David Morgan].
Awards: 'Oscar' AA nom [1993] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1993] for 'Unforgiven'; ASC Award nom [1996] for 'The Bridges of Madison County'; SOC 'President's Award' [1998]; Big Bear Lake IFF Lifetime Achievement Award [2003]; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [2009].
"Cinematography was not something Jack Green thought about during his childhood in Daley City, Calif. It was understood that he would attend barber college and work in one of the barbershops his father and uncle owned until it came time for him to take over the family business. His only connection to photography was sharing his father's photography hobby.
His interest in photography continued in high school, but Green had settled into the notion that the tools of his trade would be clippers and scissors. Shortly after he started working as a full-time barber, a former combat cameraman named Joe Dieves helped change the course of Green's life when he came in for a trim. Dieves had set up shop in the San Francisco Bay area shooting documentaries, industrials and educational films for local clients. It took Green months to talk to Dieves about camerawork, but the man was a repeat customer, and eventually, Green talked himself into a part-time job as his camera assistant. 'We'd go out on a job, and he'd make sure I was never ignorant about what was necessary,' recalls Green. 'He was a gentle teacher. Soon, I asked my father and my uncle if I could move to one of the back chairs and work part-time. Over a few years, I became a very part-time barber and an almost full-time camera assistant, and in 1965, I got into the union in Northern California, and it became a full-time job.'
Green was soon assisting for a variety of companies, including some that specialized in aerial photography. Assisting on some helicopter exteriors for the film 'Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice' led to the opportunity to work for John Lowry Productions, an aerial-photography company based in Los Angeles.
The early 1970s saw Green assisting a lot, predominantly on aerial units, and working fulltime for Tyler Mounts. Then, in 1972, there were huge layoffs. He managed to keep busy freelancing as an assistant, and in 1975, cinematographer Michael Watkins moved him up to operator on Jonathan Demme's 'Fighting Mad'. It was a baptism by fire in the craft of operating incredibly quickly under chaotic circumstances. Cinematographer Rexford Metz then hired Green to operate on Clint Eastwood's 'The Gauntlet'. Green subsequently operated on every Eastwood film until he moved up on 'Heartbreak Ridge'.
Green was immediately impressed with Eastwood's attitudes about and approach to filmmaking. The focus was on craft and efficiency and always using imagery to support the story. Eastwood hired the same crew as often as possible.
It was through operating on these films that Green learned about lighting. He recalls cinematographer Bruce Surtees 'standing on a set and giving instructions to the gaffer using his hand as if it were a paintbrush. You would swear there was paint coming out of his fingers! Bruce was a lighting minimalist. If he walked onto a set and saw four lights burning, he'd tell the gaffer to turn one off. I realized the fewer lights you had, the fewer complications there were. It was fascinating to see how Bruce expressed himself to his gaffer and electricians.'
When Surtees recommended Green to shoot 'Heartbreak Ridge', Green sensed it was now or never, and he accepted the job even though he still felt he had a lot to learn." [From article by Jon Silberg on the ASC website.]
FILMS | |
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1983 |
Uncommon Valor [Ted Kotcheff] c; co-2uc (cred as co-2nd c.asst); ph: Stephen Burum |
1984 |
Volunteers [Nicholas Meyer] c; addph; ph: Ric Waite |
1986 |
Heartbreak Ridge [Clint Eastwood] c |
1987 |
Like Father, Like Son [Rod Daniel] c |
1987 |
Rambo III [Peter MacDonald] c; hph Arizona; ph: John Stanier |
1987 |
Bird [Clint Eastwood] c; process ph: Bruce Logan |
1988 |
The Dead Pool [Buddy Van Horn] c |
1988 |
Race for Glory/American Built [Rocky Lang] c |
1988 |
Pink Cadillac [Buddy Van Horn] c |
1988 |
The Karate Kid Part III [John G. Avildsen] c; co-aph; ph: Stephen Yaconelli |
1989 |
White Hunter, Black Heart [Clint Eastwood] c; wildlife ph: Simon Trevor; aph: Peter Allwork |
