David Torcivia, Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Audio By Carbonatix
One of the film industry’s most acclaimed and sought-after photographers and scene-shooters is coming to town in early June.
Sir Roger A. Deakins, the two-time Oscar winning cinematographer behind films such as the World War I drama 1917 and Blade Runner 2049, and his wife, James Deakins, who worked as script supervisor on The Shawshank Redemption and Kundun, will be in Dallas June 8-11 for a weekend of public appearances, screenings, workshops and interviews as part of a special series with the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (DFCIO).
“We’re thrilled to bring Roger and James Deakins to Dallas and have the opportunity to showcase the
destination to one of the best cinematographers in the world,” said DFCIO commissioner Tony Armer, in a released statement. “Their work has inspired countless filmmakers and film enthusiasts, and we’re excited to provide an opportunity for our community to learn from and engage with these two legends.”
The weekend will include screenings at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff of some of his most acclaimed and memorable films, which earned him Oscar nominations and awards. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford screens on June 8, Sicario on June 9, No Country for Old Men on June 10 and Blade Runner 2049 on June 11. The June 8 screening will include a live introduction and a Q&A with Deakins as well as a chance to get an autograph on copies of his latest book of black and white photography, BYWAYS. The book features unpublished stills of Deakins’ photos made as far back as 1971 while he and his wife traveled around the world to some of his most iconic film shoots.
Deakins, a native of Torquay, Devon, England, started his film career with documentaries in the mid-1970s. One of his first shoots covered the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, during which he spent nine months as a crew member between shooting. He has over 100 credits on his film resume, which spans more than four decades.
Some of his most impressive credits include his work as director of photography on Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy about the tragic romance between the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, and several of the Coen Brothers’ most applauded works, including Barton Fink, Fargo, O Brother, Where Are Thou?, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men.
He’s been nominated for an Academy Award 16 times, starting in 1995 for Best Cinematography for The Shawshank Redemption and most recently for Empire of Light. Deadline dubbed him “the Susan Lucci of cinematographers” for his impressive number of nominations without a win, a streak that he broke in 2018 when he won an Oscar for his work on Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 and repeated the following year with a second win for his work on the impressive one-shot war drama 1917.
