‘Dune’ cinematographer wins top prize at 36th Annual ASC Awards

Dune scored the top prize at the recently held 36th Annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards in Hollywood.

According to Variety, cinematographer Greig Fraser received the coveted Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Feature Film Award from last year’s recipient Erik Messerschmidt.

The prestigious event was held at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse and hosted by Debbie Allen. The 2022 ceremony was partially live-streamed while a select group of 800 guests was invited to attend in-person.

This turned out to be a good thing as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Fraser tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks before the event and was unable to attend the event in person. However, he expressed his gratitude to his crew, the Dune production team, and suppliers in a prepared statement.

Fraser was up against some impressive competition as other nominees for this year’s award included Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), Haris Zambarloukos (Belfast), Dan Lausten (Nightmare Alley), and Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth).

He was previously awarded the American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases for his work on Lion (2016).

Fraser’s ASC win makes him the top favorite at the 2022 Academy Awards, where he is one of the Best Achievement in Cinematography nominees. He previously received an Oscar nomination in 2016 for his work on Lion but lost to Linus Sandgren who won the award for La La Land.

Per IMDB, Fraser’s film portfolio includes The Batman (2022), The Mandalorian (2019), Foxcatcher (2014), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and Bright Star (2009). Fraser is currently working on the sequel to Dune, which is in pre-production and set to hit screens in 2023.