Wally Pfister


Walter C. Pfister is an American director and former cinematographer.
He's best known for his partnership with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, working as a cinematographer in all his films from 2000 to 2012, with his work in Inception earning him an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Pfister then transitioned to a career as a director, debuting with Transcendence. After that, he worked mostly in commercials and television, including episodes of Flaked and The Tick.

Early life

Pfister was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the New York City suburb of Irvington-on-Hudson. He is the son of Patricia Ann and Walter J. Pfister, Jr. His grandfather was the city editor of a newspaper in Wisconsin. His father, also known as Wally, was a TV news producer, who began his career with CBS-TV in Chicago in 1955. Later, as an executive at ABC News, the elder Pfister worked with David Brinkley and Peter Jennings, covering political conventions, space flights and the civil rights movement.
When Pfister was about 11, a film company shot scenes for Shamus, featuring Burt Reynolds, in his Irvington neighborhood. The boy was fascinated by the crew setting up lights and cameras. Soon afterward, he began shooting 8 mm home movies and short films. Pfister also emulated his father by shooting slides on Kodachrome film and assembling them into shows for family and friends.

Career

After high school, Pfister found a job as a production assistant at a television station, WMDT-TV, in Salisbury, Maryland. Within a couple of months, he borrowed a CP-16 news camera and began shooting films on weekends, including a visual essay about a Victorian house. "I did these slow, little intricate moves around the architecture of the house", he recalls, "cut it together with music, and showed it to the production manager. They made me a cameraman. I shot very low budget PSAs for $125 a week".
Within a few months, Pfister found a job as a cameraman for a Washington news service, which provided film for TV stations around the country. He covered the United States Congress, the White House and breaking news from 1982 through 1985. In 1985 Pfister began a freelance career shooting documentaries for the PBS series Frontline and industrial videos for various Washington production companies.
In 1988, Robert Altman came to Washington to direct a mini-series for HBO called Tanner '88. Altman was looking for a real news cameraman to play that role in his show. They hired Pfister and asked him to also shoot some B-roll. When the producers saw his work, they brought Pfister on the show as the second unit cameraman. It was the first time he was exposed to acting and dramatic material.
After that experience, Pfister enrolled at the American Film Institute. During his second year, he collaborated with his classmates on a short film called "Senzeni Na?", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1991. The film told the story of a man caught up in the apartheid struggle. Pfister drew on his documentary experience, and lit it darkly and stark, using a single light so the actor could play in and out of that source.
Janusz Kamiński had just graduated from the AFI Conservatory and met Pfister that year. He saw Pfister's film and recruited him as a grip and electrician for various projects, including a few with Phedon Papamichael.
Roger Corman gave Pfister an opportunity to shoot pickup shots and inserts for a Papamichael film. It was the first time he shot a 35 mm film. After that, Pfister handled the second unit for Papamichael on Body Chemistry and also on other Corman films.
Pfister shot The Unborn, his first feature, in 1991. After that, he filmed an array of independent B-movies, typically on 15-day schedules. Many of these early films were directed by Gregory Dark.
In 1995, Papamichael asked Pfister to operate for him on Diane Keaton's Unstrung Heroes.

Work with Christopher Nolan

In 1998, Pfister shot The Hi-Line in Montana in the dead of winter on a $300,000 budget, which got into the competition at Sundance Film Festival. There, he met Nolan, who had a film at the same festival.
Pfister's first collaboration with Nolan was on the neo-noir thriller Memento, and after that, he became Nolan's regular cinematographer of his subsequent films.
From seven movies directed by Nolan, Pfister received four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, winning one for his work on Inception in 2011.
Pfister has stated that he "turned down many projects, in some cases just to be available for Nolan, or to stay home with my family."
Their collaboration came to an end in 2012, with The Dark Knight Rises, as he got the chance to direct his first film, Transcendence.
Hoyte van Hoytema then replaced Pfister for Nolan's Interstellar, and after Pfister retired as a cinematographer, Van Hoytema became Nolan's regular, having worked together ever since.

