Jack N. Green

Last updated
Jack N. Green
Born
John Niel Green

(1939-08-10) August 10, 1939 (age 85)
Occupation Cinematographer
Years active1986–present

John Niel Green ASC (born August 10, 1939), [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]

Contents

Biography

Early life

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

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

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

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

Film

YearTitleDirector
1986 Heartbreak Ridge Clint Eastwood
1987 Like Father Like Son Rod Daniel
1988 Bird Clint Eastwood
The Dead Pool Buddy Van Horn
1989 Pink Cadillac
Race for Glory Rocky Lang
1990 White Hunter Black Heart Clint Eastwood
The Rookie
1991 Deceived Damian Harris
1992 Love Crimes Lizzie Borden
Unforgiven Clint Eastwood
1993 Rookie of the Year Daniel Stern
A Perfect World Clint Eastwood
1994 Trapped in Paradise George Gallo
1995 Bad Company Damian Harris
The Bridges of Madison County Clint Eastwood
The Net Irwin Winkler
The Amazing Panda Adventure Christopher Cain
1996 Twister Jan de Bont
1997 Absolute Power Clint Eastwood
Speed 2: Cruise Control Jan de Bont
Traveller Himself
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Clint Eastwood
1999 True Crime
Girl, Interrupted James Mangold
2000 Space Cowboys Clint Eastwood
2001 Pretty When You Cry Himself
2003 A Man Apart F. Gary Gray
Secondhand Lions Tim McCanlies
2004 50 First Dates Peter Segal
Against the Ropes Charles S. Dutton
2005 The 40-Year-Old Virgin Judd Apatow
Serenity Joss Whedon
2007 Are We Done Yet? Steve Carr
2008 My Best Friend's Girl Howard Deutch
2010 Hot Tub Time Machine Steve Pink
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Thor Freudenthal
2011 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules David Bowers
2014 The Letters William Riead
Left Behind Vic Armstrong
2020The PendantJeffrey N. Albert

Television

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1993 The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Bryan Spicer Episode "Pilot"
1997Eastwood on Eastwood Richard Schickel Documentary film

Short film

YearTitleDirector
2001 Golden Dreams Agnieszka Holland
2012ReignKimberly Jentzen

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
1992 Academy Awards Best Cinematography UnforgivenNominated
BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Won
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Won
National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Won
1995 American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography The Bridges of Madison CountyNominated
1998 Society of Camera Operators President's AwardWon
2003 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement AwardWon
2009American Society of CinematographersWon

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References

  1. Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films. Band 3, Berlin 2001, ISBN   3-89602-340-3, p. 375.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JACK N. GREEN". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 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