Photo by Willy Kurant

JAMES CHRESSANTHIS ASC

Born: 9 May 1953, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, as James Andrew Chressanthis.

Education: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [Engineering; not finished]; Arizona State University [graduated as BFA]; Southern Illinois University [graduated as MFA]; American Film Institute [AFI] [1984-86].

Career: Started shooting films in college. After graduating from Southern Illinois University, he became a professor of art, teaching sculpture and drawing in Illinois, Michigan [Western Michigan University], England and France for 7 years. Took a sabbatical and spent it at the AFI. He began his new career with ph music videos with a: Dr. Dre, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, James Brown, Barry White, a.o.

Ph commercials, e.g. 'Kids Language' [1999, Elizabeth Perrin].

Was preparing to ph a film on Eartha Kitt's life [2000, Oley Sassone], but the prod was put on hold. In 2001, Daily Variety named Chressanthis as one of 20 rising stars to watch in the film industry. He was the only cinematographer on that list.

Also active as still ph [his photo and mixed media expo 'Road Trips and Other Journeys' opened in December 2003 in the Howell Green Fine Art Gallery, Topanga, California, USA, and in 2010 his work will be shown in Athens, Greece].

Member of the ASC since 2002.

Appeared in the doc 'Cinematographer Style' [2006, Jon Fauer; ph: Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller, J. Fauer & David Morgan; 86m].

Awards: As doph: CableACE Award [199?; shared] for 'Public Enemy #2'; 'Emmy' Award nom [2001] for 'Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows' [ep 'Night One']; 'Emmy' Award nom [2006] for 'Four Minutes'.

As dir: Houston IFF 'Bronze Award' [1983] for 'Remembrance of a Journey to the Village'; Houston IFF 'Silver Award' [1984] for 'Necros: An Aftermath'; American FF 'Red Ribbon' [1991] for 'A Bridge for the Children'.

Website: James Chressanthis

FILMS

1979	Epiphany [James Chressanthis] ?
1982	Remembrance of a Journey to the Village [James Chressanthis] 16mm/c; doc/?m; filmed 1980-82; aired on PBS-tv
1984	Necros: An Aftermath [James Chressanthis] v/c; exp doc/?m
1989	A Bridge for the Children [James Chressanthis] 16mm/?; doc/?m
1990	Leather Jackets [Lee Drysdale] c; 2uc: Wally Pfister
1991	Visions of Light [: The Art of Cinematography] [Stuart Samuels, Arnold Glassman & Todd McCarthy] HD+35mm-to-35mm/b&w-c; doc/92m; co-addph; ph: Nancy Schreiber
1991	Hexed/All Shook Up [Alan Spencer] c
1992	All About Lurleen [Florence Dauman] 16mm/c; short/19m; prod AFI
1992	The Buzz [Hart Bochner] s16/c; short/13m
1994	In the Kingdom of the Blind [, the Man with One Eye Is King] [Nick Vallelonga] c
1997	Judas Kiss [Sebastian Gutierrez] c; ph Venezuela: Scott Steele
1998	Urban Legend/Mixed Culture [Jamie Blanks] s35/c
2001	The Cinematographers' Test [Laura Anne Edwards & Kevin Stofer Smith] 35mm+HD-to-35mm; test film (22m) compares 35mm and HD 24p; cph: Aaron Schneider & John Bailey
2002	Chicago [Rob Marshall] b&w-c; reshoot ph; ph: Dion Beebe
2003	Footloose [Craig Brewer (replaced Kenny Ortega)] remake of 'Footloose' (1984); developed as a tvm, later as a feature; unrealized
2004	Venus & Vegas [Demian Lichtenstein] c; released 2009
2005	Outside In [James Chressanthis & Laura Carruthers] HD/c; dance film/12m
2006	That's Amore! [Nick Vallelonga] pre-production; status unknown

With Vilmos Zsigmond - "No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos"

