James Laxton | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Florida State University (BFA) |
Occupation | Cinematographer |
Years active | 2003–present |
Parent | Aggie Guerard Rodgers (mother) [1] |
James Laxton is an American cinematographer who is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Barry Jenkins, specifically his work on Jenkins' 2016 film Moonlight , for which he won an Independent Spirit Award and received an Academy Award nomination. [2] [3]
Laxton began his career at Florida State University, where he met Jenkins. They collaborated on numerous films, including the critically acclaimed 2016 film Moonlight. After graduating, Laxton entered the industry by assisting the camera department on features and shorts, including projects from directors such as David Nordstrom, David Parker, and Cole Schreiber.
In childhood, Laxton accompanied his mother, a noted costume designer, to film sets. He reported being inspired by the rhythm of chaos and calm on the movie set, which played a significant role in his decision to enter the industry. [4]
Laxton's most critically acclaimed credit is the 2016 film Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins. The film explores themes of sexuality in a harsh urban environment. A relatively low budget of 1.5 million dollars [5] forced Laxton to forgo equipment such as underwater camera gear and search for innovative cinematographic solutions. [6]
This 2018 film was also a Jenkins collaboration. The film features a tragic love story set in 1970s New York City, between Clementine "Tish" Rivers (played by KiKi Layne) and wood artist Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (played by Stephan James). The two struggle against racism, sexual harassment and assault, and a false rape accusation. The film is based on a novel by James Baldwin, and uses a non-linear structure.
In discussing the success of the movie, which has been described as "trading docu-realism for crafted visual poetry of the highest level," [7] Laxton and Jenkins accredited their years-long process of conversation and collaboration.
Year | Title | Director |
---|---|---|
2003 | My Josephine | Barry Jenkins |
Little Brown Boy | ||
2005 | The Unseen Kind-Hearted Beast | Amy Seimetz |
2009 | A Young Couple | Barry Jenkins |
2010 | Eggshells for Soil | Megan Boone |
2012 | Rest | Cole Schreiber |
Mission Chinese | David Parker Cole Schreiber | |
2013 | Fête des Pets | Nicholas Jasenovec |
Sarah Silverman's Perfect Night | Liam Lynch | |
2014 | Lemonade War | Ramin Bahrani |
2015 | Welcome to the Last Bookstore | Chad Howitt |
2016 | Bernie Sanders Is the One for Me | Andrew Deyoung |
2019 | Squarespace: Dream It | Spike Jonze |
2021 | Reebok's Reconnect | Jonas Lindstroem |
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Medicine for Melancholy | Barry Jenkins | |
2010 | The Violent Kind | The Butcher Brothers | |
The Myth of the American Sleepover | David Robert Mitchell | ||
Karma | Adivi Sesh | ||
2010 | The Last Buffalo Hunt | Lee Anne Schmitt | |
Sawdust City | David Nordstrom | ||
2012 | California Solo | Marshall Lewy | |
For a Good Time, Call... | Jamie Travis | ||
Leave Me Like You Found Me | Adele Romanski | ||
The Murder of Hi Good | Lee Lynch | ||
2013 | Bad Milo | Jacob Vaughan | |
The Moment | Jane Weinstock | ||
Dealin' with Idiots | Jeff Garlin | ||
Adult World | Scott Coffey | ||
Tradition Is a Temple: The Modern Masters of New Orleans | Darren Hoffman | ||
2014 | Camp X-Ray | Peter Sattler | |
Tusk | Kevin Smith | ||
2016 | Yoga Hosers | ||
Holidays | Nicholas McCarthy | Segment – "Easter", also with Bridger Nielson and Shaheen Seth | |
The Black Jacket | Ryan Simon | ||
Moonlight | Barry Jenkins | ||
Youth | Brett Marty | ||
2017 | Anything | Timothy McNeil | |
2018 | If Beale Street Could Talk | Barry Jenkins | |
2024 | Mufasa: The Lion King | Filming |
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Futurestates | Barry Jenkins | 1 episode – Remigration |
2013 | You and Your Fucking Coffee | Henry Phillips | 2 episodes |
2014 | Rubberhead | Dean Fleischer-Camp | TV movie (segment – "Knickers") |
2016 | Garfunkel and Oates: Trying to Be Special | Jeremy Konner Riki Lindhome | TV movie |
2018 | Here and Now | Alan Ball | Episode: "Eleven Eleven" |
2019 | Black Monday | Evan Goldberg Seth Rogen | Episode: "365" |
2021 | The Underground Railroad | Barry Jenkins | Miniseries |
Year | Title | Awards/Nominations |
---|---|---|
2008 | Medicine for Melancholy | Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography |
2016 | Moonlight | Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography [8] Nominated – Academy Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography |
2018 | If Beale Street Could Talk | Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography |
The cinematographer or director of photography is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinematography and gather a wide range of cinematographers to discuss techniques and ideas and to advocate for motion pictures as a type of art form. Currently, the president of the ASC is Shelly Johnson.
