Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, a Maine native, was nominated for his first Oscar Monday. Photo courtesy of Netflix
Cape Elizabeth native Erik Messerschmidt got his first Oscar nomination Monday in the cinematography category for his work on the film “Mank.”
“Mank” led all films in Oscar nominations with 10, including for best picture. Other nominations for “Mank” went to David Fincher for best director, Gary Oldman for actor and Amanda Seyfried for supporting actress. The Oscar nominations were announced online Monday morning, and the awards will be presented April 25, live on ABC.
“Mank” focuses on Herman J. Mankiewicz as he works on the screenplay for what would become Orson Welles’ 1941 cinema classic “Citizen Kane.” As director of photography for “Mank,” Messerschmidt shot the film in black and white. The film was in a limited number of theaters before being released worldwide on Netflix.
In a Facebook message sent to the Portland Press Herald on Monday morning, Messerschmidt wrote that he was “incredibly humbled” and honored to be recognized as a nominee and grateful to have been able to work on the film.
“Revisiting the golden age of Hollywood through our modern lens and technique was an extraordinary opportunity to create something of our own and I am grateful to David Fincher for his trust,” Messerschmidt wrote.
Messerschmidt, 40, grew up in Cape Elizabeth and worked on lighting and set design crews for theater productions while at Cape Elizabeth High School. He studied TV and film at Emerson College in Boston before venturing to Los Angeles to find work some 20 years ago. He worked in various positions of the electrical and lighting departments of film or TV productions before becoming a cinematographer.
Last year, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work as director of photography on the Netflix crime thriller series “Mindhunter.” Some of his other TV series credits as a cinematographer include episodes of the FX anthology crime series “Fargo” and Ridley Scott’s science fiction drama “Raised by Wolves” on HBO Max.
Messerschmidt’s competition in the cinematography category includes Sean Bobbitt for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Dariusz Wolski for “News of the World,” Joshua James Richards for “Nomadland” and Phedon Papamichael for “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
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