2007	No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos [James Chressanthis] s16+s8+HD/b&w-c; doc/105m; co-addph (with Zoltán Honti, Tarina Reed, a.o.); ph: Anka Malatynska; + co-prod/scrpl
2009	King of Vampires [Nick Vallelonga] pre-production

TELEVISION

1990	Patterns [Jay Levey & Al Yankovic] tvm/?m; for Children's Television Workshop
1990	Voices that Care [David S. Jackson & (video dir) James Yukich] mus special/30m/s16; for Fox-tv
1991	Death Dreams [Martin Donovan] tvm
1991	Life As We Know It! [Jay Levey] comedy special
1991	Public Enemy #2 [David Jablin] comedy special/37m; cph: Bryan England; for Showtime-tv
1992	[Father & Son:] Dangerous Relations/On the Streets of L.A. [Georg Stanford Brown] tvm
1992	Inside America's Totally Unsolved Lifestyles [Paul Flaherty] comedy special/60m; for ABC-tv
1992	Majority Rule/Majority City [Gwen Arner] tvm
1993	Sex, Shock & Censorship in the '90's [David Jablin] comedy special/60m
1993	Night Driving [Anne Makepeace] tvm/30m; ep Showtime-tv '30-Minute Movie'
1993	Harts of the West [ep #8 'Jake's Brother' dir by Bill D'Elia] 15-part series, 1993-94; other ph: Earl Clark, Robert New & James O'Dea; pilot ph in March - ph series started in August
1994	Reform School Girl [Jonathan Kaplan] tvm; remake of 'Reform School Girl' (1957)
1994	American Cinema [ep #5 'The Western' dir by Sasha Alpert & #8 'Night for Night: Film Noir' dir by Jeffrey Schon] 10-part doc PBS-tv series/b&w-c, 1995; cph: Joan Churchill (#5), Gregory Andracke (#5), Mark Trottenberg (#8), a.o.
1995	Lost & Found [?] doc series; other ph: Kurt Brabbee, Nicholas Hutak, a.o.
1995	Crazy Love [Claudia Weill] pilot
1995	Nowhere Man [21 ep dir by various] 25-part series, 1995-96; other ph: Ric Waite & Isidore Mankofsky; 2uc: Scott Steele; pilot ph in April
1996	High Incident [9 ep dir by various] 32-part series, 1996-97/b&w-c; other ph: Bing Sokolsky, Christopher Tufty & Jack Wallner
1996	The Cape [Ian Toynton] tvm & 2-part pilot/35mm; cph: Alan Degen; followed by series
1996	The Cape [various] 20-part series, 1996-97/16mm; other ph: Scott Steele
1997	The Love Boat: The Next Wave [ep #1 'Smooth Sailing' dir by Dennis Dugan, ep #2 'Remember?' dir by Tony Mordente & ep #5 'True Course' dir by Sandy Smolan] 25-part series, 1998-99; other ph: Rick Gunter; 2uc: Scott Steele
1998	Martial Law [various] 44-part series, 1998-2000/s16; 1st season, 1998-99; other ph: Scott Steele
1999	Martial Law [various] 2nd season, 1999-2000; other ph: Jeffrey Mygatt (+ 2uc); see 1998
2000	American Family [pilot 'American Family' dir by Gregory Nava] 22-part series, 2002; other ph: Brian J. Reynolds
2000	Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows [Robert Allan Ackerman] 2-part tvm/b&w-c/s16
2001	Thieves [James Frawley, Steven Robman, a.o.] 10-part (2 unaired) series/s35
2001	Brian's Song [John Gray] tvm/s8+35mm-to-35mm; remake of 'Brian's Song' (1971)
2002	Nancy Drew [James Frawley] tvm; originally developed as a pilot
2002	The Music Man [Jeff Bleckner] tvm; 2uc: Jens Sturup; remake of 'The Music Man' (1962)
2002	Eloise at the Plaza [Kevin Lima] tvm for 'The Wonderful World of Disney'
2003	Eloise at Christmastime [Kevin Lima] tvm for 'The Wonderful World of Disney'
2003	Joan of Arcadia [pilot dir by James Hayman & Jack Bender] series, 2003-present/HD; 1st season, 2003-04; co-addph; ph: Charlie Lieberman
2003	The Reagans [Robert Allan Ackerman] developed and shot (s16) as 2-part tvm for CBS-tv; aired as tvm (170m) on Showtime-tv in 2003
2003	Eye of the Beholder [with Serena Yang] [Serena Yang] doc series/HD for Travel Channel, 2004; other ph: ?
2004	3 [: The Dale Earnhardt Story] [Russell Mulcahy] tvm/s16 for ESPN-tv; 2uc: Edward Gutentag & Bob Newcomb
2004	[Jules Verne's] Mysterious Island [Russell Mulcahy] 2-part tvm/s35; 2uc: Rich B. Moore Jr.; aph: Jeremy Braben
2005	Ghost Whisperer [pilot dir by John Gray] series/s35, 2005-present; 1st season, 2005-06; filmed March
2005	Four Minutes [Charles Beeson] tvm/s16; for ESPN-tv
2005	Ghost Whisperer [19 ep dir by various] 1st season, 2005-06; started filming in July; see 2005
2006	Ghost Whisperer [10 ep dir by various] 2nd season, 2006-07; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Nancy Schreiber; see 2005
2007	Ghost Whisperer [9 ep dir by various] 3rd season, 2007-08; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile; see 2005
2008	Ghost Whisperer [9 ep dir by various] 4th season, 2008-09; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Bruce Pasternack; see 2005
2008	Living Proof [Dan Ireland] tvm
2009	Ghost Whisperer [4 ep dir by various] 5th season, 2009-10; other ph: Crescenzo Notarile & Bruce Pasternack; see 2005

