PHEDON PAPAMICHAEL

#1: From interview [KODAK, 2012]

#2: [With camera/center] - "Arcadia Lost" [2008]

PHEDON PAPAMICHAEL ASC/GSC

Born: ? February 1962, Athens, Greece, as Phedon Papamichael Jr., son of art director/prod designer Phedon 'Poppa' Papamichael Sr.

Education: University of Munich [Fine Arts; graduated in 1982].

Career: 'When I was a high school student in Munich I first started having interest in cinematography. When I was 15 I bought a Super 8mm camera and started filming, making films and editing them. Later that format became very limited for me and I actually transitioned into still photography just because I could afford a professional camera. I felt like I could deliver some higher quality work with something that was affordable, so I bought my first Nikon and then I got very seriously into still photography [for magazines like 'Der Stern' and 'Paris Match'].' Went to New York in 1983. 'I shot a bunch of shorts for a group of friends. Of course, I wasn't getting paid. After a while we moved to Los Angeles and I began shooting medical videos once a week at UCLA for $100. I was making $400 a month; I paid $225 in rent and lived on the rest. I kept pretty busy. I tried to get into assisting cameramen just to make some money. I interviewed with Robby Müller for 'Barfly', Theo van de Sande for 'Miracle Mile' and also with Mikael Salomon. It was in 1987. I wasn't a first cameraman, so I didn't get any of those jobs. My cousin, Nick Cassavetes, whom I've actually collaborated with later on his first feature, told me to pick up 'Dramalogue', a newspaper where all these student films are advertised. I ended up shooting a UCLA graduate film. I had a reel with a lot of footage, but I hadn't made any money yet. Then I got my first job with Roger Corman. […] A friend who was a graduate of AFI got a second unit job directing on a picture called 'Deadly Dreams'. She asked if I wanted to shoot second unit with her. I was really fast because I was mostly shooting in natural light. They introduced me to director Katt Shea Ruben. We did three movies, almost in a row, 'Dance of The Damned', 'Stripped to Kill II' and 'Streets'. The great thing about Corman was that we had to shoot these features in 15 days. You shot for 16 to 18 hours a day with maybe 60 setups. It was just fantastic training; it was like a mini-studio system. Corman didn't really care as long as the movie had full frontal nudity and people were getting killed. […] Everybody always assumes that I went to AFI, because everybody I knew and was working with at Corman's place was either just out of AFI or still going there… Janusz Kaminski, Mauro Fiore, Wally Pfister and others. Janusz ended up gaffing for me on two or three Corman films and Mauro was my key grip. Janusz shot second unit on 'Streets' and then he got his own Corman movies.' [From interview by Bob Fisher on the 'MovieMaker Magazine' website.]

Founded the prod company Diaspora Films in 1996, and the lighting company Bella Luce Entertainment Lighting [with gaffer Rafael E. Sánchez] in 1999.

Ph commercials, e.g. for Cadillac, Renault & Audi [2003, 'The Other Side of the Road'; 6m] dir by Wim Wenders. Ph music videos, e.g. a: U2; d: Wim Wenders [2004]. Directed commercials.

Member of the ASC since 2000.

Actor/dir John Cassavetes [1929-89] was his uncle.

Appeared in the doc 'Cinematography Profile - Phedon Papamichael ASC, GSC' [2014, Alexandros Maragos; b&w-c/22m].

Awards: Cork FF 'Best Black and White Cinematography' Award [1990] for 'Spud'; ASC Award nom [1993] for 'Wild Palms' [ep 'The Floating World']; ASC Award nom [1995] for 'White Dwarf'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [2000] & Avignon FF 'Kodak Prix Vision' [2000] for '27 Missing Kisses'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [2000] for 'The Million Dollar Hotel'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [2005] for 'Walk the Line'; American Hellenic Council 'Aristeio Award in the Arts and Entertainment' [2012]; ASC Film Award nom [2013], BAFTA Film Award nom [2013] & 'Oscar' AA nom [2013] for 'Nebraska'.

