The last guild awards announcement for 2021 was reserved for the American Society of Cinematographers which, in truth, isn’t a guild, but represents the most important creative aspect of a movie, the image itself. More than any other guild honor, the Oscar for Best Cinematography rarely deviates from the Feature Film nominees from the ASC Awards. So, that should make the Directors of Photography behind “Mank,” “Nomadland,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “News of the World” and “Cherry” quite happy today.
READ MORE: Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell make history with 2021 DGA Award nominations
Out of the five nominees, Newton Thomas Sigel work for “Cherry” is the only real surprise. Sigel who lensed “Drive,” “The Usual Suspects” and “Three Kings” has been long overlooked, but is rare someone is nominated for a feature with as mixed a critical reaction as “Cherry.”
A complete list of this year’s nominees is as follows:
Feature Film
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC
Mank
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Joshua James Richards
Nomadland
Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC
Cherry
Dariusz Wolski, ASC
News of the World
Spotlight
Katelin Arizmendi
Swallow
Aurélien Marra
Two of Us
Andrey Naydenov
Dear Comrades!
Documentary
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw
The Truffle Hunters
Viktor Kosakovskiy and Egil Håskjold Larsen
Gunda
Gianfranco Rosi
Notturno
Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television
Martin Ahlgren, ASC
The Plot Against America, “Part 6”
Anette Haellmigk
The Great, “The Great”
Pete Konczal
Fargo, “The Birthplace of Civilization”
Steven Meizler
The Queen’s Gambit, “End Game”
Gregory Middleton, ASC, CSC
Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being”
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial
Marshall Adams, ASC
Better Call Saul, “Bagman”
Carlos Catalán
Killing Eve, “Meetings Have Biscuits”
François Dagenais, CSC
Project Blue Book, “Area 51”
Jon Joffin, ASC
Motherland: Fort Salem, “Up is Down”
C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC
Project Blue Book, “Operation Mainbrace”
Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Non-Commercial
David Franco
Perry Mason, “Chapter 2”
Ken Glassing
Lucifer, “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken”
Adriano Goldman, ASC, ABC, BSC
The Crown, “Fairytale”
David Greene, ASC, CSC
Impulse, “The Moroi”
M. David Mullen, ASC
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”
Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC
The Crown, “Imbroglio”
Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series
Ava Berkofsky
Insecure, “Lowkey Lost”
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 1: The Mandalorian”
Baz Idoine
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 13: The Jedi”
Matthew Jensen, ASC
The Mandalorian, “Chapter 15: The Believer”
Jas Shelton
Homecoming, “Giant”
The 35th ASC awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, April 18.