Rodrigo Prieto Stambaugh, ASC, AMC, is a Mexican cinematographer. He has collaborated with Martin Scorsese and Alejandro González Iñárritu, among other prominent directors. He is a member of both the Mexican Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers. Throughout his career, Prieto has received many awards and nominations, including four Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Martin Scorsese's Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. His fifth novel, it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale Street Blues", named after Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee.
Russell Paul Carpenter, ASC is an American cinematographer and photographer, known for collaborating with directors James Cameron, Robert Luketic and McG. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the 1997 Best Picture-winning film Titanic.
David Russell Boyd, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer and director of television and film known for his role as director of photography for the Fox television series Firefly and the AMC series The Walking Dead. He also worked as cinematographer on the first three episodes of HBO's Deadwood. On the NBC television series Friday Night Lights he served as director of photography on 18 of 22 episodes in the first season and moved up to direct two more. He also directed the film Home Run, which was released in 2013.
The Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts is the film school of the Florida State University. About 215 students are enrolled in classes, including undergraduates and graduate students, including Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts students.
The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) is an organization of professional film critics from Austin, Texas.
Nicholas Britell is an American film and television composer. He has received numerous accolades including a Emmy Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score for Barry Jenkins' Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Adam McKay's Don't Look Up (2021). He also scored McKay's The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). He is also known for scoring Battle of the Sexes (2017), Cruella (2021), and She Said (2022).
Nathaniel Sanders is an American film editor. He is best known for his collaborations with Destin Daniel Cretton and Barry Jenkins. He won Independent Spirit Awards for both Short Term 12 (2013) and Moonlight (2016), as well as being nominated for an Academy Award for the latter.
Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. It stars Trevante Rhodes, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, and André Holland.
Barry Jenkins is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film My Josephine (2003), he directed his first feature film Medicine for Melancholy (2008) for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. He is also a member of The Chopstars collective as a creative collaborator.
The 82nd New York Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2016, were announced on December 1, 2016 and presented on January 3, 2017.
The 42nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2016.
Adele Marie Romanski is an American independent film producer. She is best known for producing the acclaimed films Moonlight, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Aftersun. Moonlight received eight Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning Best Picture for Romanski, along with Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.
If Beale Street Could Talk is a 2018 American romantic drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins and based on James Baldwin's 1974 novel of the same name. It stars an ensemble cast that includes KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal, Ed Skrein, Brian Tyree Henry, and Regina King. The film follows a young woman who, with her family's support, seeks to clear the name of her wrongly charged lover and prove his innocence before the birth of their child.
James Hawkinson is an American cinematographer known for his work in television, music videos, and film. He is best known for his critically acclaimed work on the Hannibal and The Man in the High Castle television series', for which he has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award and a nomination for an ASC Award.
Chung Chung-hoon, ASC is a South Korean cinematographer and filmmaker, best known for his collaborations with director Park Chan-wook. He is also known for his other work in film and television, including Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, It, Zombieland: Double Tap, Last Night in Soho, Uncharted, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Wonka.
If Beale Street Could Talk (Original Motion Picture Score) is the score album to the 2018 film of the same name directed by Barry Jenkins based on James Baldwin's 1974 novel of the same name. Featuring original music written and composed by Nicholas Britell, the film marked his second collaboration with Jenkins after the Academy Award-winning Moonlight (2016). According to Britell, he used two different soundscapes to depict the relationship between Clementine "Tish" Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James) as well as the horrors of alleged accusation over Fonny, and the aftermath surrounds. The primary instruments used in most of the scores, were strings and brass to depict the relationship, while orchestra and jazz also accompany the score.