Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer,[1] director and producer[2] of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s[3][4][5] earning two Academy Award nominations.[6] He is also a television director whose credits include dozens of series, films and miniseries including Band of Brothers, Salem's Lot, Rome, and The Andromeda Strain. His awards and nominations include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.
Mikael Salomon | |
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Born | (1945-02-24) 24 February 1945 (age 77) Copenhagen, Denmark |
Nationality | Danish |
Occupation | Cinematographer television director television producer film director |
Years active | 1963–present |
Organization(s) | Directors Guild of America American Society of Cinematographers |
Awards | Primetime Emmy Award Christopher Award Bodil Awards Robert Award |
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Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Salomon photographed dozens of films in his native country, earning awards including the Robert Award and Bodil Awards. In the late 1980s, he relocated to Hollywood and shot his first mainstream American film with Torch Song Trilogy, a 1988 comedy-drama starring Harvey Fierstein, Anne Bancroft, and Matthew Broderick. The following year, he shot the James Cameron-helmed science fiction film The Abyss, a film that helped to pioneer the field of computer-generated visual effects.[7][8][9] Salomon used three cameras in watertight housings that were specially designed.[10] Another special housing was designed for scenes that went from above-water dialogue to below-water dialogue. The filmmakers had to figure out how to keep the water clear enough to shoot and dark enough to look realistic at 2,000 feet (700 m), which was achieved by floating a thick layer of plastic beads in the water and covering the top of the tank with an enormous tarpaulin.[10] His work on the film earned Salomon a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
In the following years, Salomon shot several blockbuster films like Always, Backdraft, and Far and Away, collaborating with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard.
In 1993, Salomon directed A Far Off Place, an adventure drama film filmed on location in Namibia and Zimbabwe, replacing original director René Manzor after being recommended to producer Kathleen Kennedy by Steven Spielberg. That same year, he directed an episode of the short-lived science fiction series Space Rangers, beginning a career as a television director. In 1998, he directed the Emmy-nominated Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, the first in many television miniseries which Salomon would helm. The most notable of these was Band of Brothers, a 10-part series executive produced by Spielberg for which Salomon won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and a Christopher Award.
Since then, Salomon has over thirty-five programs, including the miniseries adaptations of The Andromeda Strain and Coma broadcast on the A&E Network.
Salomon is of Jewish descent on one parent's side.[11]
Year | Title | Notes |
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1993 | Space Rangers | 1 episode |
1998 | Nash Bridges | |
1999 | Aftershock: Earthquake in New York | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
2000 | The Fugitive | 2 episodes |
Sole Survivor | Television film | |
2001 | A Glimpse of Hell | |
Alias | 1 episode | |
Band of Brothers | Miniseries; 2 episodes
Won:
| |
The Agency | 3 episodes | |
2002 | Young Arthur | Television film |
2003 | Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor | |
2004 | Salem's Lot | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
The Grid | Miniseries; 6 episodes | |
2005 | Over There | 1 episode |
Rome | 3 episodes | |
2006 | Fallen | Miniseries; 1 episode |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes | 2 episodes | |
Runaway | Pilot episode | |
2007 | The Company | 6 episodes
Nominated for:
|
2008 | Flirting with Forty | Television film |
Natalee Holloway | ||
The Andromeda Strain | Miniseries; 4 episodes
Nominated for:
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2009 | Hawthorne | Pilot episode |
2010 | Who Is Clark Rockefeller? | Television film |
Unnatural History | 2 episodes
Nominated for:
| |
The Lost Future | Television film | |
2011 | Camelot | 3 episodes |
2012 | Drew Peterson: Untouchable | Television film |
Blue Lagoon: The Awakening | ||
Coma | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
2014 | Falling Skies | Pilot episode |
Big Driver | Television film | |
2015 | Blood & Oil | 1 episode |
2015–16 | Powers | 5 episodes |
2016 | Damien | 1 episode |
2017 | Six | 2 episodes |
The Expanse | ||
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | 1 episode | |
2018 | The Brave | 1 episode |
Year | Title | Dir. | Notes |
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1987 | The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains | Daniel Mann | Won:
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1988 | Torch Song Trilogy | Paul Bogart | |
Zelly and Me | Tina Rathborne | ||
1989 | The Abyss | James Cameron | Nominated for:
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Always | Steven Spielberg | ||
1990 | Arachnophobia | Frank Marshall | |
1991 | Backdraft | Ron Howard | Nominated for:
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1992 | Far and Away |
Year | Title | DP. | Notes |
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1993 | A Far Off Place | Juan Ruiz Anchía | |
1998 | Hard Rain | Peter Menzies Jr. | |
2014 | Freezer | John Dyer | Direct-to-video |
Works directed by Mikael Salomon | |
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Films |
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Miniseries |
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Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | |
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1970s |
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1980s |
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1990s |
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2000s |
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2010s |
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2020s |
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General | |
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National libraries | |
Biographical dictionaries | |
Other |
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