Tak Fujimoto

Last updated

Tak Fujimoto
ASC
Born
Takashi Fujimoto

(1939-07-12) July 12, 1939 (age 86)
Education San Dieguito High School
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
London Film School
Years active1970–2013
Relatives Jack Fujimoto (brother)

Takashi Fujimoto ASC (born July 12, 1939) is a retired American cinematographer, [1] known for his frequent collaborations with directors Jonathan Demme and M. Night Shyamalan. He had won a Primetime Emmy Award, and was nominated for the BAFTA and Satellite Awards. In 2016, IndieWire named him one of the 11 best cinematographers to have never won an Academy Award. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Takashi Fujimoto(Japanese: 藤本 隆) was born in San Diego, California to Japanese American parents. His father, Morizo, was an Issei (first-generation) from Hiroshima, and his mother, Emi, was a Nisei (second-generation) born in Glendale, California. His older brother was academic Jack Fujimoto. [3] During World War II, Fujimoto and his family were interned at the Poston War Relocation Center due to Executive Order 9066. [4]

Fujimoto graduated San Dieguito High School from 1957. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley and the London Film School. He began his career as an assistant to Haskell Wexler at his production company Dove Films.

Career

Fujimoto's first film as cinematographer was Chicago Blues, a 1970 music documentary featuring the likes of Dick Gregory, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. He was one of three directors of photography that worked on Terrence Malick's 1973 directorial debut Badlands , earning rave reviews. He shot a string of low-budget exploitation films for producer Roger Corman, including Death Race 2000 and Switchblade Sisters (as second unit photographer). He was also one of several second unit cinematographers who worked on the first Star Wars film.

During this period, he also began his long-running collaboration with director Jonathan Demme. Their first film together was Caged Heat in 1974. He would shoot a total of 11 films with Demme, as well as the 2013 pilot episode of the television drama A Gifted Man . He also had fruitful collaborations with John Hughes, shooting Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and with M. Night Shyamalan, shooting The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Happening.

Fujimoto has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers since 1997. [5]

Personal life

Fujimoto had retired by 2015, and lived with his wife Anthea in Santa Fe, New Mexico. [6]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1970Chicago Blues Harley Cokeliss Documentary film
1973 Badlands Terrence Malick With Stevan Larner and Brian Probyn
1974 Caged Heat Jonathan Demme 1st collaboration with Demme
Bootleggers Charles B. Pierce
1975 Death Race 2000 Paul Bartel
1976 Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde William Crain
Cannonball Paul Bartel
1977 Chatterbox Tom DeSimone
Bad Georgia Road John Broderick
1978 Remember My Name Alan Rudolph
Stony Island Andrew Davis
1979 Last Embrace Jonathan Demme
1980 Where the Buffalo Roam Art Linson
Borderline Jerrold Freedman
Melvin and Howard Jonathan Demme
1983 Heart Like a Wheel Jonathan Kaplan
1984 Swing Shift Jonathan Demme
1986 Pretty in Pink Howard Deutch
Ferris Bueller's Day Off John Hughes
Something Wild Jonathan Demme
1987 Backfire Gilbert Cates
1988 Married to the Mob Jonathan Demme
Sweet Hearts Dance Robert Greenwald
Cocoon: The Return Daniel Petrie
1990 Miami Blues George Armitage
1991 The Silence of the Lambs Jonathan Demme
Crooked Hearts Michael Bortman
1992 Gladiator Rowdy Herrington
Singles Cameron Crowe With Ueli Steiger
Night and the City Irwin Winkler
1993 Philadelphia Jonathan Demme
1995 Devil in a Blue Dress Carl Franklin
Grumpier Old Men Howard Deutch
1996 That Thing You Do! Tom Hanks
1997 A Thousand Acres Jocelyn Moorhouse
1998 Beloved Jonathan Demme
1999 The Sixth Sense M. Night Shyamalan
2000 The Replacements Howard Deutch
2002 Signs M. Night Shyamalan
The Truth About Charlie Jonathan Demme
2004 The Final Cut Omar Naim
The Manchurian Candidate Jonathan Demme
2007 Breach Billy Ray
2008 The Great Buck Howard Sean McGinly
The Happening M. Night Shyamalan
2010 Devil John Erick Dowdle
2013 Gods Behaving Badly Marc Turtletaub

Short film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1982Growing Yourself Bob Giraldi Segments of National Lampoon's Movie Madness
Success Wanters
1994The Complex Sessions Jonathan Demme

Television

TV movies

YearTitleDirector
1976Almos' a Man Stan Lathan
1978 Lawman Without a Gun Jerrold Freedman
1979Some Kind of Miracle
1982 Divorce Wars: A Love Story Donald Wrye
1984The Seduction of GinaJerrold Freedman
1985Seduced
Blackout Douglas Hickox
1989Cast the First Stone John Korty

TV series

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1978At Home with Shields and Yarnell Andrew Davis TV short
1985 MacGyver Jerrold Freedman [a] Episode "Pilot"
2008 John Adams Tom Hooper 4 episodes
2011 A Gifted Man Jonathan Demme Episode "Pilot"

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
1999 American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography The Sixth Sense Nominated
1992 British Academy Film Awards Best Cinematography The Silence of the Lambs Nominated
1991 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Won
1999 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Beloved Nominated
1995 National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography Devil in a Blue Dress Won
2008 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series John Adams Won [b]
2009 Nominated [c]
1999 Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Beloved Nominated

Notes

  1. Credited as Alan Smithee
  2. For episode "Independence"
  3. For episode "Don't Treat Me"

References

  1. The New York Times
  2. Ruimy, Jordan (February 23, 2016). "11 Outstanding Cinematographers Who Have Never Won An Oscar". IndieWire. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. Ralton-Smith, Jennifer (August 26, 2002). "IVC's interim president recalls days of internment". Imperial Valley Press . Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  4. "Japanese American Internee Data File: Tak Fujimoto". National Archives and Records Administration . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  5. "TAK FUJIMOTO". cinematographers.nl. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. Weideman, Paul (March 1, 2015). "Marvelous home on Alamo Creek Drive". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.