Dariusz Wolski: Last News

Will Tizard Contributor Recreating epic battle scenes was just part of the challenge in filming “Napoleon” with director Ridley Scott, says Polish-born cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, who screened the grand-scale biopic at the Camerimage cinematography festival in Poland on Friday. Getting the realism needed to capture the vast brutality of the Battle of Austerlitz or Waterloo, says Wolski, depends on exhaustive planning and coordination, of course, but also some impressive juggling.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon marches into cinematic battle with the bluster and confidence that comes with a reported $200-million budget and Sir Ridley’s decades-deep track record of well-mounted action epics.All that money and prestige is visible onscreen in the film’s far-flung locations, hundreds of extras, delectable period costumes and decor, and, as advertised, several massively-scaled scenes of battle, on land and sea, circa 1789 to 1815.Legions of infantry and cavalry clash on various rolling hills of Europe, shot in icy, desaturated blues and grays by Dariusz Wolski, Scott’s cinematographer on his last nine films (though not his next one, Gladiator 2, being lensed by Gladiator d.p. John Mathieson).Against vast fields of green or snow-covered grasses, and CGI-enhanced masses of combatants, soldiers’ coats flash a red that’s many shades brighter than the blood that flows and bursts violently across the screen.The filmmakers spare no visual detail in depicting the bodily devastation of hand-to-hand armed combat — death by bayonet, point-blank gunfire, horse hooves, or long-range artillery.Death here is bloody, disgusting, and woefully unnecessary, but it’s also the main currency of war, and this movie revels in the loud, explosive spectacle of war far more enthusiastically than it casts its feebly critical eye at the men who clamor for it.Above all else, the film renders tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, portrayed by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix as a shrewd but coarse, fearless, petulant, glowering egomaniac who rises to imperial power fighting and winning wars.

Will Tizard Contributor Like the cinematography sector overall this year, the profession’s prime annual festival, Poland’s Camerimage, has come through major challenges in 2023, says the event’s founder, Marek Zydowicz. Launching in the historic town of Torun on Nov.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorDenis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” with cinematography by Greig Fraser, Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” with cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman, and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel,” with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, are among the movies selected in the main competition section of EnergaCamerimage.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorComposer Harry Gregson-Williams, costume designer Janty Yates and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski are part of the team Ridley Scott rallies to make a “Ridley Scott” film. Whether they come on early in the process or later on, his key collaborators know how to deliver his vision.“The Last Duel” in theaters now, is set in the 14th century and stars Matt Damon and Adam Driver who face an epic last duel.While natural was the approach for Wolski, Gregson-Williams aimed to use score to support the story at heart.

The American Society of Cinematographers’ five feature nominees—one of whom will become a first-time winner when the 35th annual ASC Awards are handed out virtually April 18 from the Society's Hollywood Clubhouse—represent very distinct approaches to the medium.Although Joshua James Richards’ Nomadland and Dariusz Wolski's News of the World were both shot on location in the American heartland, their styles are dramatically different.

Ridley Scott is back, baby! After a brief break following his one-two punch of “Alien: Covenant” and “All the Money in the World,” the filmmaker is returning with two back-to-back features this year, “The Last Duel,” and “House of Gucci,” and we finally know a bit more about the latter.

Earlier today, the American Society of Cinematographers revealed their nominations, hoping to clear up who might be Oscar nominees next week. Well, they definitely confirmed that Erik Messerschmidt, Phedon Papamichael, Joshua James Richards, and Dariusz Wolski are very likely to hear their names called on Monday morning. As for the final slot, they went with Newton Thomas Sigel, but for Cherry, not Da 5 Bloods, as many expected. Messerchmidt (Mank), Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Richards (Nomadland), and Wolski (News of the World) feel safe. As for the final spot at the Academy Awards in Best Cinematography, anything is possible, so sit tight…

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWhile “Nomadland’s” Joshua James Richards and “Mank’s” Erik Messerschmidt lead the field for the cinematography Oscar race, this is a deep competition, and although there are some women contending, they are once again a minority.As for the forefront of the race, Richards won the Golden Frog from the prestigious Camerimage festival, the National Board of Review gong and has scored a slew of critics awards and nominations, but don’t discount Dariusz Wolski.Wolski, who has framed such films as “The Crow,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Martian,” teamed up with Paul Greengrass for the Western “News of the World,” shot in New Mexico.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorCinematographer Dariusz Wolski would love it if people could see his latest film, the Tom Hanks Western “News of the World,” on the big screen as it was intended.But although Universal will carry out a limited theatrical release starting on Christmas Day, he realizes Academy voters and critics group members will probably consume the film at home on their laptops or TVs.So he thinks Christopher Nolan’s recent criticism of WarnerMedia sending most of its slate to HBO Max was misguided when the pandemic continues to rage around the world.“There’s COVID.

The first episode of HBO Max's Raised by Wolves is, if nothing else, an intriguingly enigmatic crossroads. Directed by Ridley Scott and shot with evocative flair by Scott's frequent cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, the pilot establishes only a small corner of the show's world, introduces only a taste of the show's science fiction allegory and concentrates most heavily on the show's two most interesting characters.