MISCELLANEOUS

1985	The Witches of Eastwick [George Miller] cam intern + inserts ph; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond
1988	Tales from the Darkside [ep #90 'Basher Malone' dir by Anthony Santa Croce; tv-series] grip; ph: Michael Cardone
1991	Open Window [Rupert Wainwright; tvm/25m] co-add c.op; ph: Chuck Colwell

FILMS & TELEVISION AS DIRECTOR

1979	Epiphany [+ ph] see Films
1982	Remembrance of a Journey to the Village [+ ph] see Films
1984	Necros: An Aftermath [+ ph] see Films
1989	A Bridge for the Children [+ ph] see Films
1992	Holocaust Survivors Testimonies for the Holocaust Museum [interviews; + ph] ph over 50 testimonies of holocaust survivors living in the Los Angeles area
1996	The Cape [ep #14 'The Accusation'] see Television
2005	Outside In [co-d: Laura Carruthers; + ph] see Films
2005	Ghost Whisperer [ep #18 'Miss Fortune'] ph: Scott Steele; 1st season, 2005-06; see Television
2006	Ghost Whisperer [ep #38 'The Cradle Will Rock'] ph: Nancy Schreiber; 2nd season, 2006-07; see Television
2007	No Subtitles Necessary: László & Vilmos [doc; + co-prod/scrpl/co-addph] ph: Anka Malatynska; also ep PBS-tv series 'Independent Lens' (2009); see Films
2008	Ghost Whisperer [ep #71 'Pieces of You'] ph: Bruce Pasternack; 4th season, 2008-09; see Television
2009	Ghost Whisperer [ep #92 'Devil's Bargain'] ph: Bruce Pasternack; 5th season, 2009-10; see Television

MUSIC VIDEOS [Selection]

1987	Opportunity [a: Bobby McFerrin; d: Alan Bloom]
1989	Turn This Mutha Out [a: M.C. Hammer; d: Rupert Wainwright]
1989	Let the Bells Ring [a: 7A3; d: Alan Bloom]
1990	Scared of Guns [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom]
1992	Kill the Messenger [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom]
1992	Smells Like Nirvana [a: 'Weird Al' Yankovic; d: Jay Levey]
1993	Summer Single [a: John Wesley Harding; d: Alan Bloom]