NICOLA PECORINI

#1: From interview [Camerimage, 2013]

#2: With dir Terry Gilliam [right] - "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" [2000] -

photo by François Duhamel

NICOLA PECORINI

Born: 10 August 1957, Milano, Italy.

Education: Scuole Civiche di Milano [Scuola di Cinema Televisione e Nuovi Media], Milan, Italy.

Career: Started as asst to fashion ph Oliviero Toscani in 1976. In May 1978, he moved to Switzerland to work as cameraman for Swiss TV. Attended Garrett Brown's Steadicam Workshop in April 1981 and became Steadicam op. In 1988, he and Garrett Brown founded the Steadicam Operators Association, Inc. [SOA].

Ph music videos, e.g. 'Riding With the King' [2000; a: Eric Clapton & B.B. King; d: Michael Haussman] & 'Pourtant' [2000; a: Vanessa Paradis; d: Richard Mudd (= Johnny Depp)]. Ph commercials dir by Andy Morahan [for Renault (November 1996)], John Woo [for Nike (January 1998)], Kinka Usher [for Smirnoff (April 2001)], Terry Gilliam ['The Secret Tournament' for Nike (November 2001)], Michael Haussman [for Suzuki (August 2004)], a.o.

Directed music videos, e.g. 'Dark Moon' [1993; a: Chris Isaak].

Appeared in the doc 'Lost In La Mancha [: The Un-Making of Don Quixote]' [2000, Keith Fulton & Louis Pepe; ph: Louis Pepe; 93m] about the unfinished film 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'.

Married to actress Caroline Goodall.

Awards: San Sebastián IFF 'Best Cinematography Award' [2000] for 'Harrison's Flowers'; 'Genie' Award nom [2006] for 'Tideland'; David di Donatello Awards 'Migliore Fotografia' nom [2010] for 'La prima cosa bella'.

Website: Nicola Pecorini

FILMS
1986	Opera/Terror at the Opera Dario Argento] s35/c; 2uc (+ 'b' cam op/Steadicam op); ph: Ronnie Taylor
1987	La partita/The Gamble [Carlo Vanzina] c; 2uc (+ 2ud) (+ 'b' cam op/Steadicam op); ph: Luigi Kuveiller
1989	Due occhi diabolici/Two Evil Eyes [Dario Argento & George A. Romero] c; 2uc (+ co-2ud) (+ 'b' cam op/Steadicam op); ph: Giuseppe Maccari & Peter Reniers
1990	The Doors [Oliver Stone] p/c; co-2uc (+ co-2ud) (+ co-Steadicam op); ph: Robert Richardson
1992	Cliffhanger [Renny Harlin] p/c; co-2uc (+ co-2ud) (+ c.op/Steadicam op); ph: Alex Thomson
1992	Little Buddha [Bernardo Bertolucci] p70/c; 2uc (+ 2ud) (+ Steadicam op); ph: Vittorio Storaro
1993	Only You/Him/Just in Time [Norman Jewison] c; 2uc (+ 'b' cam op/Steadicam op); ph: Sven Nykvist
1994	Death and the Maiden [Roman Polanski] c; 2uc (+ 2ud) (+ 'b' cam op/ Steadicam op); ph: Tonino Delli Colli
1995	Stealing Beauty/Io ballo da sola [Bernardo Bertolucci] s35/c; 2uc (+ 2ud) (+ 'b' cam op/Steadicam op); ph: Darius Khondji
1996	Rhinoceros Hunting In Budapest [Michael Haussman] tvi/c; 2uc: Robert F. Smith
1996	The Brave [Johnny Depp] c; addph; ph: Vilko Filac
1997	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [Terry Gilliam] spherical-to-2.35:1/c; + Steadicam op
*1998*	Titus [Julie Taymor] replaced after 3 weeks of shooting by Luciano Tovoli
1999	Rules of Engagement [William Friedkin] p+tvi/c; cph: William Fraker & Dariusz Wolski (started prod)
1999	Harrison's Flowers [Elie Chouraqui] s35/c; addph: Lucas Bielan; + co-Steadicam op
*2000*	The Man Who Killed Don Quixote [Terry Gilliam] prod shut down after 6 days of shooting; prod was revived in 2008, but the funding collapsed in 2010; filmed in 2017
2001	Poem - Ich setzte den Fuß in die Luft, und sie trug/Poem - I Set My Foot Upon the Air and It Carried Me [Ralf Schmerberg] b&w-c; 19 seg; ph seg #19 (4m20s) 'Ode an die Freude' (cph: Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein, Daniel Gottschalk & R. Schmerberg); other ph: Darius Khondji, Franz Lustig, Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein, Robby Müller, a.o.; filmed April 2000-April 2002
2002	The Order/The Sin Eater [Brian Helgeland] c
*2002*	Good Omens [Terry Gilliam] scheduled to start in March, but prod stalled
2003	The Brothers Grimm [Terry Gilliam] c; replaced as 1st unit doph by Newton Thomas Sigel, but credited as addph

