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Adam Greenberg (cinematographer)

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Adam Greenberg
Born
Adam Grinberg

Kraków, Poland
Nationality
  • Israeli
  • American
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1962-2017
Known forThe Big Red One
The Terminator
Ghost
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Rush Hour
Snakes on a Plane

Adam Greenberg, A.S.C. (Hebrew: אדם גרינברג) is a retired Israeli-American cinematographer[1] noted for his work in Israel and the United States, including several films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.[2] Greenberg has collaborated with numerous well-known and acclaimed filmmakers, including James Cameron, Andrew Davis, Kathryn Bigelow, David Perlov, and Ivan Reitman.

Greenberg was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 1992, for his work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day.[3] In 1999 he was a member of the jury at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival.[4]

Life and career

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Greenberg was raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He began work as a film lab technician in 1958. While working as a newsreel and cameraman in the early 1960s, he worked with filmmaker David Perlov on his 33-minute documentary In Jerusalem (בירושלים, Be-Yerushalayim).

His first job as director of photography came in the form of The Flying Matchmaker, an Israeli musical film based on an operetta by Abraham Goldfaden. The film was selected as the Israeli entry into the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but was ultimately not nominated. Greenberg shot several well-received and popular films in Israel, soon becoming one of the most noteworthy individuals in the country's film industry, beginning a long-term collaboration with prolific filmmaking duo Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Their coming-of-age comedy drama Lemon Popsicle was a massive success, quickly becoming the highest-grossing film in Israeli history and spawning numerous sequels and spin-offs. Greenberg's first American film was the 1980 World War II epic, shot on location in Israel and Ireland, The Big Red One. Afterwards, Greenberg emigrated to the United States, gaining citizenship three years later. Though he worked almost exclusively in Hollywood thereafter, he continued to work with Golan-Globus for years.

In 1982, Greenberg shot The Last American Virgin, an English-language remake of Lemon Popsicle with much of the same creative team. The film failed to match the same level of success as its predecessor however, and the planned sequels failed to materialize. Two years later, he shot the James Cameron-directed science fiction action film The Terminator, which became an unexpected success with both critics and audiences, spawning a highly-profitable franchise and propelling its star Arnold Schwarzenegger to stardom. Greenberg went on to become a highly prolific director of photography, working primarily in the comedy and thriller genres. Some of these films include the military action film Iron Eagle, the cult vampire Western Near Dark, the neo-noir science fiction thriller Alien Nation, the Best Picture-nominated romantic fantasy film Ghost, Three Men and a Baby and Sister Act.

In 1991, Greenberg re-teamed with James Cameron to shoot Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the sequel to The Terminator. It was a massive success critically and financially, winning four Academy Awards (Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects) and two BAFTAs. The film earned over $519 million worldwide and remains one of the highest grossing films of all time. Greenberg received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography for his work on the film. This was his second time working with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the two went on to collaborate several more times with Junior, Eraser, and Collateral Damage.

Greenberg's latest film had him returning to his native Israel with Footsteps in Jerusalem, an homage to David Perlov that combined In Jerusalem with nine other short documentaries as a means to explore the massive changes Jerusalem has undergone through the decades.

Greenberg re-teamed with director James Cameron to oversee the 3-D conversion of Terminator 2 in 2017.[5]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Notes
1962 Lifnei Maher Ellida Geira With Amnon Salomon
1969 42:6 - Ben Gurion David Perlov With Erwin Hillier
1970 Madron Jerry Hopper With Marcel Grignon
1971 Hasamba Joel Silberg
1972 Metzitzim Uri Zohar
I Love You Rosa Moshé Mizrahi
Hatzad Hasheni Baruch Dienar With Baruch Dienar
Ha-Glula David Perlov
1973 The House on Chelouche Street Moshé Mizrahi
Daughters, Daughters
1974 My Michael Dan Wolman
1975 Diamonds Menahem Golan
1976 The Passover Plot Michael Campus
1977 Operation Thunderbolt Menahem Golan
Warhead John O'Connor
Seret V'Aruhat Boker Alfred Steinhardt
Hamesh Ma'ot Elef Shahor Shaike Ophir
1978 Lemon Popsicle Boaz Davidson
The Uranium Conspiracy Gianfranco Baldanello
Menahem Golan
With Antonio Modica
Yisraelim Matzhikim Tzvi Shissel
Belfer Yigal Bursztyn
1979 Going Steady Boaz Davidson
1980 The Big Red One Samuel Fuller
Seed of Innocence Boaz Davidson
1982 Paradise Stuart Gillard
Safari 3000 Harry Hurwitz
The Last American Virgin Boaz Davidson
Private Popsicle
1983 10 to Midnight J. Lee Thompson
Private Manoeuvres Tzvi Shissel
1984 Over the Brooklyn Bridge Menahem Golan
The Terminator James Cameron
The Ambassador J. Lee Thompson
1985 Private Resort George Bowers
War and Love Moshé Mizrahi
Once Bitten Howard Storm
The Ladies Club Janet Greek
1986 Iron Eagle Sidney J. Furie
Jocks Steve Carver
Wisdom Emilio Estevez
1987 A Walk on the Moon Raphael D. Silver
La Bamba Luis Valdez
Near Dark Kathryn Bigelow
Three Men and a Baby Leonard Nimoy
1988 Spellbinder Janet Greek
Alien Nation Graham Baker
Lool Boaz Davidson
Uri Zohar
With David Gurfinkel
1989 Turner & Hooch Roger Spottiswoode
Worth Winning Will Mackenzie
1990 Love Hurts Bud Yorkin
Ghost Jerry Zucker
Three Men and a Little Lady Emile Ardolino
1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day James Cameron
1992 Sister Act Emile Ardolino
Toys Barry Levinson
1993 Dave Ivan Reitman
1994 Renaissance Man Penny Marshall
North Rob Reiner
Junior Ivan Reitman
1995 First Knight Jerry Zucker
The Surrogate Jan Egleson
Raymond Hartung
1996 Eraser Chuck Russell
1998 Sphere Barry Levinson
Rush Hour Brett Ratner
1999 Inspector Gadget David Kellogg
2002 Collateral Damage Andrew Davis
The Santa Clause 2 Michael Lembeck
2006 Snakes on a Plane David R. Ellis

Short film

Year Title Director Notes
1963 B'Yerushalaim David Perlov Documentary short
1967 Le'at Yoter Avraham Heffner
Theatre in Israel David Perlov Documentary short

Documentary film

Year Title Director
1971 Ani Yerushalmi Yehoram Gaon
2013 Footsteps in Jerusalem

Television

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Year Title Director Notes
1970–1973 Lool Boaz Davidson
Uri Zohar
1982 The New Odd Couple Joel Zwick 4 episodes

TV movies

Year Title Director
1979 Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith Eric Till
1982 A Woman Called Golda Alan Gibson
Remembrance of Love Jack Smight

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Nomination Title Result
1990 American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Ghost Nominated
1991 Academy Awards Best Cinematography Terminator 2: Judgment Day Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Nominated
British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Nominated
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Adam Greenberg ASC". cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  2. ^ "Adam Greenberg". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21.
  3. ^ "The 64th Academy Awards (1992) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  4. ^ "21st Moscow International Film Festival (1999)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  5. ^ "Terminator 2 (T2) was live. - Terminator 2 (T2) | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
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