Wally Pfister facts for kids

Walter C. Pfister (born July 8, 1961) is an American director and a former cinematographer. A cinematographer is the person in charge of the cameras and lighting on a film set. They help create the look and feel of a movie.

Walter Pfister is famous for working with director Christopher Nolan. They made many popular movies together. These include Memento (2000), the The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), and Inception (2010). For his work on Inception, Pfister won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. This is one of the highest honors in filmmaking. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Award.

Pfister also worked on other well-known films. These include The Italian Job (2003) and Moneyball (2011). In 2014, Pfister directed his first movie, Transcendence. Besides movies, he has directed TV shows like Flaked and The Tick.

Early Life and First Steps in Film

Walter Pfister was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in a town called Irvington-on-Hudson in New York. His father, Walter J. Pfister, Jr., was a TV news producer. He worked for big news channels like CBS and ABC. His father covered important events like political meetings and space flights.

When Walter was about 11, a film crew came to his neighborhood. They were shooting scenes for a movie called Shamus. He was amazed by how they set up the lights and cameras. This experience made him want to make films himself. Soon after, he started making his own 8mm home movies. He also took photos and put them into shows for his family.

After high school, Pfister got a job at a TV station in Maryland. He quickly learned how to use a camera. He started shooting short films and public service announcements (PSAs). These were very low-budget projects.

Later, he worked as a cameraman for a news service in Washington, D.C. He covered important news from the United States Congress and the White House. This was from 1982 to 1985. After that, he became a freelance cameraman. He shot documentaries for the PBS series Frontline.

Becoming a Cinematographer

In 1988, director Robert Altman came to Washington. He was making a TV mini-series called Tanner '88. Altman hired Pfister to play a news cameraman in the show. He also asked Pfister to shoot some extra footage, called B-roll. When the producers saw his work, they made him a second unit cameraman. This was his first time working on a fictional story.

After this, Pfister went to the American Film Institute. This is a famous film school. While there, he worked on a short film called "Senzeni Na?". It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1991. The film was about the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Pfister used his documentary skills to light the film in a dark and dramatic way.

He then got chances to work on bigger films. He started by shooting extra scenes for other cinematographers. His first full-length movie as a cinematographer was The Unborn in 1991. After that, he worked on many independent films. These movies often had very tight schedules.

Working with Christopher Nolan

In 1998, Pfister shot a film called The Hi-Line. It was made with a small budget and shown at the Sundance Film Festival. There, he met Christopher Nolan. Nolan also had a film at a festival nearby.

Pfister and Nolan first worked together on the thriller Memento (2000). This movie was a big success. Because of this, Pfister became the main cinematographer for all of Nolan's next films. Pfister even turned down other big projects, like some Harry Potter movies, to work with Nolan.

Their partnership ended after The Dark Knight Rises (2012). This was because Pfister got the chance to direct his own movie. Another cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema, then took over for Nolan's films.

Walter Pfister was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography four times. All of these nominations were for films directed by Christopher Nolan. He won the Academy Award for his amazing work on Inception in 2011. He also won an award from the American Society of Cinematographers for Inception.

Directing Movies

Walter Pfister made his first movie as a director in 2014. It was a science fiction thriller called Transcendence. The movie starred famous actors like Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, and Rebecca Hall. It was released by Warner Bros.

Since then, Pfister has decided to focus on directing. He has said he is finished working as a cinematographer. He plans to continue directing films and TV shows.

Personal Life

Walter Pfister lives in Los Angeles, California. He has three children: Nick, Claire Julien (who is an actress), and Mia. He is a member of two important groups for cinematographers: the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC).

Filmography (Selected)

As Cinematographer

• The Unborn (1991)
• The Hi-Line (1999)
• Memento (2000)
• Insomnia (2002)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Prestige (2006)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• Inception (2010)
• Moneyball (2011)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

As Director

• Transcendence (2014) - Film
• Flaked (2016) - TV series (4 episodes)
• The Tick (2016–2017) - TV series (2 episodes)

Awards and Recognitions

Walter Pfister has received many awards and nominations for his work as a cinematographer.

• Academy Awards: He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Inception (2010). He was also nominated for Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), and The Dark Knight (2008).
• BAFTA Awards: He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010).
• American Society of Cinematographers Awards: He won the American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases for Inception (2010). He was also nominated for Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008).

He has also won awards from many film critic groups for his cinematography on films like The Dark Knight and Inception.

See also

In Spanish: Wally Pfister para niños