Phedon Papamichael

Phedon Papamichael, man, what a wild ride this guy’s career has been. Born in Athens, bounced over to Germany, ended up soaking in the whole Fine Arts thing in Munich by ‘82. Next thing you know, he’s snapping photos in New York, drifting into cinematography. His first short film, SPUD, was this moody 35mm black-and-white number that actually snagged him Best Cinematography at the Cork Film Festival. Not too shabby for a debut. After a call from John Cassavetes (yep, the John Cassavetes, who also happened to be his cousin), Phedon packed up for LA. He got started with Roger Corman, churning out seven films in just two years—talk about hustle. Fast forward, he’s got over 40 features under his belt. He lensed classics like While You Were Sleeping, Cool Runnings, and Phenomenon, plus the artsy stuff like Unstrung Heroes and Unhook the Stars. The guy’s credits are just stacked. He’s not just about Hollywood blockbusters, either. The Million Dollar Hotel opened the Berlin Film Fest and scooped up a stack of awards. Then there’s 27 Missing Kisses, Moonlight Mile, Identity, Sideways, The Weatherman, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, The Pursuit of Happyness, W., Knight and Day—you get the idea. Nebraska, shot in stunning black and white, landed him an Oscar nod. If that’s not enough, he’s done over 100 commercials, a bunch of music videos, and some TV, too. Dude splits his time between LA and Athens, speaks like four languages, and just keeps cranking out hit after hit.