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Mikael Salomon

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Mikael Salomon
Born (1945-02-24) 24 February 1945 (age 79)
NationalityDanish
Occupation(s)Cinematographer
television director
television producer
film director
Years active1963–present
Organization(s)Directors Guild of America
American Society of Cinematographers
AwardsPrimetime Emmy Award
Christopher Award
Bodil Awards
Robert Award

Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer,[1] director and producer[2] of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s,[3][4][5] earning two Academy Award nominations.[6] He is also a television director whose credits include dozens of series, films and miniseries including Band of Brothers, Salem's Lot, Rome, and The Andromeda Strain. His awards and nominations include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.

Life and career

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Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Salomon photographed dozens of films in his native country, earning awards including the Robert Award and Bodil Awards. In the late 1980s, he relocated to Hollywood and shot his first mainstream American film with Torch Song Trilogy, a 1988 comedy-drama starring Harvey Fierstein, Anne Bancroft, and Matthew Broderick. The following year, he shot the James Cameron-helmed science fiction film The Abyss, a film that helped to pioneer the field of computer-generated visual effects.[7][8][9] Salomon used three cameras in watertight housings that were specially designed.[10] Another special housing was designed for scenes that went from above-water dialogue to below-water dialogue. The filmmakers had to figure out how to keep the water clear enough to shoot and dark enough to look realistic at 2,000 feet (700 m), which was achieved by floating a thick layer of plastic beads in the water and covering the top of the tank with an enormous tarpaulin.[10] His work on the film earned Salomon a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

In the following years, Salomon shot several blockbuster films like Always, Backdraft, and Far and Away, collaborating with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard.

In 1993, Salomon directed A Far Off Place, an adventure drama film filmed on location in Namibia and Zimbabwe, replacing original director René Manzor after being recommended to producer Kathleen Kennedy by Steven Spielberg. That same year, he directed an episode of the short-lived science fiction series Space Rangers, beginning a career as a television director. In 1998, he directed the Emmy-nominated Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, the first in many television miniseries which Salomon would helm. The most notable of these was Band of Brothers, a 10-part series executive produced by Spielberg for which Salomon won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and a Christopher Award.

Since then, Salomon has over thirty-five programs, including the miniseries adaptations of The Andromeda Strain and Coma broadcast on the A&E Network.

Personal life

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Salomon is of Jewish descent on one parent's side.[11]

Filmography

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Cinematographer

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Film

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Year Title Director Notes
1966 Søskende Johan Jacobsen With Rolf Rønne
1967 Fantasterne Kirsten Stenbæk
Brødrene på Uglegaarden Ib Mossin
Alice O'Fredericks
Me and My Kid Brother Lau Lauritzen Jr.
1968 Det er så synd for farmand Ebbe Langberg
Magic in Town Annelise Reenberg
1969 Sonja - 16 år Hans Abramson
Brandon Chase
 
De 5 og spionerne Katrine Hedman
1970 Five Get into Trouble  
Daddy, Darling Joseph W. Sarno
Threesome Brandon Chase
Tintomara Hans Abramson
1971 Welcome to the Club Walter Shenson
Kid Gang on the Go Annelise Reenberg
1972 Rektor på sengekanten John Hilbard
Motorvej på sengekanten With Aage Wiltrup
1974 Jorden runt med Fanny Hill Mac Ahlberg
1975 Violer er blå Peter Refn
Kun sandheden Henning Ørnbak
1976 Hjerter er trumf Lars Brydesen
Strømer Anders Refn
Elvis! Elvis! Kay Pollak
1977 Mind Your Back, Professor Jens Okking
Skytten Franz Ernst
Tom Hedegaard
Bedside Freeway Boerge Hilbarth
1978 The Heritage Anders Refn
1981 Tell It Like It Is, Boys Peter Curran
1985 De flyvende djævle Anders Refn
1986 The Wolf at the Door Henning Carlsen
Early Spring Astrid Henning-Jensen
1987 Peter von Scholten Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt
1988 Zelly and Me Tina Rathborne
Stealing Heaven Clive Donner
Torch Song Trilogy Paul Bogart
1989 The Abyss James Cameron
Always Steven Spielberg
1990 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall
1991 Backdraft Ron Howard
1992 Far and Away

Short film

Year Title Director
1966 Om ti minutter Hans Engberg
1967 De forsvundne breve Annelise Hovmand
1969 Frk. Julie 1970 Kirsten Stenbæk

Documentary works

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Film

Year Title Director Notes
1963 Hurra for os Hagen Hasselbalch With Dirk Brüel and Henrik Heger
1967 Prinsesse Margrethes bryllup Ole Roos With Arne Abrahamsen, Morten Find, Rolf Rønne and Erik Wittrup Willumsen
1971 Hvorfor gør de det? Eberhard Kronhausen
Phyllis Kronhausen
Et døgn med Ilse Annelise Hovmand
1979 At danse Bournonville Jørgen Leth With Dan Holmberg, Peter Klitgaard and Jan Weincke
Kalule With Peter Roos

Short film

Year Title Director Notes
1967 Capriccio Ole Askman  
1972 Kinesisk bordtennis Jørgen Leth With Henning Camre
1979 Med Danmarks regentpar i Kina Carl Otto Petersen

