ASC to fete Fraker
Lenser to receive lifetime achievement award
The five-time Oscar-nominated director of photography, whose credits include "Bullitt," "Rosemary's Baby," "Looking For Mr. Goodbar" and "Heaven Can Wait," was chosen by his peers in the highly exclusive org, whose membership is by invitation only and based on an individual's body of narrative film work.
"When you're honored by your peers, nothing can top that," said Fraker at a luncheon at the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.
Still active
Like a number of his predecessors, such as Conrad Hall ("American Beauty") and last year's lifetime achievement honoree, Vilmos Zsigmond ("Playing by Heart"), (for whom Fraker provided additional photography on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), Fraker is still quite active in the profession. "There are so many great cameramen who deserve this award, and it's a testament to the ASC that they're honoring people who are still doing good work," Fraker said.
The veteran lenser recently completed principal photography for New Line's "Town and Country," slated for a February release, and "Rules of Engagement," directed by William Friedkin.
"He's one of the youngest cameramen I've ever worked with," said "Town and Country" director Peter Chelsom of the 76-year-old d.p. "He's very alive and very collaborative; he doesn't have a method that's fixed.
'Great with actors'
"Anytime you have a character-driven film, it is important to have a cinematographer like Bill Fraker by your side," added the Brit helmer. "He's great with the actors. They trust him, and rightly so, because his images are like portraits. He gets beneath the surface and shows the audience the truth behind their eyes."
The dark comedy stars Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Andie MacDowell, Jenna Elfman and Garry Shandling.
Fraker's entry into features was as a camera operator for Conrad Hall in such films as "Morituri" and "The Professionals," which also touted the young Jordan Cronenweth ("Blade Runner") as an assistant cameraman. "Hall was an innovator, a pioneer," said Fraker. "His reach far exceeded his grasp, to quote Robert Browning. And he's got a set of balls."
Fraker emerged as an influential cinematographer in 1965, when he was on the cutting edge of a new wave of commercial-makers who were given the freedom to experiment with long lenses, soft light and other new looks that ultimately redefined the way features were shot. He earned his first feature credit for cinematography in 1967 for "Games," which was followed by "The President's Analyst," "The Fox" and "Bullitt."
Directed by Peter Yates, "Bullitt" defined a genre of chase films. Among the film's innovations was Yates and Fraker's decision to shoot the chase scenes in San Francisco from the visual perspective of a camera in each car.
"Peter was an exciting director to work with because he was open to new ideas and willing to stretch himself and go out on a limb," Fraker said.
Subsequent films shot by Fraker, whose career spans 32 years and 45 feature films, include "The Day of the Dolphin," "Exorcist II: The Heretic," "Sharky's Machine," "Irreconcilable Differences," "Memoirs of an Invisible Man," "Tombstone" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau."
Other Lifetime Achievement recipients include Sven Nykvist, Gordon Willis, Conrad Hall, Victor Kemper, Haskell Wexler, Owen Roizman, Phil Lathrop, Charlie Lang, Stanley Cortez, George Folsey and Joe Biroc.
