I had the unbelievable honor to meet Roger Deakins recently, who is without a doubt one of the best cinematographers on the planet and my personal favorite (followed very closely by Janusz Kaminski). I still can't believe it happened and I am sure that I will remember those 45 minutes for the rest of my life. We discussed everything from cameras and film to the politics involved in working in the film industry. I didn't ask his permission to share any specifics from our conversation so I won't go into detail, but being the artist and gentleman that he is, I think he would be okay with me sharing this piece of advice: "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't."
For fun, my Deakins top ten:
1) The Assassination of Jesse James
2) The Shawshank Redemption
3) Revolutionary Road
4) Kundun
5) The Hudsucker Proxy
6) Barton Fink
7) Doubt
8) The Village
9) Jarhead
10) Dead Man Walking
