Register

    John Wells to be honored by American Society of Cinematographers

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1241 Views
    LOS ANGELES --

    Award-winning writer-director-producer John Wells will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) 2014 Board of Governors Award. Wells will be honored during the 28th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards gala here on February 1 at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom.

    "John Wells is an extraordinary talent whose long career has exposed the world to superlative cinematography across a wide array of features and television," said ASC president Richard Crudo.

    Wells has notched over 830 credits during his prolific career. He is the creative force behind multiple hit television series, including the Emmy-winning ER and The West Wing. He served as an executive producer on the critically acclaimed Southland (TNT), and the award-winning Mildred Pierce (HBO) and China Beach (ABC), among many others. Currently, he is the executive producer on Showtime's Emmy-nominated Shameless.

    Shows produced by Wells have received over 270 Emmy nominations with 55 Emmy wins. During its 15-year run, ER earned 122 Emmy nominations, the most in television history. A seven-time Writers Guild Award nominee, Wells received the WGA's prestigious Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television in 2007, given to writers who have advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of television writers. In 2005, the Producers Guild of America awarded Wells the David Susskind Lifetime Achievement Award in Television.

    Wells’ great successes also span across cinema screens. Most recently, he directed the Oscar-nominated August: Osage County, starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Ewan McGregor. Wells wrote and directed The Company Men, featuring Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper. Previous feature production credits include Carroll Ballard's acclaimed drama Duma, Peter Kosminsky's White Oleander, Neil Jordan's The Good Thief, Andrzej Bartkowiak's Doom, Michael Mayer's A Home at the End of the World, Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven and I'm Not There, Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo, and Robert Altman's The Company.

    Wells also served as president of the Writers Guild of America, West from 2009-2011, and previously served as its president from 1999-2001.

    The ASC Board of Governors Award is given to an individual who has made extraordinary achievements in advancing the art and craft of filmmaking. Previous recipients include Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Christopher Nolan, Warren Beatty, Francis Ford Coppola, Sally Field, Morgan Freeman, Ron Howard, Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, among others.

    REGISTRATION REQUIRED to access this page.

    Already registered? LOGIN
    Don't have an account? REGISTER

    Registration is FREE and FAST.

    The limited access duration has come to an end. (Access was allowed until: 2014-01-23)



    Gene Shalit, longtime “Today” show movie critic, dies at 100

    Friday, June 12, 2026
    In this May 31, 2006 file photo, film critic Gene Shalit is seen during a toast with "Today" show cast and crew at the end of Katie Couric's final show, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

    Gene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the "Today" show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.

    Shalit's family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he "passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life."

    Shalit joined "Today" as a contributor in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973, later settling in for his segment, "Critic's Corner." When he left the show in 2010, he was one of the last high-profile film critics on a major network.

    "What resonated above his unusual appearance was his incredible wit, his remarkable intelligence. But he didn't pound you over the head with it. He amused you. He enlightened and amused whatever subject he was on," Guy Ludwig, Shalit's producer for more than 20 years, wrote in an essay of his time.

    It was no coincidence that Chicago critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's local "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" movie-review program, "Sneak Previews," went national on PBS in the late 1970s and that "Today" show's ABC rival, "Good Morning America," hired Joel Siegel to be its movie critic in 1981.

    "Shalit was instrumental in changing the balance of critical power in America. When he began his 'Today' tenure, newspapers and magazines were the primary sources for movie reviews. That's where cinematic opinion was sparked and shaped," The Plain Dealer wrote in 2010, calling Shalit "Daniel Boone in a bow tie and Groucho glasses."

    Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment