Aussie Greig Fraser is one of the most in-demand cinematographers in the game right now. After his Oscar-nominated breakthrough work on 2016’s Lion, Fraser worked on Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, scored an Emmy for The Mandalorian, and just completed production on 2021’s The Batman. It’s hardly surprising he was Denis Villeneuve’s for Dune. Unsurprisingly, Fraser now sits at the frontrunner for this year’s race for Best Cinematography.
Fraser’s main competition could be a couple of black-and-white wonders in the form of Bruno Delbonnel for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Haris Zambarloukos for Belfast. In recent years, the Academy has honoured the work of black-and-white cinematography with at least one nomination slot. Much like 2018, we could be looking at two this year. Three, if C’mon C’mon takes off.
Back in 2017, the Oscars finally nominated a female cinematographer for the very first time when Rachel Morrison was honoured for Mudbound. Australian Ari Wegner seems all but certain to become the second female nominee for her impeccable work on The Power of the Dog. She may even be joined by Claire Mathon for Spencer. Now, wouldn’t that be something?
If there’s one potential spoiler waiting in the wings, it’s Janusz Kamiński for West Side Story. With six nominations and two wins (Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan), he’s an Academy darling, so a seventh nomination isn’t a far stretch of the imagination.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY PREDICTIONS:
1. Dune (Warner Bros.)
Greig Fraser
2. The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple TV+)
Bruno Delbonnel
3. The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
Ari Wegner
4. Belfast (Focus Features)
Haris Zambarloukos
5. Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
Dan Laustsen
IN CONTENTION
C’mon C’mon (A24)
Robbie Ryan
Cyrano (MGM)
Seamus McGarvey
Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
Linus Sandgren
The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures)
Robert Yeoman
House of Gucci (MGM)
Dariusz Wolski
Licorice Pizza (MGM)
Michael Bauman and Paul Thomas Anderson
The Matrix Resurrections (Warner Bros.)
Danielle Massaccesi and John Toll
No Time to Die (MGM)
Linus Sandgren
Spencer (Neon)
Claire Mathon
West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
Janusz Kaminski