Directorial work

Pfister made his directorial debut with the science fiction thriller Transcendence in 2014, with Nolan acting as executive producer.
Despite receiving negative reviews and bombing at the box-office, Pfister had stated in 2015 that he is finished with working as a cinematographer and planned to continue as a director.
Ever since, Pfister had worked mostly in commercials and television series, like Flaked and The Tick.

Personal life

Pfister currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his partner Loan Chabanol and has three children: Nick, actress Claire Julien, and Mia.
He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers since 2002, and the British Society of Cinematographers since 2011.

Filmography

Cinematographer

Direct-to-video
YearTitleDirector
1991Lower LevelKristine Peterson
1992Secret GamesGregory Dark
1992Animal InstinctsGregory Dark
1993StepmonsterJeremy Stanford
1993Amityville: A New GenerationJohn Murlowski
1993Mirror Images 2Gregory Dark
1994Stranger by NightGregory Dark
1995The GrannyLuca Bercovici
1997A Kid in Aladdin's PalaceRobert L. Levy

Feature film
YearTitleDirector
1991The UnbornRodman Flender
1992In the Heat of PassionRodman Flender
1992Night RhythmsGregory Dark
1994Object of ObsessionGregory Dark
1994Secret Games 3Gregory Dark
1999The Hi-LineRon Judkins
2000MementoChristopher Nolan
2001Scotland, PABilly Morrissette
2001RustinRick Johnson
2002InsomniaChristopher Nolan
2002Laurel CanyonLisa Cholodenko
2003The Italian JobF. Gary Gray
2005Slow BurnWayne Beach
2005Batman BeginsChristopher Nolan
2006The PrestigeChristopher Nolan
2008The Dark KnightChristopher Nolan
2010InceptionChristopher Nolan
2011MoneyballBennett Miller
2012The Dark Knight RisesChristopher Nolan

TV movies
YearTitleDirectorNotes
1991Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and DesireRichard SchickelDocumentary film
1992Sketch ArtistPhedon Papamichael
1998Rhapsody in BloomCraig Saavedra
1998Breakfast with EinsteinCraig Shapiro
2000Sharing the SecretKatt Shea
2001SanctuaryKatt Shea

Director

Film
  • Transcendence
Television
YearTitleNotes
2016Flaked4 episodes
2016–2017The Tick2 episodes

Commercials
YearTitleBrand
2016That's ContinentalLincoln
2018Web of Fries II - Franchise WarsTaco Bell
2019Hope on Wheels It Takes a VillageHyundai
2021Fortune Favors The BraveCrypto.com

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards
YearTitleCategoryResult
2005Batman BeginsBest CinematographyNomitated
2006The PrestigeBest CinematographyNomitated
2008The Dark KnightBest CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionBest CinematographyWon

BAFTA Awards
YearTitleCategoryResult
2008The Dark KnightBest CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionBest CinematographyNomitated

American Society of Cinematographers
YearTitleCategoryResult
2005Batman BeginsOutstanding Achievement in CinematographyNomitated
2008The Dark KnightOutstanding Achievement in CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionOutstanding Achievement in CinematographyWon

Other awards
YearTitleAwardResult
2000MementoIndependent Spirit Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2005Batman BeginsBritish Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature FilmNomitated
2006The PrestigeBritish Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature FilmNomitated
2006The PrestigeGold Derby Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2008The Dark KnightOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyWon
2008The Dark KnightGold Derby Award for Best CinematographyWon
2008The Dark KnightChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyWon
2008The Dark KnightDallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyWon
2008The Dark KnightFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographyWon
2008The Dark KnightBritish Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature FilmNomitated
2008The Dark KnightHouston Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionHouston Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionSatellite Award for Best CinematographyWon
2010InceptionOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionAlliance of Women Film Journalists for Best CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionBritish Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature FilmNomitated
2010InceptionCamerimage Golden FrogNomitated
2010InceptionDallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionGold Derby Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2010InceptionWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best CinematographyNomitated
2012The Dark Knight RisesHollywood Film Award for Best CinematographyWon