September 30, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

                         lunger@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - The 80th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers will be celebrated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a special program of film clips and personal appearances on October 22, at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The event is open to the public.

Among the distinguished cinematographers scheduled to participate in the event are Academy Award^®-winners Russell Carpenter ("Titanic"), Conrad Hall ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") and Vilmos Zsigmond ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind"). Hall has earned an additional seven Oscar^® nominations and Zsigmond has been nominated twice since his 1977 win. Also participating in the event will be John Bailey ("Ordinary People"), William Fraker, who has received five Oscar nominations in the cinematography category (as well as one for Visual Effects), John Hora ("Gremlins"), Laszlo Kovacs ("Five Easy Pieces"), Steve Poster ("Someone to Watch over Me") and Academy Award-nominee Dante Spinotti ("L.A. Confidential").

Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, will serve as moderator for the event.

Numerous film clips will be shown to illustrate the variety of outstanding work done in both black-and-white and color cinematography during the existence of the ASC. "Citizen Kane," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Raging Bull," "Bladerunner" and "Saving Private Ryan" are among the 15 films from which excerpts will be screened.

The ASC is an educational, cultural and professional organization. Membership is by invitation to those who are actively engaged as directors of photography and have demonstrated outstanding ability. The organization's original charter was signed in 1919 by 15 "cameramen" who banded together in order to maintain professional standards and gain artistic recognition. Since that time 450 accomplished practitioners have earned membership; the organization currently has about 230 members.

The Academy has recognized the art of cinematography since the first Academy Awards presentation at which Charles Rosher and Karl Struss were honored for their work on "Sunrise."

Tickets for "An Academy Salute to the 80th Anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers" are $5 for the general public, $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in advance at the Academy during regular business hours, by mail, or on the night of the event, if still available, when the doors open at 7 p.m. A ticket order form may be downloaded from the Academy's web site at www.oscars.org. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call 310-247-3600.