Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer, director and producerEn travl dag i Los Angeles. Portræt: Mikael Salomon, fotograf. Politiken | 11 January 1994 | 2. sektion | Side 3 | of film and television.
After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s,Den danske kong Salomon. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 25 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 1Savner hygge og rugbrød. Portræt: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 22 August 1993 | 2. sektion | Side 4Dansker til tops i Hollywood. Portræt af filmfotografen Mikael Salomon. Politiken | 1 January 1990 | 2. sektion | Side 2 earning two nominations from the Academy Awards.Succes på strømer. Portræt/interview: Mikael Salomon. Ekstra Bladet | 1 April 1999 | Skærtorsdag | Side 24
Salomon then transitioned to a television director career, with credits that include Band of Brothers, Salem's Lot, Rome, and The Andromeda Strain.
Life and career
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Salomon is of Jewish descent on one parent's side.'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.
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. Salomon used three cameras in watertight housings that were specially designed.Blair September 1989, p. 58. 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. His work on the film earned Salomon a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
In the following years, Salomon shot some blockbuster films like Always, Backdraft, and Far and Away.
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.
Filmography Cinematographer Film Year Title Director Notes 1966 Søskende Johan Jacobsen With Rolf Rønne1967 Fantasterne Kirsten Stenbæk Brødrene på Uglegaarden Ib MossinAlice O'Fredericks Me and My Kid Brother Lau Lauritzen Jr.1968 Det er så synd for farmand Ebbe Langberg Magic in Town Annelise Reenberg1969 Sonja - 16 år Hans AbramsonBrandon Chase De 5 og spionerneKatrine Hedman1970 Five Get into Trouble Daddy, Darling Joseph W. Sarno Threesome Brandon Chase Tintomara Hans Abramson1971 Welcome to the Club Walter Shenson Kid Gang on the Go Annelise Reenberg1972 Rektor på sengekantenJohn Hilbard Motorvej på sengekanten With Aage Wiltrup 1974 Jorden runt med Fanny Hill Mac Ahlberg1975 Violets Are Blue Peter Refn Kun sandheden Henning Ørnbak1976 Hjerter er trumf Lars Brydesen Strømer Anders Refn Elvis! Elvis! Kay Pollak1977 Mind Your Back, Professor Jens Okking Skytten Franz ErnstTom Hedegaard Bedside Freeway Boerge Hilbarth 1978 The Heritage Anders Refn 1981 Tell It Like It Is, Boys Peter Curran 1985 De flyvende djævle Anders Refn1986 The Wolf at the Door Henning Carlsen Early Spring Astrid Henning-Jensen 1987 Peter von Scholten Palle Kjærulff-Schmidt1988 Zelly and Me Tina Rathborne Stealing Heaven Clive Donner Torch Song Trilogy Paul Bogart1989 The Abyss James Cameron Always Steven Spielberg 1990 Arachnophobia Frank Marshall 1991 BackdraftRon Howard 1992 Far and Away
Director Film A Far Off Place (1993) Hard Rain (1998) Freezer (2014) (Direct-to-video) Instrument of Hope (2020) (Documentary short)
TV series Year Title Episode(s) Notes 1993 Space Rangers "Fort Hope" 1998 Nash Bridges "The Tourist"2000The 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 producer2010Unnatural History "Pilot" "Thor's Slammer"2011Camelot "The Long Night" "The Battle of Bardon Pass" "Reckoning" Co-directed with Stefan Schwartz 2014 Falling Skies "Exodus" 2015 Blood & Oil "The Birthday Party"2015–16Powers "The Raconteur of the Funeral Circuit" "F@#K the Big Chiller" "Caracas, 1967" "Hell Night" "Legacy" 2016 Damien "Seven Curses"2017Six "Man Down" "Blood Brothers" The Expanse "The Weeping Somnambulist" "Cascade" Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders "The Ripper of Riga" 2018 The Brave "Grounded"
Miniseries Year Title Director ExecutiveProducer Notes 1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York 2001 Band of Brothers Episodes "Carentan" and "Points"2004 Salem's Lot The Grid 2006 Fallen 2007 The Company 2008 The Andromeda Strain 2012 Coma 2015 To Appomattox 2017 The Long Road Home Episodes "Into the Unknown", "In the Valley of Death" and "Abandon Hope"
TV movies Year Title Director Co-ExecutiveProducer 2000 Sole Survivor 2001 A Glimpse of Hell 2002 Young Arthur 2003 Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor 2007 Fallen: The Journey 2008 Flirting with Forty Natalee Holloway 2010 Who Is Clark Rockefeller? The Lost Future 2012 Drew Peterson: Untouchable Blue Lagoon: The Awakening 2014 Big Driver
Awards and nominations Academy Awards Year Category Title Result 1989 Best Cinematography The Abyss 1991 Best Visual Effects Backdraft
American Society of Cinematographers Year Category Title Result 1989 Outstanding Cinematography The Abyss
BAFTA Awards Year Category Title Result 1991 Best Special Visual Effects Backdraft
Directors Guild of America Year Category Title Result 2007 Outstanding Directing in a Movie for a Miniseries The Company 2008 The Andromeda Stain 2010 Outstanding Directing for a Children's Program Unnatural History
Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Title Result 2001 Outstanding Directing Band of Brothers 2007 The Company 2008 Outstanding Limited Series The Andromeda Strain
Other awards Year Award Category Title Result 1985 Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Cinematography De flyvende djævle 1987 CableACE Award Direction of Photography in a Miniseries The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains 2001 Christopher Television & Cable Award Band of Brothers
References
External links