Russell Paul Carpenter, (born December 9, 1950) is an American cinematographer and photographer, known for his Oscar-winning work on Titanic (1997).
The rest of his work has been centered around blockbuster films, including Hard Target (1993), True Lies (1994), Charlie's Angels (2000), Ant-Man (2015), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).
Early life and education The grandson of a film sound engineer, Carpenter was born in Van Nuys, California in 1950 to a family of six. After his parents divorced in 1960, he moved with his mother and three siblings to Orange County, where he took up Super 8 films as a hobby.
After graduating from Van Nuys High School, he enrolled at San Diego State University to study television directing, but later changed his major to English. To pay for school, he worked at a local public broadcasting channel, where he learned the ropes of documentary filmmaking. After graduating, he moved back to Orange County, where he shot educational films and documentaries.
Career Carpenter started his career working as DP on numerous low-budget horror films throughout the 1980s. His first major project was Lady in White, followed by Critters 2: The Main Course. The Los Angeles Times criticized the film but praised Carpenter's cinematography.
In 1983, he shot The Wizard of Speed and Time, a special effects-laden experimental film.
After shooting several episodes of the television series The Wonder Years, he worked on The Lawnmower Man.
Carpenter met James Cameron during the production of the John Woo-directed action film Hard Target, who hired him on the basis of his work on Lady in White to shoot his 1994 action comedy True Lies, and the 1996 Universal Studios attraction T2 3-D: Battle Across Time. Their next collaboration, Titanic, carried away 11 Oscars in 1997, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography.
Carpenter is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, and received the Society's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Personal life Carpenter is married to Donna Ellen Conrad and has one son, Graham (from a previous marriage), a stepson Zak Selbert, a daughter-in-law Gaudia Correia, and two granddaughters.
Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released Film Year Title Director Notes 1984 Sole Survivor Thom Eberhardt1988 Lady in White Frank LaLoggia Cameron's Closet Armand Mastroianni The Wizard of Speed and Time Mike Jittlov Critters 2: The Main Course Mick Garris1990 Solar Crisis Richard C. Sarafian Death Warrant Deran Sarafian 1991 The Perfect Weapon Mark DiSalle1992 The Lawnmower Man Brett Leonard Pet Sematary Two Mary Lambert 1993 Hard Target John Woo 1994 True Lies James Cameron 1st collaboration with Cameron 1995 The Indian in the Cupboard Frank Oz1997 Money Talks Brett Ratner Shared credit with Robert Primes Titanic James Cameron 1998 The Negotiator F. Gary Gray 2000 Charlie's Angels McG 2001 Shallow Hal The Farrelly Brothers 2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle McG 2004 Noel Chazz Palminteri 2005 Monster-in-Law Robert Luketic 2007 Awake Joby Harold 2008 21Robert Luketic 2009 The Ugly Truth 2010 Killers 2011 A Little Bit of Heaven Nicole Kassell 2012 This Means War McG 2013 Jobs Joshua Michael Stern2014 Return to Sender Fouad Mikati Beyond the Reach Jean-Baptiste Léonetti2015 Parched Leena Yadav Also credited as co-executive producer Ant-Man Peyton Reed 2017 XXX: Return of Xander Cage D. J. Caruso 2019 Noelle Marc Lawrence 2022 Avatar: The Way of WaterJames CameronShot back-to-back 2025 Avatar: Fire and Ash 2027 Donald Petrie Post-production
Short film Year Title Director Notes 1990 Redlands Joan Taylor 1996 T2 3-D: Battle Across Time James CameronJohn BrunoStan Winston Theme park attraction;Shared credit with Sulejman Medenčević and Peter Anderson 1997 Michael Jackson's Ghosts Stan Winston 2007 Lucifer Ray Griggs 2009 Down and Out Matthew Mebane Segment of Locker 13 2014 Sins of the Father Rachel Howard Also credited as producer 2016 The Final Adventure of John & Eleanor Greene Matthew Mebane
Television Year Title Director Notes 1985 The Lemon Grove Incident Frank ChristopherDocumentary special 1987 Rolling Stone Presents Twenty Years of Rock & Roll Malcolm Leo 1988 CBS Schoolbreak Special Jeffrey Auerbach Episode "No Means No" 1991 The Wonder Years Jeffrey AuerbachNick MarckKen TopolskyLyndall Hobbs 4 episodes 1993 Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Christopher GuestTV movie 2013 Guilty McG
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result1998 Academy Awards Best CinematographyTitanic American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography 2018Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 Austin Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Avatar: The Way of Water 1998 British Academy Film Awards Best CinematographyTitanic 1997 British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film 1998 Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography 2023 Columbus Film Critics Association Best CinematographyAvatar: The Way of Water Critics Association of Central Florida Best Cinematography Critics' Choice Awards Best Cinematography 1998Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationBest Cinematography Titanic 2023Avatar: The Way of Water Hawaii Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Hollywood Critics Association Best Cinematography Houston Film Critics Society Best Cinematography 1998 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Titanic 2023 Music City Film Critics' Association Best CinematographyAvatar: The Way of Water North Carolina Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Portland Critics Association Best Cinematography San Diego Film Critics Society Best Cinematography 1998Satellite AwardsBest Cinematography 2023 Seattle Film Critics Society Best Cinematography 2014 SoCal Independent Film Festival Best Cinematography Parched
References
External links Official website