Phedon Papamichael

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael was born in Athens, Greece but raised in Germany. He began working as a photojournalist upon graduating with a Fine Arts degree, but was soon drawn to cinematography when his work took him to New York City in 1983. At the urging of his cousin and soon to be collaborator John Cassavetes, Phedon moved to Los Angeles and began to work as Director of Photography for legendary low-budget producer Roger Corman. The stint with Corman built both his abilities and his connections. Soon he was shooting with director Katt Shae Ruben on Drew Barrymore's comeback vehicle "Poison Ivy" (1992) and even made a foray into television when he worked as the cinematographer for Oliver Stone on the television mini-series "Wild Palms" (ABC 1993). Alexander Payne is the director most closely associated with Papamichael; who shot several films for the director including his commercial breakthrough "Sideways" (2004), the George Clooney-starring comedy-drama "The Descendants" (2011), and the black-and-white film that netted Papamichael his first Oscar nomination, "Nebraska" (2013). Papamichael also worked with Clooney as a director, photographing both the political thriller "The Ides of March" (2012) and the World War II period drama "The Monuments Men" (2014).