With actress Jodelle Ferland - "Tideland"

2004	Tideland [Terry Gilliam] s35/c; 2uc: Mark Dobrescu; + Steadicam op
2006	Postmortem Bliss [Floria Sigismondi] c; short/11m
2006	Problema [Ralf Schmerberg] b&w-c; doc/98m; cph: Franz Lustig, Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein, Frank Griebe, a.o.; aph: Ralf Brauner; filmed 9 September; released in 2010
2007	Tutta la vita davanti/A Whole Life Ahead [Paolo Virzì] s35/c

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

2007	The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [Terry Gilliam] s35-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; filmed 2007-08
2009	La prima cosa bella/The First Beautiful Thing [Paolo Virzì] c; 2uc: Francesco Di Giacomo
*2009*	M/The Other Side [David Michaels] pre-production
2010	Ra.One/Random Access One [Anubhav Sinha] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 156m; cph: V. Manikanandan; 2uc: Francesco Di Giacomo; aph: John Marzano
2011	The Wholly Family [Terry Gilliam] HD (ARRI ALEXA)/c; short/20m; sponsored by Pastificio Lucio Garofalo S.p.A.
2012	The Zero Theorem [Terry Gilliam] s35-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/b&w-c; ph add unit: Marius Ivascu
2013	Incompresa/Misunderstood [Asia Argento] s16/c
2015	A Sexual Thriller [Joël Colburn] pre-production
2015	Hallucinaut [Daniel Auber] c; short/15m; 2uc (+ aph): Marco Tomaselli
2017	The Man Who Killed Don Quixote [Terry Gilliam] HD (ARRI ALEXA ST/tvi & Mini/tvi)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/b&w-c; see 2000; premiered in 2018

TELEVISION
1985	The Painter's World: Changing Constants of Art from the Renaissance to the Present [ep #3 'The Artist and the Nude' dir by Judith Wechsler] 6-part (x 28m) doc series/b&w-c; cph (#3): Mark Koninckx; anim ph (#3): Edward Joyce
1995	Tracey Takes On... [Thomas Schlamme (ep #1-3, 5 & 10), Simon Curtis (#4, 6-8) & Nicola Pecorini (#9)] 47-part series, 1996-99; 1st season, 1996 (10 ep)
1997	Push [pilot dir by Eric Laneuville & Ken Olin] 8-part (5 unaired) series, 1998; other ph: Cary Fisher & (2uc) Christopher Gosch

