Dean Semler

Dean Semler AM ACS ASC
Born	Dean William Semler (1943-05-26) 26 May 1943 (age 81) Renmark, South Australia, Australia
Years active	1971–present
Organization(s)	Australian Cinematographers Society American Society of Cinematographers [1]
Spouse	Anne Stockman

Dean William Semler AM ACS ASC (born 26 May 1943) is an Australian cinematographer and film director. ^{[2] [3]}

He is a three-time recipient of the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography and an Academy Award winner.

In 2002 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). ^[4]

Life and career

Early years

Semler was born in Renmark, South Australia. His first work in the production industry was as a camera operator at a local television station. Later, he began making documentary and educational films for Film Australia. He was the cinematographer for A Steam Train Passes (1974), Moving On (1974), Let the Balloon Go (1976), and A Good Thing Going (1978).

1980s

His first film was Stepping Out, in 1980. Allmovie praised his "stunning work" on the film Hoodwink (1981) with a screen play by Ken Quinnell. Semler was also the cinematographer for Mad Max 2 (1981). Semler's vast panoramic shots of the Australian Outback's deserts "...convincingly conveyed a parched, dusty, post-apocalyptic world" ^[5] and led to international attention for his work. Semler also acted as cinematographer for the follow-up film to The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Semler was also a cinematographer for the acclaimed Australian miniseries Bodyline (1984). ^[6] In the late 1980s, Semler was the cinematographer for several popular films, such as Cocktail (1988) and Young Guns (1988).

1990s

In 1989, Semler was hired as cinematographer for Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Semler lensed the comedy City Slickers (1991) and the action film Last Action Hero (1993) in the early 1990s. In 1995, Semler again worked with Costner on his film Waterworld . In 1992 Semler was the cinematographer of The Power of One.

2000s

In the 2000s, Semler was the cinematographer for a range of movies that included comedies ( Nutty Professor II: The Klumps from 2000, and Bruce Almighty from 2003), action films ( XXX from 2002 and The Alamo from 2004). In the mid-2000s, Semler was the cinematographer for the football comedy The Longest Yard (2005) and Just My Luck (2006). In 2006, Semler worked with Mel Gibson again for the film Apocalypto . Semler's camera work conveyed the beauty of the lush Mesoamerican jungle setting in Apocalypto.

Filmography

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1971	Where Dead Men Lie	Keith Gow	With Jon Rhodes
1973	I Need More Staff	Donald Crombie
	One Good Reason		Also camera operator
1977	Outback Supply	David Haythornwaite
1979	Saturday	Himself
1980	War Without Weapons	Curtis Levy	With Geoff Burton and Malcolm Richards

Documentary short

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1971	The Choice	Donald Crombie
1973	Through My Eyes: Kilkenny Primary School, South Australia		Also camera operator
	Through My Eyes: Stradbroke Infants School, South Australia
1974	A Steam Train Passes	David Haythornwaite

Feature film

Director

• Firestorm (1998)
• The Patriot (1998)

