Mikael Salomon

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Mikael Salomon
Born (1945-02-24) 24 February 1945 (age 80)
Years active1963–1992 (cinematographer)
1993–2021 (director)
Organization(s) Directors Guild of America
American Society of Cinematographers

Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer, [1] director and producer [2] of film and television.

Contents

After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s, [3] [4] [5] earning two Academy Award nominations. [6]

Salomon then transitioned to a television director career, with credits that include Band of Brothers, Salem's Lot, Rome, and The Andromeda Strain.

His directing awards and nominations include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.

Life and career

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Salomon is of Jewish descent on one parent's side. [7]

Salomon photographed dozens of films in his native country, earning awards including the Robert Award and Bodil Awards. In the late 1980s, he relocated to Hollywood and shot his first mainstream American film with Torch Song Trilogy, a 1988 comedy-drama starring Harvey Fierstein, Anne Bancroft, and Matthew Broderick. The following year, he shot the James Cameron-helmed science fiction film The Abyss , a film that helped to pioneer the field of computer-generated visual effects. [8] [9] [10] Salomon used three cameras in watertight housings that were specially designed. [11] Another special housing was designed for scenes that went from above-water dialogue to below-water dialogue. The filmmakers had to figure out how to keep the water clear enough to shoot and dark enough to look realistic at 2,000 feet (700 m), which was achieved by floating a thick layer of plastic beads in the water and covering the top of the tank with an enormous tarpaulin. [11] His work on the film earned Salomon a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

In the following years, Salomon shot some blockbuster films like Always, Backdraft, and Far and Away .

In 1993, Salomon directed A Far Off Place , an adventure drama film filmed on location in Namibia and Zimbabwe, replacing original director René Manzor after being recommended to producer Kathleen Kennedy by Steven Spielberg. That same year, he directed an episode of the short-lived science fiction series Space Rangers, beginning a career as a television director. In 1998, he directed the Emmy-nominated Aftershock: Earthquake in New York , the first in many television miniseries which Salomon would helm. The most notable of these was Band of Brothers, a 10-part series executive produced by Spielberg for which Salomon won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and a Christopher Award.

Since then, Salomon has over thirty-five programs, including the miniseries adaptations of The Andromeda Strain and Coma broadcast on the A&E Network.

Filmography

Cinematographer

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1966 Søskende Johan Jacobsen With Rolf Rønne
1967 Fantasterne Kirsten Stenbæk
Brødrene på Uglegaarden Ib Mossin
Alice O'Fredericks
Me and My Kid Brother Lau Lauritzen Jr.
1968 Det er så synd for farmand Ebbe Langberg
Magic in Town Annelise Reenberg
1969 Sonja - 16 år Hans Abramson
Brandon Chase
 
De 5 og spionerneKatrine Hedman
1970 Five Get into Trouble  
Daddy, Darling Joseph W. Sarno
ThreesomeBrandon Chase
Tintomara Hans Abramson
1971 Welcome to the Club Walter Shenson
Kid Gang on the Go Annelise Reenberg
1972 Rektor på sengekanten John Hilbard
Motorvej på sengekanten With Aage Wiltrup
1974Jorden runt med Fanny Hill Mac Ahlberg
1975 Violets Are Blue Peter Refn
Kun sandheden Henning Ørnbak
1976 Hjerter er trumf Lars Brydesen
Strømer Anders Refn
Elvis! Elvis! Kay Pollak
1977 Mind Your Back, Professor Jens Okking
Skytten Franz Ernst
Tom Hedegaard
Bedside FreewayBoerge Hilbarth
1978 The Heritage Anders Refn
1981Tell It Like It Is, Boys Peter Curran
1985 De flyvende djævle Anders Refn
1986 The Wolf at the Door Henning Carlsen
Early Spring Astrid Henning-Jensen
1987 Peter von Scholten Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt
1988 Zelly and Me Tina Rathborne
Stealing Heaven Clive Donner
Torch Song Trilogy Paul Bogart
1989 The Abyss James Cameron
Always Steven Spielberg
1990 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall
1991 Backdraft Ron Howard
1992 Far and Away