FILMS AS CAMERA OPERATOR & STEADICAM OPERATOR
1982	Il commissionario [Florestano Vancini; tvm] ?; ph: Claudio Cirillo; ep series 'Racconti italiani/10 registi italiani, 10 racconti italiani'
1982	La segnorina [Pasquale Squitieri; tvm] ?; ph: Eugenio Bentivoglio; ep series 'Racconti italiani/10 registi italiani, 10 racconti italiani'
1982	Tenebre/Tenebrae/Sotto gli occhi dell'assassino/Shadow/Under the Eyes of the Assassin/Unsane [Dario Argento] Steadicam op; ph: Luciano Tovoli
1982	Un'avventura a Campo de' Fiori [Luigi Magni; tvm] ?; ph: Arturo Zavattini; ep series 'Racconti italiani/10 registi italiani, 10 racconti italiani'
1982	Live [Bruno Bigoni & Kiko 'Enrico' Stella] ?; ph: Fabio Cirifino
1982	Neil Young - Berlin [Michael Lindsay-Hogg; concert film/60m/v] Steadicam op; c.op: Rainer Berndt, Alexander Pahl, Heinz Wolff, a.o.; filmed on 19 October at the Deutschlandhalle, West-Berlin
1983	Claretta/Claretta Petacci [Pasquale Squitieri] Steadicam op; ph: Eugenio Bentivoglio
1983	Lui è peggio di me [Enrico Oldoini] Steadicam op; ph: Alessandro D'Eva
1983	Phenomena/Creepers [Dario Argento] Steadicam op; ph: Romano Albani
1983	Ladyhawke [Richard Donner] Steadicam op; ph: Vittorio Storaro
1984	Survivors: The Blues Today [Robert Schwartz & Cork Marcheschi; concert film/87m] Steadicam op; ph: Eric F. Young; filmed on 13-15 March at Wilebski's Blues Saloon, St Paul, Minnesota, USA
1984	Un delitto [Salvatore Nocita; tvm] ?; ph: Blasco Giurato
1984	Rosso di sera [Beppe Cino] ?; ph: Adolfo Bartoli
1984	Anche lei fumava il sigaro/Giobbe/Solo per amore [Alessandro Di Robilant] c.op; ph: David Scott
1985	La piovra 2 [Florestano Vancini; 6-part tv-miniseries] uncred ?; ph: Nino Celeste
1985	Sotto il vestito niente/Nothing Underneath [Carlo Vanzina] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Maccari
1985	Minaccia d'amore/Ragno gelido/Dial Help/Dial: Help [Ruggero Deodato] ?; ph: Renato Tafuri
1985	Ishtar [Elaine May] Steadicam op; ph: Vittorio Storaro
1986	Via Montenapoleone [Carlo Vanzina] Steadicam op; ph: Luigi Kuveiller
1986	Opera/Terror at the Opera [Dario Argento] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc); ph: Ronnie Taylor
1986	Nasty Hero [Nick Barwood] Steadicam op; ph: Oliver Wood
1986	The Last Emperor [Bernardo Bertolucci] Steadicam op; ph: Vittorio Storaro
1987	Graceland - The African Concert [Michael Lindsay-Hogg; concert film/87m/v] Steadicam op; cam superv: Barrie Dodd; cameramen: John Duncum, David Johnson, Jim O'Donnel, a.o.; filmed on 14 February at the Rufaro Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa
1987	La partita/The Gamble [Carlo Vanzina] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc/2ud); ph: Luigi Kuveiller
1987	Rent-a-Cop [Jerry London] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Rotunno
1988	Miss Firecracker [Thomas Schlamme] Steadicam op; ph: Arthur Albert
1988	La chiesa/The Church/Cathedral of Demons/Demons 3 [Michele Soavi] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op; ph: Renato Tafuri
1988	La piovra 4 [Luigi Perelli; 6-part tv-miniseries] uncred ?; ph: Nino Celeste
1988	Mery per sempre/Forever Mary [Marco Risi] uncred Steadicam op; ph: Mauro Marchetti
1988	Bye bye chaperon rouge/Bye Bye, Red Riding Hood/Piroska és a farkas [Márta Mészáros] Steadicam op; ph: Thomas Vámos
1989	Tempo di uccidere/Time to Kill/The Short Cut [Giuliano Montaldo] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op; ph: Blasco Giurato
1989	Il sole anche di notte/Night Sun/Sunshine Even by Night [Paolo & Vittorio Taviani] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Lanci
