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Don Burgess (cinematographer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don Burgess
Burgess on the set of Contact (1997).
Born
Don Michael Burgess

(1956-05-28) May 28, 1956 (age 68)
Alma materArtCenter College of Design, BFA, Film 1982
OccupationCinematographer

Don Michael Burgess, ASC (born May 28, 1956) is an American cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis.[1] He was nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for Zemeckis' Forrest Gump (1994). In 2024, he received the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award.[2]

Early life and education

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Burgess comes from a family of builders, and initially wanted to be an architect in his youth. His introduction to photography came through his father building a dark room for his sister since she was in a high school photography class at the time. When in high school he made ski movies and motorcycle movies.[3] He attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena,[4] and cited nature documentarian Mike Hoover as an influence.[5] While attending ArtCenter, he worked as a film loader on William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977).[5]

Career

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Burgess spent the first decade of his career shooting various independent and low-budget films, as well as nature documentaries for the National Geographic Channel. In 1987, he shot the full motion video game Night Trap, which was eventually released in 1992.

He was also a second unit cinematographer on Runaway Train (1985), Cherry 2000 (1986), and Back to the Future Part II (1989) & and Part III (1990), which brought him into contact with Robert Zemeckis.

In 1994, Zemeckis was the main cinematographer on Zemeckis' Forrest Gump, earning Oscar and BAFTA Award nominations for his work. He has subsequently worked with Zemeckis on 10 films, including Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), and The Polar Express (2004). His work with other directors includes Spider-Man (2002),[6] Enchanted (2007), The Book of Eli (2010), Source Code (2011), The Muppets (2011), 42 (2013), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Aquaman (2018), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023).[7]

On March 3, 2024, Burgess received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Notes
1980 Ruckus Max Kleven With Michael A. Jones
1985 Fury to Freedom Erik Jacobson
1986 The Night Stalker Max Kleven
1987 Summer Camp Nightmare Bert L. Dragin
Death Before Dishonor Terry Leonard
1988 World Gone Wild Lee H. Katzin
1989 Under the Boardwalk Fritz Kiersch
Blind Fury Phillip Noyce
1992 Mo' Money Peter MacDonald
1993 Josh and S.A.M. Billy Weber
1994 Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis
Richie Rich Donald Petrie
1995 Forget Paris Billy Crystal
1996 The Evening Star Robert Harling
1997 Contact Robert Zemeckis
2000 What Lies Beneath
Cast Away
2002 Spider-Man Sam Raimi
2003 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Jonathan Mostow
Radio Michael Tollin
2004 13 Going on 30 Gary Winick
The Polar Express Robert Zemeckis With Robert Presley
Christmas with the Kranks Joe Roth
2006 Eight Below Frank Marshall
My Super Ex-Girlfriend Ivan Reitman
Alesh al-baher Hakim Belabbes With Guillaume Georget
2007 Enchanted Kevin Lima
2008 Fool's Gold Andy Tennant
2009 Aliens in the Attic John Schultz
2010 The Book of Eli Hughes brothers
2011 Source Code Duncan Jones
Priest Scott Stewart
The Muppets James Bobin
2012 Flight Robert Zemeckis
2013 42 Brian Helgeland
2014 Muppets Most Wanted James Bobin
2016 The Conjuring 2 James Wan
Allied Robert Zemeckis
Monster Trucks Chris Wedge
2017 Same Kind of Different as Me Michael Carney
Wonder Stephen Chbosky
2018 The Christmas Chronicles Clay Kaytis
Aquaman James Wan
2019 Sextuplets Michael Tiddes
2020 The Witches Robert Zemeckis
The Christmas Chronicles 2 Chris Columbus
2022 Pinocchio Robert Zemeckis
2023 Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom James Wan
2024 A Family Affair Richard LaGravenese
Here Robert Zemeckis Post-production

Short film

Year Title Director
2007 The Trap Rita Wilson
2019 The Tattooed Heart Sheldon Wong Schwartz

Video game

Year Title Director Notes
1992 Night Trap James Riley Filmed in 1987

Television

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TV movies

Year Title Director Notes
1979 Superstunt II Max Kleven Documentary film
1988 Too Young the Hero Buzz Kulik
1989 Breaking Point Peter Markle
1990 The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson Larry Peerce
1992 Two-Fisted Tales Robert Zemeckis Segment "Yellow"

TV series

Year Title Director Notes
1982 National Geographic Specials Aram Boyajian
Nicolas Noxon
Episode "The Sharks"
1988 ABC Afterschool Special Gabrielle Beaumont Episode "Tattle: When to Tell on a Friend"
Something Is Out There Larry Shaw Episode "In His Own Image"
1991 Tales from the Crypt Robert Zemeckis Episode "Yellow"
1993 Space Rangers Mikael Salomon Episode "Fort Hope"

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Title Result
1990 American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
in Motion Picture Made for Television
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson Nominated
1994 Academy Awards Best Cinematography Forrest Gump Nominated
BAFTA Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
1997 Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Contact Nominated
2024 American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award Won

References

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  1. ^ Tapp, Tom (November 28, 2023). "ASC Awards: Don Burgess, Steven Fierberg and Amy Vincent To Be Honored At 38th Annual Gala". Deadline. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "38th Annual ASC Awards". American Cinematographer. 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Deakins, Roger; James, Deakins (June 6, 2024). "SEASON 2 - EPISODE 92 - DON BURGESS - CINEMATOGRAPHER". Team Deakins (Podcast). Event occurs at 2:37. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Don Burgess BFA 82, ArtCenter College of Design
  5. ^ a b "Don Burgess, ASC: Making Each Shot Work". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  6. ^ Holben, Jay (June 2002). "Spider's Stratagem: Spider-Man: Don Burgess, ASC teams up with director Sam Raimi to bring a Marvel Comics icon to life onscreen". American Cinematographer. No. June 2002. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via American Society of Cinematographers, September 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (November 28, 2023). "Forrest Gump DP Don Burgess to Receive ASC Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
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