Alexander Witt
Alexander Witt | |
---|---|
Witt in 2016 | |
Born |
1952 Santiago, Chile |
Occupation | Film director and cinematographer |
Alexander B. Witt (born 1952) is a Chilean-American filmmaker and cinematographer mostly known for his work as a camera operator and second unit director, including regular collaborations with director Ridley Scott.
Life & career
From a 2004 interview on IGN, he says this about his history: "I was born in Chile, the third generation of Germans there. And, we moved to Mexico, from Mexico in '73 I moved to Europe, where I started working in film. I started with Arriflex, the company that makes the cameras. I was there for a year and I did kind of a trainee type of year where I was in the sound department, in the lab, in the studio working with the actual productions and also assembling cameras. And then I moved to Europe, where I lived three years, and then, back in '76, I did my first movie as a camera assistant, which was 21 Hours at Munich. And then, I kept on going, I moved up to focus puller or first AC, and then operating and then DP-ing. And then I was DP-ing commercials and then I started directing commercials in the late 80's and beginning of [the] 90's. I was working with Jan de Bont and doing his second unit as a DP while he was a DP. He is the one that really gave me the break on Speed to start directing second unit."[1]
Witt works mostly as a second unit director and cinematographer and has worked on a plethora of films ranging from Gladiator to Cinderella. He is a frequent collaborator of director Ridley Scott, and served as the director of photography on his 2007 film Body of Lies. He made his directorial debut in 2004 with the video game adaptation Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Witt also served as the second unit director on the James Bond films Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015).
Filmography
Year | Title | Also credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Second Unit Director | Director | Other | |||
1994 | Speed | Yes | |||
1995 | Money Train | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit, New York | |
1996 | Twister | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
1997 | Speed 2: Cruise Control | Yes | Yes | ||
The Postman | Yes | ||||
1998 | The X-Files | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit, Creature unit | ||
1999 | Forces of Nature | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
Inspector Gadget | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit, uncredited | ||
2000 | Gladiator | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
Remember the Titans | Yes | Yes | |||
2001 | Hannibal | Yes | Yes | ||
Black Hawk Down | Yes | ||||
2002 | The Bourne Identity | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
XXX | Yes | Yes | |||
2003 | Daredevil | Yes | Yes | ||
The Italian Job | Yes | ||||
Hollywood Homicide | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography, Second unit, Additional Photography | ||
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | ||
2004 | Hidalgo | Yes | |||
Resident Evil: Apocalypse | Yes | Directorial Debut Umbrella Sniper(uncredited) | |||
2005 | Æon Flux | Yes | |||
2006 | She's the Man | Yes | |||
Casino Royale | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | ||
2007 | American Gangster | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
2008 | Fool's Gold | Yes | |||
Body of Lies | Yes | Debut as Director of Photography | |||
2009 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
2010 | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit, uncredited | |
Robin Hood | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | ||
The Town | Yes | Yes | |||
2011 | Fast Five | Yes | Yes | ||
X-Men: First Class | Yes | Yes | |||
2012 | Safe House | Yes | Yes | ||
Skyfall | Yes | Yes | |||
Code Name Oracle | Yes | ||||
2014 | Hercules | Yes | Yes | Director of Photography for Second unit | |
2015 | Cinderella | Yes | Yes | ||
Terminator Genisys | Yes | Yes | |||
Spectre | Yes | Yes | |||
2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Yes | Yes | ||
Red Squad | Yes | Pre-production | |||
TBA | Feathering the Wind | Yes | Announced. |
References
- ↑ Otto, Jeff (August 23, 2004). "Interview: Alexander Witt". IGN. Retrieved 2009-02-10.