1990 |
The Rookie [Clint Eastwood] p/c; 2uc: Don Burgess |
1990 |
Love Crimes [Lizzie Borden] c; addph: Ben Butin (Atlanta) & Phedon Papamichael (Dallas) |
1991 |
Deceived [Damian Harris] c; 2uc: Peter Norman |
1991 |
Unforgiven [Clint Eastwood] p/c |
1992 |
Rookie of the Year [Daniel Stern] c |
1993 |
A Perfect World [Clint Eastwood] p/c |
1993 |
Bad Company/The Toolshed [Damian Harris] p/c |
1994 |
Trapped in Paradise [George Gallo] p/c; 2uc: Harald Ortenburger |
1994 |
The Amazing Panda Adventure [Christopher Cain] c; 2uc (+ c.op 'b' cam): Scott Ransom |
1994 |
The Bridges of Madison County [Clint Eastwood] c |
1995 |
The Net [Irwin Winkler] c; 2uc: Mark Vargo |
1995 |
Twister [Jan de Bont] p/c; 2uc: Alexander Witt; replaced doph Don Burgess |
1995 |
Traveller [Jack N. Green] c; uncred ph |
1996 |
Absolute Power [Clint Eastwood] p/c |
1996 |
Speed 2: Cruise Control [Jan de Bont] p/c; 2uc: Alexander Witt; uwph: Pete Romano; aph: Ron Goodman |
1997 |
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [Clint Eastwood] c |
1998 |
True Crime [Clint Eastwood] c |
1999 |
Girl, Interrupted [James Mangold] c |
[Background/left] - "Space Cowboys"
1999 |
Space Cowboys [Clint Eastwood] p/b&w-c; vfx ph: Martin Rosenberg; uwph: Pete Romano |
2000 |
Golden Dreams [Agnieszka Holland] c; dram doc/30m; for Disney's California Adventure, Anaheim |
2000 |
[Seduced:] Pretty When You Cry/Season's Greetings [Jack N. Green] c; premiered on HBO-tv |
2000 |
A Man Apart/El Diablo/Extreme Rage [F. Gary Gray] s35/c; 2uc: Michael A. Benson (+ 2ud); aph: Hans Bjerno; filmed 2000-01; released in 2003 |
2001 |
Wounded/Lord of the Wolves [Lea Thompson] in development; status unknown |
2002 |
Against the Ropes [Charles S. Dutton] s35/c |
2002 |
Secondhand Lions [Tim McCanlies] s35-to-35mm/c; addph: Bob Yeoman |
2003 |
50 First Dates [Peter Segal] p/c; 2uc: Joseph Urbanczyk; addph: S. Douglas Smith; vfx ph: Christopher Nibley |
2003 |
The Drummer [Geoffrey Lewis] in development; scheduled for 2004 start; status unknown |
2004 |
Serenity [Joss Whedon] s35/c; 2uc: Raymond Stella; aph: David Nowell; sfx ph: Bill Taylor |
2005 |
The 40 Year Old Virgin [Judd Apatow] c |
2005 |
Zoom [: Academy for Superheroes] [Peter Hewitt] c; uncred addph; ph: David Tattersall |
2005 |
Click [Frank Coraci] HD (Genesis)-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; New York ph; ph: Dean Semler |
2006 |
Are We Done Yet? [Steve Carr] c; 2uc: Don McCuaig |
2007 |
My Best Friend's Girl [Howard Deutch] c; addph: Peter N. Green |
2008 |
Law Abiding Citizen [Frank Darabont] scheduled as doph, but film was ph by Jonathan Sela and dir by F. Gary Gray in January-April 2009 |
2009 |
Hot Tub Time Machine [Steve Pink] 35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; aph: Hans Bjerno |
2009 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid [Thor Freudenthal] c |
2010 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules [David Bowers] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; plate unit ph: Don McCuaig |
[Left/kneeling] with Kimberly Jentzen [hat] - "Reign"
2011 |
Reign [Kimberly Jentzen] c; 2uc: Scott Carrithers |
2012 |
The Letters [William Riead] HD (Genesis)/c; cph: Peter N. Green; J. Green shot a trailer in November 2001; prod was scheduled to start shooting in March 2009; prod was shooting in Goa, India, in April 2012 |
2012 |
Sweetwater [Martin Guigui] pre-production; prod was scheduled to start filming in January 2007, then August 2008, then (with doph Tony Pierce-Roberts) February-April 2009, then May 2010, then August-October 2011 and now November 2012 |
2012 |
The Pendant [Jack Perez] pre-production; status unknown |
2013 |
Left Behind [Vic Armstrong] HD (ARRI ALEXA Plus)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Michael Baltazar |
TELEVISION | |
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1993 |
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. [pilot dir by Bryan Spicer] 27-part series, 1993-94; other ph: Richard C. Thorpe |
1997 |
Eastwood on Eastwood [Richard Schickel] doc/b&w-c/68m |
FILMS & TELEVISION AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR | |
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1968 |
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice [Paul Mazursky] Wescam tech; ph: Charles Lang |
1968 |