Website: Phedon Papamichael

FILMS
1976	Cold Chicken [Phedon Papamichael Jr.] v/c; short/?m; with: John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands & 'Poppa' Papamichael
198?	? [Liz Gazzara] 16mm/?; short/?m
19??	Distance [Greg Lalazarian] c; addph: Gustavo Brum; released in 2003; on YouTube there's a 11m33s excerpt (or is it the complete film?)
1987	Spud [John Wentworth] b&w; short/?m
1987	Bukowski on Barfly [?] ?; doc/?m
1988	Deadly Dreams [Kristine Peterson] c; 2uc; ph: Zoran Hochstätter
1988	Dance of the Damned [Katt Shea Ruben] c
1988	Stripped to Kill II [: Live Girls] [Katt Shea Ruben] c; 2uc: Geza Sinkovics
1988	Nowhere to Run [Carl Franklin] c; 2uc: Igor Meglic
1989	After Midnight [Ken & Jim Wheat] c; 2uc: Eric Roy Anderson; pfx: Paul Gentry & William Conner
1989	Streets [Katt Shea] c; 2uc: Janusz Kaminski; pick-ups ph: Wally Pfister
1989	Body Chemistry [Kristine Peterson] c; 2uc: Wally Pfister
1990	Prayer of the Rollerboys [Rick King] c; addph: Wally Pfister
1990	Driving Me Crazy/Trabbi Goes to Hollywood/Autobahn [Jon Turteltaub] c; 2uc: Jeffrey Porter, Christopher Faloona & Flavio Labiano
1990	Love Crimes [Lizzie Borden] c; addph (Dallas); ph: Jack N. Green
1991	Poison Ivy [Katt Shea Ruben] c; 2uc (+ addph): Rodrigo García; sfx addph: L.A. McConnell (coordinator) & Michael Yeaman (technician)
1993	Cool Runnings [Jon Turteltaub] c; 2uc: Rexford Metz
1993	Stranger by Night/Justice Under Fire [Gregory H. Brown] b&w-c; 2uc (+ 2ud); ph: Wally Pfister
1993	Dark Side of Genius [Phedon Papamichael Jr.] c
1994	Unstrung Heroes [Diane Keaton] c
1994	While You Were Sleeping [Jon Turteltaub] c
*1995*	Critics and Other Freaks/Critic's Choice [Ernie Mirich] scheduled as doph, but replaced by Richard Crudo
1995	Bio-Dome [Jason Bloom] c; addph: Christopher Faloona; 2uc (+ miniature ph): Patrick Loungway; 'b' unit ph: Goran Pavicevic
1995	Décroche les étoiles/Unhook the Stars [Nick Cassavetes] c
1995	Phenomenon [Jon Turteltaub] p/c
1996	The Locusts/A Secret Sin [John Patrick Kelley] p/c
1997	Mouse Hunt [Gore Verbinski] c; 2uc: Mark Vargo; uncred add 2uc: Wally Pfister; vfx ph: Mark A. Shelton
1998	Patch Adams [Tom Shadyac] p/c
1998	Willie Nelson at the Teatro/Willie Nelson's Teatro [Wim Wenders] c; mus perf + interv/51m; filmed at the Teatro Theater, Oxnard, Calif.
*1998*	Girl, Interrupted [James Mangold] scheduled as doph, but schedules were conflicting; ph by Jack N. Green in 1999
1999	The Million Dollar Hotel [Wim Wenders] p/c; addph: Wally Pfister
1999	27 Missing Kisses/Zapkhuli [Nana Dzhordzhadze] c; + add dir
2000	Viel passiert - Der BAP-Film/Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'n' Roll Film [Wim Wenders] c; mus doc/97m
2001	America's Sweethearts [Joe Roth] p/c; addph: Goran Pavicevic
*2001*	The Sky Is Green [Xan (= Alexandra Cassavetes)] announced as doph, but replaced by Jeff Cutter (filmed in 2003)
2001	Moonlight Mile [Brad Silberling] p/c
2001	Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet [seg 'Twelve Miles to Trona' dir by Wim Wenders] s16-35bu/b&w-c; 7 seg + links; other ph: Fred Elmes, Timo Salminen, Ángel Luis Fernández, a.o.
2002	Identity [James Mangold] p/c; vfx superv: Robert Stromberg
2002	I Drink, I Gamble and I Write: The Making of Barfly [Cecilia Miniucchi] c/V; doc/12m
2002	Shattered Glass [Billy Ray] s35/c; addph; ph: Mandy Walker
*2002*	The Tears of Don Juan [Nana Dzhordzhadze] announced; status unknown
2002	Mathilde [Nina Mimica] c; 2uc: Mauro Faloni
*2002*	The Blackness in Magic/Robben Island [?] ?; doc/?m; in development; status unknown
2003	Who Killed the Idea? [Hermann Vaske] c; short/15m; made for BMW Films
2003	Sideways [Alexander Payne] c; addph: Jennifer Lane
2004	The Weather Man [Gore Verbinski] c
2004	Walk the Line [James Mangold] s35/c
2004	Lights 2 [Marcus Dillistone] c; ph closing scenes; ph: Ron Stannett (opening scenes), Sue Gibson (day-to-night transition) & Jack Cardiff (alleyway scenes); demo film for Fuji Eterna 500 film stock
*2005*	The Rainbowmaker [Nana Dzhordzhadze] shooting scheduled for May 2005; in pre-production in 2006 with cph Christopher Doyle; ph in April 2007 by Walther Vanden Ende
2005	The Pursuit of Happyness [Gabriele Muccino] s35/c; addph: Goran Pavicevic

[Left] with dir Brad Silberling - "10 Items or Less"