1989	Due occhi diabolici/Two Evil Eyes [Dario Argento & George A. Romero] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc/co-2ud); ph: Giuseppe Maccari & Peter Reniers
1989	The Comfort of Strangers/Cortesie per gli ospiti [Paul Schrader] Steadicam op; ph: Dante Spinotti
1989	Stanno tutti bene/Everybody's Fine [Giuseppe Tornatore] uncred ?; ph: Blasco Giurato
1989	Max et Jérémie/Max and Jeremy [Claire Devers] Steadicam op; ph: Bruno de Keyzer
1989	Donna d'onore/Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride/Bride of Violence [Stuart Margolin; 2-part tvm] Steadicam op; ph: Ennio Guarnieri
1989	In nome del popolo sovrano/In the Name of the Sovereign People [Luigi Magni] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Lanci & Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
1989	Verso sera/Towards Evening/By Night Fall [Francesco Archibugi] Steadicam op; ph: Paolo Carnera
1989	The Sheltering Sky [Bernardo Bertolucci] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op; ph: Vittorio Storaro
1989	La putain du roi/The King's Whore/Die Hure des Königs [Axel Corti] Steadicam op; ph: Gernot Roll
1990	The Doors [Oliver Stone] co-Steadicam op (+ co-2uc/co-2ud); ph: Robert Richardson
1990	La condanna/The Condemnation/The Conviction [Marco Bellocchio] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Lanci
1990	The Inner Circle/Il proiezionista [Andrei Konchalovsky] Steadicam op; ph: Ennio Guarnieri
1990	La setta/Demons 4/The Devil's Daughter/The Sect [Michele Soavi] co-Steadicam op; ph: Raffaele Mertes
1990	Back in the U.S.S.R. [Deran Sarafian] c.op/Steadicam op; ph: Yuri Neyman
1990	La villa del venerdì/Husbands and Lovers/In Excess [Mauro Bolognini] Steadicam op; ph: Giuseppe Lanci
1991	Piedipiatti/Cops [Carlo Vanzina] Steadicam op; ph: Luigi Kuveiller
1991	Lunes de fiel/Bitter Moon [Roman Polanski] c.op/Steadicam op; ph: Tonino Delli Colli
1991	Nel continente nero/On the Dark Continent [Marco Risi] Steadicam op; ph: Mauro Marchetti
1992	La soif de l'or [Gérard Oury] Steadicam op; ph: Tonino Delli Colli
1992	Cliffhanger [Renny Harlin] c.op/Steadicam op (+ co-2uc/co-2ud); ph: Alex Thomson
1992	Little Buddha [Bernardo Bertolucci] Steadicam op (+ 2uc/2ud); ph: Vittorio Storaro
1993	Profil bas [Claude Zidi] c.op; ph: François Catonné
1993	Mario und der Zauberer [Klaus Maria Brandauer] Steadicam op; ph: Lajos Koltai
1993	La cité de la peur, une comédie familiale [Alain Berbérian] Steadicam op; ph: Laurent Dailland
1993	Only You/Him/Just in Time [Norman Jewison] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc); ph: Sven Nykvist
1994	Death and the Maiden [Roman Polanski] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc/2ud); ph: Tonino Delli Colli
1994	Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long [Thomas Schlamme; tvm] c.op; ph: Alexander Gruszynski
1994	French Kiss/Paris Match [Lawrence Kasdan] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op; ph: Owen Roizman
1994	Cutthroat Island [Renny Harlin] c.op (Malta)/Steadicam op; ph: Peter Levy & Oliver Wood
1995	The American President [Rob Reiner] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op; ph: John Seale
1995	Stealing Beauty/Io ballo da sola [Bernardo Bertolucci] 'b' cam op/Steadicam op (+ 2uc/2ud); ph: Darius Khondji
1996	Beverly Hills Ninja [Dennis Dugan] c.op; ph: Arthur Albert
1996	Bulworth [Warren Beatty] c.op/Steadicam op; ph: Vittorio Storaro

TELEVISION AS DIRECTOR
1995	Tracey Takes On... [ep #9 'Health'] see Television