Tora! Tora! Tora! [Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku & Toshio Masuda] Wescam tech; ph: Charles F. Wheeler, a.o. |
1971 |
Dirty Harry [Don Siegel & (fill-in) Clint Eastwood] c.asst aph; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1974 |
Win, Place or Steal/Three for the Money/The Big Payoff [Richard Bailey] c.asst; ph: Donald M. Morgan |
1974 |
Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York [Sidney J. Furie] 1st c.asst; ph: Donald M. Morgan |
1975 |
Rooster Cogburn [Stuart Millar] c.asst; ph: Harry Stradling Jr. |
1975 |
Fighting Mad [Jonathan Demme] c.op; ph: Michael Watkins |
1977 |
The Gauntlet [Clint Eastwood] c.op 'b' cam; ph: Rexford Metz |
1977 |
I Wanna Hold Your Hand [Robert Zemeckis] c.op 'b' cam; ph: Donald M. Morgan |
1977 |
ABC Weekend Specials [ep #8 'The Ransom of Red Chief' dir by Jeffrey Hayden & #17 'Soup and Me' dir by Dennis Donnelly; tv-series, 1977-97] c.op; ph: Otto Nemenz |
1978 |
Every Which Way But Loose [James Fargo] c.op; ph: Rexford Metz |
1979 |
Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker [Ted Post; tvm] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1979 |
The $5.20 an Hour Dream [Russ Mayberry; tvm] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1979 |
Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris [Gerald Isenberg; tvm] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1979 |
Bronco Billy [Clint Eastwood] c.op; ph: David Worth |
1980 |
Any Which Way You Can [Buddy Van Horn] co-c.op; ph: David Worth |
1980 |
The Border [Tony Richardson] c.op; ph: Ric Waite |
1980 |
Midnight Offerings [Rod Holcomb; tvm] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1980 |
The Greatest American Hero [ep #3 'The Hit Car' dir by Rod Holcomb (RH), #4 'Here's Looking at You, Kid' dir by Robert C. Thompson (RCT), #5 'Saturday on Sunset Boulevard' dir by RH, #6 'Reseda Rose' dir by Gabrielle Beaumont (GB), #7 'My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys' dir by Arnold Laven, #8 'Fire Man' dir by GB & #9 'The Best Desk Scenario' dir by RCT; tv-series, 1981-83/1st season, 1981] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1981 |
Tex [Tim Hunter] c.op; ph: Ric Waite |
1981 |
Cagney & Lacey [ep #1 'You Call This Plain Clothes?/Bang, Bang, You're Dead' dir by Georg Stanford Brown + 5 ep dir by various; tv-series/1st season, 1982 (6 ep)] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1981 |
Firefox [Clint Eastwood] co-c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1981 |
Hysterical [Chris Bearde] co-c.op; ph: Donald M. Morgan |
1982 |
48 Hrs. [Walter Hill] c.op; ph: Ric Waite |
1982 |
Risky Business [Paul Brickman] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees & Reynaldo Villalobos |
[Right] with Clint Eastwood - "Honkytonk Man"
1982 |
Honkytonk Man [Clint Eastwood] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1982 |
Cagney & Lacey [5 ep dir by various; tv-series/2nd season, 1982-83] c.op; ph: Hector Figueroa |
1983 |
Sudden Impact [Clint Eastwood] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1984 |
Tightrope [Richard Tuggle] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1984 |
City Heat [Richard Benjamin] co-Panaglide op; ph: Nick McLean |
1984 |
Beverly Hills Cop [Martin Brest] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1985 |
Pale Rider [Clint Eastwood] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1985 |
Rocky IV [Sylvester Stallone] co-c.op Vancouver; ph: Bill Butler |
1985 |
Psycho III [Anthony Perkins] co-c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1985 |
Pretty in Pink [Howard Deutch] c.op; ph: Tak Fujimoto |
1985 |
Ratboy [Sondra Locke] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
1985 |
Out of Bounds [Richard Tuggle] c.op; ph: Bruce Surtees |
MISCELLANEOUS |
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[Left] with doph Peter Green and c.op Ryan Green - "Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!"
2008 |
Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!! [Evgeny Afineevsky] visual cons; ph: Peter N. Green |
FILMS AS DIRECTOR | |
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1995 |
Traveller [+ uncred ph] see Films |
1997 |
Dead Run [feature] announced; status unknown |
2000 |
[Seduced:] Pretty When You Cry/Season's Greetings [+ ph] see Films |
2000 |
White Out [feature] announced; status unknown |