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.
Mikael Salomon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 February 1945 |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Occupation(s) | Cinematographer television director television producer film director |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Organization(s) | Directors Guild of America American Society of Cinematographers |
| Awards | Primetime Emmy Award Christopher Award Bodil Awards Robert Award |
Life and career
editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (October 2017) |
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
editFilmography
editCinematographer
editFilm
edit| 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
editFilm
| 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
editTV 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
editFilm
- A Far Off Place (1993)
- Hard Rain (1998)
- Freezer (2014) (Direct-to-video)
- Instrument of Hope (2020) (Documentary short)
TV series
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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 |
- ^ Co-directed with Eric Bross (credited as "Jake Newsome")
Awards and nominations
editAcademy 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
edit- ^ Hollywood.com
- ^ En travl dag i Los Angeles. Portræt: Mikael Salomon, fotograf. Politiken | 11 January 1994 | 2. sektion | Side 3 |
- ^ Den danske kong Salomon. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 25 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 1
- ^ Savner hygge og rugbrød. Portræt: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 22 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 4
- ^ Dansker til tops i Hollywood. Portræt af filmfotografen Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 1 January 1990 | 2. sektion | Side 2
- ^ Succes på strømer. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 1 April 1999 | Skærtorsdag | Side 24
- ^ "The Making of 'The Abyss'". aspaceblogyssey.com. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ SEMLYEN, PHIL DE. "A History Of CGI in the Movies". Empire. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "The Abyss: The Ultimate James Cameron Movie?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ a b Blair September 1989, p. 58.
- ^ '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.
- ^ 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.