Director

Film

TV series

YearTitleEpisode(s)Notes
1993 Space Rangers "Fort Hope"
1998 Nash Bridges "The Tourist"
2000 The Fugitive "Pilot"
"The Hand of a Stranger"
2001 Alias "Parity"
The Agency "Pilot"
"Deadline"
2005 Over There "I Want My Toilets"
Rome "The Stolen EagleUncredited
"An Owl in a Thornbush"
"The Spoils"
2006  Nightmares & Dreamscapes "The End of the Whole Mess"
"Autopsy Room Four"
Runaway "Pilot"Also co-executive producer
2009 Hawthorne "Pilot"Also executive producer
2010 Unnatural History "Pilot"
"Thor's Slammer"
2011 Camelot "The Long Night"
"The Battle of Bardon Pass"
"Reckoning"Co-directed with Stefan Schwartz
2014 Falling Skies "Exodus"
2015 Blood & Oil "The Birthday Party"
2015–16 Powers "The Raconteur of the Funeral Circuit"
"F@#K the Big Chiller"
"Caracas, 1967"
"Hell Night"
"Legacy"
2016 Damien "Seven Curses"
2017 Six "Man Down"
"Blood Brothers"
The Expanse "The Weeping Somnambulist"
"Cascade"
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders "The Ripper of Riga"
2018 The Brave "Grounded"

Miniseries

YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
Notes
1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York YesNo
2001 Band of Brothers YesNoEpisodes "Carentan" and "Points"
2004 Salem's Lot YesNo 
The Grid YesNo 
2006 Fallen YesNo 
2007 The Company YesNo
2008 The Andromeda Strain YesCo-executive 
2012 Coma YesYes 
2015To AppomattoxYesYes 
2017 The Long Road Home YesYesEpisodes "Into the Unknown", "In the Valley of Death" and "Abandon Hope"

TV movies

YearTitleDirectorCo-Executive
Producer
2000 Sole Survivor YesNo
2001 A Glimpse of Hell YesNo
2002 Young Arthur YesNo
2003 Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor YesNo
2007Fallen: The JourneyYesNo
2008 Flirting with Forty YesNo
Natalee Holloway YesYes
2010 Who Is Clark Rockefeller? YesYes
The Lost Future YesYes
2012Drew Peterson: UntouchableYesYes
Blue Lagoon: The Awakening Yes [a] No
2014 Big Driver YesNo
  1. Co-directed with Eric Bross (credited as "Jake Newsome")

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
1989 Best Cinematography The AbyssNominated
1991 Best Visual Effects BackdraftNominated

American Society of Cinematographers

YearCategoryTitleResult
1989 Outstanding Cinematography The AbyssNominated

BAFTA Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
1991 Best Special Visual Effects BackdraftNominated

Directors Guild of America

YearCategoryTitleResult
2007 Outstanding Directing in a Movie for a Miniseries The CompanyNominated
2008The Andromeda StainNominated
2010 Outstanding Directing for a Children's Program Unnatural HistoryNominated

Primetime Emmy Awards

YearCategoryTitleResult
2001 Outstanding Directing Band of BrothersWon
2007The CompanyNominated
2008 Outstanding Limited Series The Andromeda StrainNominated

Other awards

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
1985 Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Cinematography De flyvende djævle [12] Won
1987 CableACE Award Direction of Photography in a Miniseries The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains Won
2001 Christopher Television & Cable Award Band of BrothersWon

References

  1. Hollywood.com
  2. En travl dag i Los Angeles. Portræt: Mikael Salomon, fotograf. Politiken | 11 January 1994 | 2. sektion | Side 3 |
  3. Den danske kong Salomon. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 25 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 1
  4. Savner hygge og rugbrød. Portræt: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 22 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 4
  5. Dansker til tops i Hollywood. Portræt af filmfotografen Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 1 January 1990 | 2. sektion | Side 2
  6. Succes på strømer. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 1 April 1999 | Skærtorsdag | Side 24
  7. 'No sugarcoating’ as first movie on ’67 battle for Jerusalem takes shape.' Hoffman, Jordan. The Times of Israel. The Times of Israel. Published 9 June 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  8. "The Making of 'The Abyss'". aspaceblogyssey.com. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  9. SEMLYEN, PHIL DE. "A History Of CGI in the Movies". Empire. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  10. "The Abyss: The Ultimate James Cameron Movie?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  11. 1 2 Blair September 1989, p. 58.
  12. Piil, Morten (2008). Gyldendals danske filmguide (in Danish) (3rd ed.). Copenhagen, Denmark: Gyldendal. pp. 172–. ISBN   978-87-02-06669-2. OCLC   474736058 . Retrieved 24 June 2021.