Television

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TV movies

Year Title Director
1968 Expo 68 Annett Wolf Sr.
1975 Stumpen Ingvar Skogsberg
1976 På flykt undan mina landsmän Hans Dahlin
Det begyndte med Mathilde Hans Engberg
1987 The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains Daniel Mann

Miniseries

Year Title Director Notes
1974 De tre från Haparanda Ulf Andrée
1987 Een gang strømer... Anders Refn Episode "1. del"

Director

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Film

TV series

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Year Title Episode(s) Notes
1993 Space Rangers "Fort Hope"
1998 Nash Bridges "The Tourist"
2000 The Fugitive "Pilot"
"The Hand of a Stranger"
2001 Alias "Parity"
The Agency "Pilot"
"Deadline"
2005 Over There "I Want My Toilets"
Rome "The Stolen Eagle Uncredited
"An Owl in a Thornbush"
"The Spoils"
2006  Nightmares & Dreamscapes "The End of the Whole Mess"
"Autopsy Room Four"
Runaway "Pilot" Also co-executive producer
2009 Hawthorne "Pilot" Also executive producer
2010 Unnatural History "Pilot"
"Thor's Slammer"
2011 Camelot "The Long Night"
"The Battle of Bardon Pass"
"Reckoning" Co-directed with Stefan Schwartz
2014 Falling Skies "Exodus"
2015 Blood & Oil "The Birthday Party"
2015–16 Powers "The Raconteur of the Funeral Circuit"
"F@#K the Big Chiller"
"Caracas, 1967"
"Hell Night"
"Legacy"
2016 Damien "Seven Curses"
2017 Six "Man Down"
"Blood Brothers"
The Expanse "The Weeping Somnambulist"
"Cascade"
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders "The Ripper of Riga"
2018 The Brave "Grounded"

Miniseries

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Year Title Director Executive
Producer
Notes
1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York Yes No
2001 Band of Brothers Yes No Episodes "Carentan" and "Points"
2004 Salem's Lot Yes No  
The Grid Yes No  
2006 Fallen Yes No  
2007 The Company Yes No
2008 The Andromeda Strain Yes Co-executive  
2012 Coma Yes Yes  
2015 To Appomattox Yes Yes  
2017 The Long Road Home Yes Yes Episodes "Into the Unknown", "In the Valley of Death" and "Abandon Hope"

TV movies

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Year Title Director Co-Executive
Producer
2000 Sole Survivor Yes No
2001 A Glimpse of Hell Yes No
2002 Young Arthur Yes No
2003 Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor Yes No
2007 Fallen: The Journey Yes No
2008 Flirting with Forty Yes No
Natalee Holloway Yes Yes
2010 Who Is Clark Rockefeller? Yes Yes
The Lost Future Yes Yes
2012 Drew Peterson: Untouchable Yes Yes
Blue Lagoon: The Awakening Yes[a] No
2014 Big Driver Yes No
  1. ^ Co-directed with Eric Bross (credited as "Jake Newsome")

Awards and nominations

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Academy Awards

Year Category Title Result
1989 Best Cinematography The Abyss Nominated
1991 Best Visual Effects Backdraft Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers

Year Category Title Result
1989 Outstanding Cinematography The Abyss Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year Category Title Result
1991 Best Special Visual Effects Backdraft Nominated

Directors Guild of America

Year Category Title Result
2007 Outstanding Directing in a Movie for a Miniseries The Company Nominated
2008 The Andromeda Stain Nominated
2010 Outstanding Directing for a Children's Program Unnatural History Nominated

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year Category Title Result
2001 Outstanding Directing Band of Brothers Won
2007 The Company Nominated
2008 Outstanding Limited Series The Andromeda Strain Nominated

Other awards

Year Award Category Title Result
1985 Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Cinematography De flyvende djævle[12] Won
1987 CableACE Award Direction of Photography in a Miniseries The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains Won
2001 Christopher Television & Cable Award Band of Brothers Won

References

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  1. ^ Hollywood.com
  2. ^ En travl dag i Los Angeles. Portræt: Mikael Salomon, fotograf. Politiken | 11 January 1994 | 2. sektion | Side 3 |
  3. ^ Den danske kong Salomon. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 25 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 1
  4. ^ Savner hygge og rugbrød. Portræt: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 22 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 4
  5. ^ Dansker til tops i Hollywood. Portræt af filmfotografen Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 1 January 1990 | 2. sektion | Side 2
  6. ^ Succes på strømer. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 1 April 1999 | Skærtorsdag | Side 24
  7. ^ "The Making of 'The Abyss'". aspaceblogyssey.com. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  8. ^ SEMLYEN, PHIL DE. "A History Of CGI in the Movies". Empire. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  9. ^ "The Abyss: The Ultimate James Cameron Movie?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  10. ^ a b Blair September 1989, p. 58.
  11. ^ 'No sugarcoating’ as first movie on ’67 battle for Jerusalem takes shape.' Hoffman, Jordan. The Times of Israel. The Times of Israel. Published 9 June 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  12. ^ Piil, Morten (2008). Gyldendals danske filmguide (in Danish) (3rd ed.). Copenhagen, Denmark: Gyldendal. pp. 172–. ISBN 978-87-02-06669-2. OCLC 474736058. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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