Russell Paul Carpenter, ASC (born December 9, 1950) is an American cinematographer^[1][2] and photographer,^[3] known for collaborating with directors James Cameron, Robert Luketic and McG. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the 1997 Best Picture-winning film Titanic.^[4][5]

Much of his work has been in blockbuster films, including Hard Target (1993), True Lies (1994), Charlie's Angels (2000) and its sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Ant-Man (2015), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2023).^[6] His documentary cinematography includes George Harrison: Living in the Material World, directed by Martin Scorsese. It earned six nominations at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming for the cinematography team.^[7]

In 2018, Carpenter received the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award.

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.^[8] 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.^[8]

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.^[8]

Career

Carpenter is most widely known for his early work in horror and genre cinema and for his collaborations with directors James Cameron, McG, and Robert Luketic. His first major project as Director of Photography was, Lady in White. It was followed by Critters 2: The Main Course, written and directed by Mick Garris. The Los Angeles Times criticized the film but praised Carpenter's cinematography.^[9]

Carpenter had earlier worked as a Director of Photography (DP) on numerous low-budget horror films like Sole Survivor and Cameron's Closet. In 1983, he shot The Wizard of Speed and Time, a special effects-laden experimental film directed by animator Mike Jittlov.^[10] His first major studio film was Critters 2: The Main Course. Two years later, he shot his first science fiction film, Solar Crisis, and his first action film Death Warrant starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. 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 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis action comedy True Lies,^[8] 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's work on Titanic earned him nine industry awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award.

They worked together again on Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming Avatar 3.^[11][12]

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.

He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Filmography

Film

Short films

Television

Other credits

Additional photogrpahy

Other

Awards and nominations