John Niel Green (born August 10, 1946),Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films. Band 3, Berlin 2001, , p. 375. is an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, best known for his collaborations with director

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

from 1986 to 2000.

Biography

Early life

Green was born in 1946, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to Trudy and John Green, Sr.Udel, James C.
"Cinematographer Jack N. Green’s Aerial Work Led to Gigs on Clint Eastwood Movies,"
August 2, 2019, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

,'' retrieved October 2, 2021 His parents were photography enthusiasts. Their home-made

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, make Photographic printing, prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including ...

had a strong artistic impact on Green. At age 17, Green graduated from both high school and barber college, expecting to become a career barber.

Early career

A regular barbershop customer, cameraman Joseph Dieves—who had been a combat cameraman in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

—excited Green with tales of the trade. Green eventually joined Dieves to work on small television productions for various production companies, including San Francisco’s W.A. Palmer. In 1965 Dieves sponsored Green's union membership. In the summer of 1966, Green was assistant cameraman for a documentary, in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, about the movie '' The Way West.'' His work was chiefly on aerial shots. In 1968, Green moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

where he began his career as an assistant to

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning cinematographer Donald M. Morgan. He worked primarily on aerial unit photography, shooting helicopter exteriors for the film ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker (screenwriter), Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, ...

''. After being laid off, he fell in with Michael W. Watkins, who got him a job as a camera operator on the

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

film '' Fighting Mad''. He spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s freelancing as an operator under DPs like William A. Fraker, Ric Waite, Harry Stradling Jr., and

Bruce Surtees Bruce Mohr Powell Surtees (July 23, 1937 – February 23, 2012) was an American cinematographer, the son of Maydell and cinematographer Robert L. Surtees. He is best known for his extensive work on Clint Eastwood's films. His cinematography was ...

, shooting films like ''

Bronco Billy ''Bronco Billy'' is a 1980 American Western comedy-drama film starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. It was directed by Eastwood and written by Dennis Hackin. The film focuses on the financially struggling owner of a traditional Wild West s ...

48 Hrs. ''48 Hrs.'' (pronounced 'forty-eight hours') is a 1982 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, from a screenplay co-written with Larry Gross, Steven E. de Souza and Roger Spottiswoode. It stars Nick Nolte and Eddie Murp ...

Pale Rider ''Pale Rider'' is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents D ...

,'' and ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Det ...

.''

Clint Eastwood films

He first met

on the set of the film ''The Gauntlet'', and proceeded to operate on every single Eastwood film until being promoted to DP on ''

Heartbreak Ridge ''Heartbreak Ridge'' is a 1986 American war film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, and Mario Van Peebles, and was released in the United States on December 5, ...

'' after being recommended by Surtees. Because of Eastwood's tendency to reuse the same crew from film-to-film, Green shot every Eastwood-directed film between 1986 and 2000, with ''

Space Cowboys ''Space Cowboys'' is a 2000 American adventure drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as four aging former test pilots who are sent into space to repair an ...

'' being their final collaboration. Green's work on the 1992

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, ''

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

'' earned him nominations for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

for best cinematography. He was also a nominee for the ASC Award for the 1995 film, ''

The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling Romance novel, romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of an Italian-American World War II war bride livi ...

''.

Recent career

Since 2000, Green has worked on over fifteen films in genres ranging from

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

( ''Serenity'') to

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

(''

A Man Apart ''A Man Apart'' is a 2003 American vigilante action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray and co-produced by and starring Vin Diesel as Sean Vetter, an undercover DEA agent who is on a vendetta to take down a mysterious drug lord named Diabl ...

'') and

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

(''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the st ...

The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow (in his feature directorial debut), who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-y ...

Hot Tub Time Machine ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' is a 2010 American science fiction comedy farce film directed by Steve Pink and written by Josh Heald, Sean Anders, and John Morris. John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke star in the film as four ...

''). He made his directorial debut with ''Traveller'', a 1997 crime drama starring

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Prime ...

and

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

. Green has been a member of the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

(ASC) since 1992.

Filmography

Film Television Short film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Jack N. 1946 births American cinematographers Living people Mass media people from San Francisco