Dean cundey biography
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Dean Cundey
Dean Cundey reigns supreme as one of the best, most prolific, and talented cinematographers to ever grace celluloid with his often striking and accomplished photography. Cundey was born on March 12th, 1946, in Alhambra, California. One of his hobbies during his elementary school days was building miniature sets. Moreover, Cundey was an avid reader of "American Cinematographer" magazine as a kid. He attended UCLA Film School and was taught bygd famous cameraman James Wong Howe. Following graduation in 1968, Cundey initially worked on various non-union low-budget pictures as a gaffer, editor, or production manager. Cundey built himself a handy super van complete with packaged equipment, camera and a crew in order to get work early in his burgeoning career. Cundey tackled make-up chores on Roger Corman's Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970).
Cundey's first assignment as a director of photography was the revenge outing No Mercy Man
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Multiple award-winning cinematographer Dean Cundey, ASC, CSC who was nominated for an Oscar for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and took home the BAFTA for the same film, has a career spanning decades with awards and nominations including a Primetime Emmy (2023 "The Mandalorian") a Daytime Emmy (2001 "The Face: Jesus in Art"), a Chicago Film Critics Association award ("Apollo 13"), to American Society of Cinematographers awards ("Apollo 13," "Hook"). His prolific career also includes a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC and a President's Award from the SOC, and he's still not done shooting. Born in Alhambra, California, Cundey spent his childhood building miniature sets and reading "American Cinematographer." Following graduation from UCLA film school, where he was taught by James Wong Howe, ASC, Cundey's first job on set was as a makeup artist on Roger Corman's "Gas!" or "It Became
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An Interview with Dean Cundey
Dean Cundey is an Academy Award nominated cinematographer. From his early collaborations with John Carpenter, to his collaborations with acclaimed directors such as, Stephen Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and Ron Howard, Dean has shot iconic films such as The Thing, Halloween, Escape From New York, Jurassic Park, Apollo 13, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and the Back to The Future trilogy. I spoke with Dean about the blood test scene in The Thing, shooting the Back to The Future Trilogy, capturing the electric fence scene in Jurassic Park, and the shot that he is particularly proud of.
Did you always think you would go into cinematography? What was your first experience in this line?
Well I wanted to go into filmmaking and eventually cinematography since I was about 12 years old. I loved films. I loved the illusion that they created. The fact that a film could take an audience member on a journey you couldn’t go o