Summary
John Newton Green ASC (born November 18, 1946),[1] is an American cinematographer and film director best known for his Oscar-nominated collaborations with actor/director Clint Eastwood, taking over from Eastwood's previous collaborator Bruce Surtees.[2]
Jack N. Green | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Newton Green November 18, 1946 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 1986–present |
Biography edit
Early life edit
Green was born in 1946, in San Francisco, California, to Trudy and John Green, Sr.[3] [2]
His parents were photography enthusiasts. Their home-made darkroom had a strong artistic impact on Green. At age 17, Green graduated from both high school and barber college, expecting to become a career barber.[3]
Early career edit
A regular barbershop customer, cameraman John Dieves—who had been a combat cameraman in World War II—excited Green with tales of the trade. Green eventually joined Dieves, to work on small television productions, for various production companies, including San Francisco’s W.A. Palmer. In 1965 Dieves sponsored Green's union membership.[3]
In the summer of 1966, Green was assistant cameraman for a documentary, in Oregon, about the movie The Way West. His work was chiefly on aerial shots. [3]
In 1968, Green moved to Hollywood where he began his career as an assistant to Emmy-winning cinematographer Donald M. Morgan. He worked primarily on aerial unit photography, shooting helicopter exteriors for the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.[2] After being laid off, he fell in with Michael W. Watkins, who got him a job as a camera operator on the Jonathan Demme film Fighting Mad. He spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s freelancing as an operator under DPs like William A. Fraker, Ric Waite, Harry Stradling Jr., and Bruce Surtees, shooting films like Bronco Billy, 48 Hrs., Pale Rider, and Beverly Hills Cop.[2]
Clint Eastwood films edit
He first met Clint Eastwood on the set of the film The Gauntlet, and proceeded to operate on every single Eastwood film until being promoted to DP on Heartbreak Ridge after being recommended by Surtees.[2] Because of Eastwood's tendency to reuse the same crew from film-to-film, Green shot every Eastwood-directed film between 1986 and 2000, their final collaboration being Space Cowboys.[2] Green's work on the 1992 western, Unforgiven earned him nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for best cinematography. He was also a nominee for the ASC Award for the 1995 film, The Bridges of Madison County.
Recent career edit
Since 2000, Green has worked on over fifteen films in genres ranging from science fiction (Serenity) to action (A Man Apart) to comedy (50 First Dates, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Hot Tub Time Machine). He made his directorial debut with Traveller, a 1997 crime drama starring Bill Paxton and Mark Wahlberg. Green has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 1992.
Filmography edit
Assistant Camera
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Win, Place or Steal | Richard Bailey | |
| 1975 | Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York | Sidney J. Furie | |
| Rooster Cogburn | Stuart Millar | Uncredited |
Camera Operator
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Fighting Mad | Jonathan Demme | |
| 1978 | Every Which Way but Loose | James Fargo | |
| 1979 | Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker | Ted Post | TV movie |
| 1980 | Bronco Billy | Clint Eastwood | |
| Any Which Way You Can | Buddy Van Horn | ||
| 1981 | Midnight Offerings | Rod Holcomb | TV movie |
| 1982 | Firefox | Clint Eastwood | |
| 48 Hrs. | Walter Hill | Uncredited | |
| Honkytonk Man | Clint Eastwood | ||
| 1983 | Sudden Impact | ||
| 1984 | Tightrope | Richard Tuggle | |
| Beverly Hills Cop | Martin Brest | ||
| Starman | John Carpenter | Uncredited | |
| 1985 | Pale Rider | Clint Eastwood | |
| Rocky IV | Sylvester Stallone | ||
| 1986 | Pretty in Pink | Howard Deutch | |
| Out of Bounds | Richard Tuggle | ||
| Ratboy | Sondra Locke |
2nd Unit Director of Photography
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Uncommon Valor | Ted Kotcheff |
| 2006 | Click | Frank Coraci |
Additional Photography
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Volunteers | Nicholas Meyer |
| 1989 | The Karate Kid Part III | John G. Avildsen |
| 2006 | Zoom | Peter Hewitt |
Awards and nominations edit
- 1988 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award for Technical Excellence: Bird (won)
- 1992 Academy Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (nominated)
- 1992 BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (nominated)
- 1992 Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (won)
- 1992 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (won)
- 1992 Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (won)
- 1992 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography: Unforgiven (won)
- 1995 ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases: The Bridges of Madison County (nomination)
- 1998 Society of Camera Operators President's Award (won)
- 2003 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (won)
- 2009 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award (won)
References edit
- ^ Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films. Band 3, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3, p. 375.
- ^ a b c d e f "JACK N. GREEN". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Udel, James C.: "Cinematographer Jack N. Green’s Aerial Work Led to Gigs on Clint Eastwood Movies," August 2, 2019, Variety, retrieved October 2, 2021
External links edit
- Jack N. Green at IMDb