2006	10 Items or Less [Brad Silberling] c; 2uc: Goran Pavicevic
2006	3:10 to Yuma [James Mangold] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Mark Vargo; filmed 2006-07
2008	W. [Oliver Stone] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c
2008	Arcadia Lost [Phedon Papamichael] c
2009	Fujifilm Vivid Family - Eterna Vivid 160 - Eterna Vivid 500 [prod: Steven J. Wolfe, a.o.] s16+35mm/c; product demo; ph scenes #1-29 (8m39sec - incl titles); ph scenes #30-53 (8m39sec - incl titles): Kramer Morgenthau; ph scenes #54-68 (5m3sec - incl titles): Dion Beebe
*2009*	BioShock/Rapture [Gore Verbinski (later replaced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo)] pre-production; after P. Papamichael prepped for 2 months, the film was put on hold; based on the X-Box game dir by Paul Hellquist (released in 2007)
2009	Knight & Day [James Mangold] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Josh Bleibtreu; aph: Hans Bjerno

"The Descendants"

2010	The Descendants [Alexander Payne] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Radan Popovic
*2010*	Jackpot [Lorna Davis] in development
*2010*	Stainless Steel [Lorna Davis] in development
2010	Breaking Waves [Paul Chart] c
2011	The Ides of March [George Clooney] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c
2011	Maniac [Shia LaBeouf] HD/b&w; short/10m; inspired by the song 'Maniac' from Kid Cudi's album 'Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager'
2011	This Is Forty [Judd Apatow] HD (ARRI ALEXA)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Goran Pavicevic; aph: Hans Bjerno
2012	Nebraska [Alexander Payne] HD (ARRI ALEXA M/p & Plus 4:3/p)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/b&w; 2uc: Radan Popovic
2013	The Monuments Men [George Clooney] Hawk Scope+s35+HD (ARRI ALEXA Plus 4:3/Hawk Scope)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; aph UK: Jeremy Braben
2015	The Huntsman: Winter's War [Cedric Nicolas-Troyan] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT/p & 65)/c; 2uc: Igor Meglic; aph: Adam Dale & Jeremy Braben; nature unit ph: Mike Carling
2016	Downsizing [Alexander Payne] HD/c; 2uc: François Dagenais & (Norway) Pål Ulvik Rokseth
2016	Logan/Wolverine 3 [James Mangold] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT Plus/p & Mini/p + Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera + Canon FS20 + Sony a7s II)-to-D-Cinema (scope)/c;; addph; ph: John Mathieson
2017	Brighton 4 [Levan Koguashvili] HD (ARRI ALEXA Mini/Master Scope)-to-D-Cinema (scope)/c
2018	Ford v. Ferrari [James Mangold] HD/c; splinter unit ph: Cory Geryak

TELEVISION & INTERNET
1992	Wild Palms [ep #1 'Everything Must Go' (90m) dir by Peter Hewitt, #2 'The Floating World' (45m) dir by Keith Gordon (KG), #3 'Rising Sons' (45m) dir by Kathryn Bigelow, #4 'Hungry Ghosts' (45m) dir by KG & #5 'Hello, I Must Be Going' (45m) dir by Phil Joanou] 5-part miniseries, 1993; for ABC-tv
1994	White Dwarf [Peter Markle] tvm/60m (originally made as a pilot); 2uc: Christopher Faloona; for FOX-tv
1995	The Conversation [Dean Parisot] unsold pilot shown as tvm; for NBC-tv; remake of film (1972-73, Francis Ford Coppola; ph: Bill Butler & Haskell Wexler)
1999	Shelly Fisher [Paul Chart] tvm
2006	Men in Trees [pilot dir by James Mangold] 36-part series, 2006-08; other ph: David Geddes
2012	The Gamblers [pilot 'The Ledge' (7m) dir by Rick Heinrichs] ?-part interactive miniseries/RED Epic; on location ph: Paula Huidobro; prod for the transmedia RIDES.tv platform
2014	Help [Justin Lin] c; short/5m; cph: Claudio Miranda; ep #4 (2015) of the 'Google Spotlight Stories' (for mobile)

MISCELLANEOUS
1984	The Boys Next Door [Penelope Spheeris] co-c.asst; ph: Arthur Albert
1987	Jogger [Robert Resnikoff; short] co-add c.asst; ph: John Hora

FILMS & TELEVISION AS DIRECTOR
1976	Cold Chicken [+ ph] see Films
1991	Sketch Artist [tvm; + co-c.op] ph: Wally Pfister
1993	Dark Side of Genius [+ ph] see Films
*2001*	Americaville [feature] announced; status unknown
2007	From Within [feature] ph: Rafael E. Sánchez; 2nd cinematographer: Akis Konstantakopoulos
*2007*	Whirrrr [co-d: Sven Dagones; + co-scrpl] announced; status unknown
2008	Arcadia Lost [feature; + ph] see Films

"Lost Angeles"

2010	Lost Angeles/City of Jerks [feature; + co-prod] ph (RED+HD [Canon EOS 5D]): Tari Segal; filmed July-October 2010 & April 2011 (pickup shots)
2016	A Beautiful Day [short/19m] ph: Cory Geryak