Stephen Goldblatt

Stephen Goldblatt
Goldblatt in 2010
Born (1945-04-29) 29 April 1945 (age 79)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Nationality
  • South African
  • British
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1968–present
AwardsNominated for:
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography

Stephen Goldblatt, A.S.C., B.S.C. (born 29 April 1945) is a South African-born British cinematographer,[1][2] noted for his work on numerous high-profile action films, including the first two entries in the Lethal Weapon series,[3] as well as for his recent collaborations with director Mike Nichols[4] and Tate Taylor.

Early life

Goldblatt was born on 29 April 1945 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a Jewish family.[5] When he was seven years old, he and his family moved to London, where at the age of 18 he started working as a photojournalist for the London Sunday Times.[6]

Goldblatt attended Guildford School of Art for photography, but later discovered his interest in film while working on a special assignment for Lion Films at Shepperton Studios. It was this interest that motivated him to attend London's Royal College of Art Film School.[7]

Career

Upon graduation, he went to work shooting documentaries and animation, much of it in 16mm. Among his assignments were two Disappearing World episodes for Granada TV.[6]

Goldblatt began his career as a cameraman for documentaries and commercials. From 1972-75, he worked shooting TV commercials for directors such as Hugh Hudson, Alan Parker, Ridley Scott, and Brian Gibson.[6] Goldblatt made the transition to feature films in 1979, when he shot Breaking Glass for Gibson, then in the following decade he worked with directors Peter Hyams on Outland (1981), Tony Scott on The Hunger (1983), Francis Coppola on The Cotton Club (1984), and Richard Donner on Lethal Weapon (1987) and Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).[7]

In the 1990s, Goldblatt joined the Batman series with director Joel Schumacher and shot Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997). In the late 1990s, during a “film sabbatical” and after many years of only taking snapshots, Goldblatt built a darkroom and began to photograph his life and surroundings again.[8] After his sabbatical Goldblatt worked with directors such as Mike Nichols on Angels in America (2003), Closer (2004) and Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Chris Columbus on Rent (2005) and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Nora Ephron on Julie & Julia (2009), and most recently Tate Taylor on The Help (2011) and Get On Up (2014).

Stephen Goldblatt now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and has three grown children. When he is at home, Goldblatt enjoys tending to his pond and koi fish, gardening, playing his guitar, cooking, reading every day, and mastering the art of husbanding with his wife Deborah.[8]

Photography

One of Stephen Goldblatt's most significant photo shoots was of the British band The Beatles in 1968, who at the time had just finished recording what came to be known as The White Album. The Beatles wanted some fresh publicity photos shot by an unknown photographer, with whom they planned to travel all over London to take random photos. One of Goldblatt's shots became a two-page spread in Life magazine, and a few others were used as album art on Beatles compilations.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director
1969 Forum[a] Mireille Dansereau
1972 Pass of Arms Peter Elford
1980 Breaking Glass Brian Gibson
1981 Outland Peter Hyams
1982 The Return of the Soldier Alan Bridges
1983 The Hunger Tony Scott
1984 The Cotton Club Francis Ford Coppola
1985 Young Sherlock Holmes Barry Levinson
1987 Lethal Weapon Richard Donner
1988 Everybody's All-American Taylor Hackford
1989 Lethal Weapon 2 Richard Donner
1990 Joe Versus the Volcano John Patrick Shanley
1991 For the Boys Mark Rydell
The Prince of Tides Barbra Streisand
1992 Consenting Adults Alan J. Pakula
1993 The Pelican Brief
1995 Batman Forever Joel Schumacher
1996 Striptease Andrew Bergman
1997 Batman & Robin Joel Schumacher
1999 The Deep End of the Ocean Ulu Grosbard
2004 Closer Mike Nichols
2005 Rent Chris Columbus
2007 Charlie Wilson's War Mike Nichols
2009 Julie & Julia Nora Ephron
2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Chris Columbus
2011 The Help Tate Taylor
2014 Get On Up
2015 The Intern Nancy Meyers
2017 Our Souls at Night Ritesh Batra
2020 Ava Tate Taylor
Wild Mountain Thyme John Patrick Shanley
2023 Red, White & Royal Blue Matthew Lopez
  1. ^ Co-cinematographer with Tony Scott

Television

Miniseries

Year Title Director
1971-1972 The Flight of the Arctic 7
2003 Angels in America Mike Nichols

TV movies

Year Title Director Note
2001 Conspiracy Frank Pierson
2002 Path to War John Frankenheimer With Nancy Schreiber

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Year Category Title[10] Result
1991 Best Cinematography The Prince of Tides Nominated
1995 Batman Forever Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers

Year Category Title Result
1991 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography The Prince of Tides Nominated
1995 Batman Forever Nominated
2003 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Limited Series Angels in America Nominated
2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Won

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year Category Title Result
2001 Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Conspiracy Nominated
2002 Path to War Nominated
2003 Angels in America Nominated

Hollywood Film Awards

Year Category Result
2007 Cinematography of the Year Nominated

Camerimage

Year Category Title Result
2007 Lifetime Achievement Award Won
2014 Golden Frog Get on Up Nominated

References

  1. ^ "STEPHEN GOLDBLATT". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  2. ^ "The ASC -- American Cinematographer: ASC Close-Up". theasc.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Stephen Goldblatt ASC, BSC | Zacuto USA". Zacuto USA. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  4. ^ Barraclough, Leo (22 November 2014). "'Angels in America' Cinematographer on Working With Mike Nichols". Variety. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Jewish artists - People - National Portrait Gallery".
  6. ^ a b c "Stephen Goldblatt". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b "STEPHEN GOLDBLATT, ASC, BSC, ILLUMINATES "THE HELP"".
  8. ^ a b "The Art of Stephen Goldblatt".
  9. ^ "Unseen Beatles photos on view at UC Berkeley". 6 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Stephen Goldblatt Awards". IMDb.