The Magnificent Seven is a classic of American cinema. John Sturges’ 1960 Western, itself a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai, was photographed by Charles B. Lang, Jr., ASC in the 35mm anamorphic format using Panavision lenses.
Based on a true story, Free State of Jones depicts the Civil War-era struggle of farmer-turned-Confederate deserter Newton Knight leading an armed rebellion of local farmers and freed slaves to secede Jones County, Mississippi, from the Confederacy.
Jodie Foster directs George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Money Monster, in which a glib TV financial advisor is taken hostage on the air by an irate investor. Foster tapped Matthew Libatique, ASC to bring her vision to the screen.
In Fear the Walking Dead, AMC’s spinoff to the hit series The Walking Dead, the zombie apocalypse has just begun to affect Los Angeles. In the six-episode first season, L.A. residents try to survive as the military loses containment and the power grid goes down. Leading up to the pilot, cinematographer Michael McDonough, ASC, BSC saw an opportunity to employ the anamorphic format for a series.
A road movie tinged with science-fiction, Midnight Special is a simple story of a father's love for his son that is wrapped in complexity and nuance.
When J.J. Abrams and Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC took on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they knew they were handling a cultural touchstone. As they did with Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, they wanted to respect the antecedent while making a great, entertaining film for today’s audiences. So when it came to choosing format, lenses and the right look, they began by researching how the original Star Wars films were made.
In the winter of 1820, the crew of the whaling ship Essex battled a monster – a massive sperm whale driven by aggression and vengeance that wreaked havoc upon them. The survivors then battled storms, despair and each other while trying to hunt it down. This shockingly real maritime event inspired Herman Melville to write “Moby-Dick.” Nearly 150 years later, Nathaniel Philbrick's book on the subject, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, inspired director Ron Howard to bring the story to the screen.