Cinematographer

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1974	Moving On	Richard Mason
1976	Let the Balloon Go	Oliver Howes
1981	Hoodwink	Claude Whatham
	Mad Max 2	George Miller
1983	Kitty and the Bagman	Donald Crombie
	Undercover	David Stevens
1984	Razorback	Russell Mulcahy
1985	The Coca-Cola Kid	Dusan Makavejev
	Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome	George Miller George Ogilvie
1987	Bullseye	Carl Schultz
	Going Sane	Michael Robertson
	The Lighthorsemen	Simon Wincer	Also camera operator
1988	Cocktail	Roger Donaldson
	Young Guns	Christopher Cain
1989	Farewell to the King	John Milius	Also camera "A" operator
	Dead Calm	Phillip Noyce
	K-9	Rod Daniel
1990	Impulse	Sondra Locke
	Young Guns II	Geoff Murphy
	Dances with Wolves	Kevin Costner
1991	City Slickers	Ron Underwood
1992	The Power of One	John G. Avildsen
1993	Super Mario Bros.	Rocky Morton Annabel Jankel	Also 2nd unit director
	Last Action Hero	John McTiernan
	The Three Musketeers	Stephen Herek
1994	The Cowboy Way	Gregg Champion
1995	Waterworld	Kevin Reynolds
1997	Gone Fishin'	Christopher Cain
	Trojan War	George Huang
1999	The Bone Collector	Phillip Noyce
2000	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps	Peter Segal
2001	Heartbreakers	David Mirkin
2002	D-Tox	Jim Gillespie
	Dragonfly	Tom Shadyac
	We Were Soldiers	Randall Wallace
	XXX	Rob Cohen
2003	Bruce Almighty	Tom Shadyac
2004	The Alamo	John Lee Hancock
2005	The Longest Yard	Peter Segal
	Stealth	Rob Cohen
2006	Just My Luck	Donald Petrie
	Click	Frank Coraci
	Apocalypto	Mel Gibson
2007	I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry	Dennis Dugan
2008	Get Smart	Peter Segal
	Appaloosa	Ed Harris
2009	2012	Roland Emmerich
2010	Date Night	Shawn Levy
	Secretariat	Randall Wallace
2011	In the Land of Blood and Honey	Angelina Jolie
2012	Parental Guidance	Andy Fickman
2013	Grudge Match	Peter Segal
2014	Heaven Is for Real	Randall Wallace
	Maleficent	Robert Stromberg
2015	Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2	Andy Fickman
	The Last Witch Hunter	Breck Eisner
	The Ridiculous 6	Frank Coraci
2016	The Do-Over	Steven Brill
2017	Sandy Wexler
2019	Playing with Fire	Andy Fickman
TBA	Summer Gold	Caroline Zelder

Documentary film

Year	Title	Director
1980	Stepping Out	Chris Noonan
1984	In Memory of Malawan	Ian Dunlop

Television

TV movies

Year	Title	Director
1976	Do I Have to Kill My Child?	Donald Crombie
1978	A Good Thing Going	Arch Nicholson
1986	Passion Flower	Joseph Sargent
1998	The Clean Machine	Ken Cameron

TV series

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1980	The Russians	Arch Nicholson	Documentary series
1988	Great Performances	Rodney Fisher	Episode "Melba"

Miniseries

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1983	The Dismissal	Carl Schultz George Miller Phillip Noyce George Ogilvie John Power
	Return to Eden	Karen Arthur
1984	Bodyline	Carl Schultz George Ogilvie Denny Lawrence Lex Marinos
1988	Melba	Rodney Fisher	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Year	Title	Category	Result
1990	Dances with Wolves	Best Cinematography	Won

American Society of Cinematographers

Year	Title	Category	Result
1990	Dances with Wolves	Best Cinematography	Won
2006	Apocalypto		Nominated
2013	Lifetime Achievement Award		Won

Australian Film Institute

Year	Title	Category	Result
1980	Mad Max 2	Best Cinematography	Nominated
1983	Undercover		Nominated
1984	Razorback		Won
1985	The Coca-Cola Kid		Nominated
1988	The Lighthorsemen		Nominated
1989	Dead Calm		Won

BAFTA Awards

Year	Title	Category	Result
1990	Dances with Wolves	Best Cinematography	Nominated

Chicago Film Critics Association

Year	Title	Category	Result
1990	Dances with Wolves	Best Cinematography	Won
2006	Apocalypto		Won

Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association

Year	Title	Category	Result
1990	Dances with Wolves	Best Cinematography	Won
2006	Apocalypto		Won

Satellite Awards

Year	Title	Category	Result
2010	Secretariat	Best Cinematography	Nominated

References

1. "The ASC -- American Cinematographer: ASC Close-Up". theasc.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. "DEAN SEMLER". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
3. "Dean Semler, ASC, ACS". Murtha Skouras Agency. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
4. "Dean William Semler". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
5. Allmovie biography by Hal Erickson
6. The Australian Film and Television Companion – Compiled by Tony Harrison, Simon & Schuster, Australia (1994)

External links

• Dean Semler at IMDb