ASC Announces Tomorrow

The American Society of Cinematographers will announce their nominees tomorrow at 9AM PST. Here's a quick preview.

The obvious givens are Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain), who grabbed a surprise notice from the guild in 2002 for Frida, and Robert Elswitt (Good Night, and Good Luck.), racking up wins and pulling double duty this year (Syriana).

After that, the next best bet is Emmanel Lubezki for The New World. A lot of people are beginning to write Lubezki of of their Oscar predictions, but the guy has clout with his peers, and here if anywhere is likely place to find him score.

Speaking of respected veterans, Roger Deakins will pop up here for his work on Jarhead even if he misses for an Oscar nomination. I have a feeling Cesar Charlone will fail to grab recognition here for The Constant Gardner (is he ASC?), but still score with Oscar, so someone always fills the void.

That said, my fifth prediction for the ASC is Dion Beebe, though in the wake of Memoirs of a Geisha's decline, I could see Mr. Deakins rise up and claim an Oscar nod after all from this film next month, regardless of Jarhead's reviews (which were, after all, better than Giehsa's).

Others to watch out for are Salvatore Totino for Cinderella Man - great work that could begin an incline in guild support for the film; Donald McAlpine, a seasoned vet, for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Adam Kimmel for Capote - we'll see if the rest of the industry loves the film so much; Janusz Kaminski for Munich, as we really need a tea-leaf reading on this thing.)

So that's it for now. Stay tuned tomorrow morning for the nominees. My final preidictions:

Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Jarhead
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World
(alt. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

The Art Directors Guild announces their nominees tomorrow too, but I ave no idea what to expect, really, and try to steer clear of predicting at least those contemporary nods. Meanwhile, the editors (ACE) announce Friday.

And no comments on the BFCA wins, really. A big yawn if you ask me.

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