Dan Mindel

Last updated
Dan Mindel
Born
Ivor Daniel Mindel

(1958-05-27) May 27, 1958 (age 65)
Occupation Cinematographer
Years active1983 – present

Ivor Daniel Mindel, ASC , BSC, SASC (born 27 May 1958) is a South African-American cinematographer [1] best known for his work on blockbuster action films like Enemy of the State , Mission: Impossible III , Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness , Star Wars: The Force Awakens , and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , working with directors like Tony Scott and J. J. Abrams. [2]

Contents

Life and career

Mindel was born in Johannesburg [3] and received education in Australia and in Britain. He began his career as a camera loader before becoming a clapper loader and assistant cameraman on John Boorman's 1985 film, The Emerald Forest , under French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot. He soon after moved to the United States and began working on commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott, among several other directors. [4]

Throughout the 1990s, Mindel worked as a camera operator or photographer on feature films directed by either Tony Scott or Ridley Scott, including Thelma & Louise and Crimson Tide . In 1997, Mindel was assigned as second unit director of photography on Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane . This opened the door for Mindel to become director of photography on Tony Scott's 1998 action-thriller, Enemy of the State .

Mindel went on to serve as director of photography for films such as Shanghai Noon , Stuck on You , The Skeleton Key , John Carter , and Tony Scott's Spy Game and Domino . He has also done additional photography for the films The Bourne Identity and Lions for Lambs .

Director J. J. Abrams selected Mindel to be director of photography on 2006's Mission: Impossible III . Mindel worked with Abrams again as the cinematographer of 2009's Star Trek and its follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness . [5]

Mindel was the director of photography on Star Wars: The Force Awakens , which was released on December 18, 2015. [6] [7] He was later announced to return to the franchise with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, [8] also directed by Abrams, which commenced filming on August 1, 2018 at Pinewood Studios. [9]

Three years after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Mindel worked on additional photography for the Marvel Studios films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania .

Style

His work tends to feature very stylized camera movements with the use of a roll-axis camera, as well as shooting in the Panavision anamorphic format and virtual cinematography.

Personal life

Mindel is married to Lisa Fallon Mindel and has four children, Samuel, Eden, Molly and Lily.

Filmography

Short films

YearTitleDirector
1996SnakelandJoëlle Bentolila
Recon Breck Eisner
2000Killer PinkPatrick Cadell
2004 Tooth Fairy Jake Scott
2007 Cutlass Kate Hudson

Film

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
YearTitleDirectorNotes
1998 Enemy of the State Tony Scott Replaced Dariusz Wolski
2000 Shanghai Noon Tom Dey
Sand Matt PalmieriCo-cinematographer with John Skotchdopole
2001 Spy Game Tony Scott
2003 Stuck on You Peter Farrelly
Bobby Farrelly
2005 Domino Tony Scott
The Skeleton Key Iain Softley
2006 Mission: Impossible III J. J. Abrams
2009 Star Trek
2012 John Carter Andrew Stanton
Savages Oliver Stone
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness J. J. Abrams
2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marc Webb
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens J. J. Abrams
2016 Zoolander No. 2 Ben Stiller
2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Steven S. DeKnight
The Cloverfield Paradox Julius Onah
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker J. J. Abrams
2024 MEA Jake Kasdan Post-production
Twisters Lee Isaac Chung Post-production

Television

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1992 Red Shoe Diaries Michael Kalbernikoff
Zalman King
3 episodes
1996 Dangerous Minds James Hayman 1 episode

Other roles

YearTitleDirectorDoP.RoleNotes
1983 The Hunger Tony Scott Stephen Goldblatt Assistant camera operator Uncredited
1985 The Emerald Forest John Boorman Philippe Rousselot
1990 Revenge Tony Scott Jeffrey L. Kimball Focus puller
1991 Thelma & Louise Ridley Scott Adrian Biddle Camera operator
1995 Crimson Tide Tony Scott Dariusz Wolski Additional photographyUncredited
1996 The Fan
White Squall Ridley Scott Hugh Johnson
1997 G.I. Jane Second unit photography
2002 The Bourne Identity Doug Liman Oliver Wood Additional photographywith Don Burgess
2007 Lions for Lambs Robert Redford Philippe Rousselotwith Phil Méheux
2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Sam Raimi John Mathieson Director of Photography: Los Angeles Unitwith Russell Carpenter
2023 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Peyton Reed Bill Pope with Steve Yedlin

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References

  1. "DANIEL MINDEL". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  2. "Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC – Murtha Skouras Agency" . Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  3. Heuring, David (May 1, 2013). "Irola Finishing Basque Documentary; Mindel Finds Solace in Sailing". American Cinematographer . American Society of Cinematographers . Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  4. "DANIEL MINDEL".
  5. "Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC: Q&A - The American Society of Cinematographers". ascmag.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  6. "Star Wars Episode VII will be shot on 35mm film to recapture 70s feel". Telegraph.co.uk. 23 August 2013.
  7. "Dan Mindel ASC BSC / Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens". British Cinematographer. 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  8. "Dan Mindel shares photo from early work on Star Wars: Episode IX?". Making Star Wars. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  9. Hipes, Patrick (2018-07-27). "'Star Wars: Episode IX' Rounds Out Cast, Which Will Include Carrie Fisher In Unreleased Footage". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-01-21.