Mark London Williams

Los Angeles

Zombie tales and politics. There's a difference? If I'm not following you from here, then I'm probably doing it from @TricksterInk

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Articles

Night at the Museum

3 weeks ago | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams

“It’s a global community.” That’s not a sentiment one hears coming from the US too much lately – or at least its national government. But in this case, the speaker was a North American, namely Mark Elendt, the marvelously-titled “Senior Mathematician” for Toronto-based SideFX.
Unreliable narrators

2 months ago | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams

In our first column after America’s profoundly timeline-altering election, we mentioned two items likely to affect the entertainment business, despite the oft-held view that the industry is “recession-proof” (stemming from the notion that even in hard times, people need storytelling. And distraction. Perhaps even more so in hard times).
Brighter Days Ahead

Oct 1, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams

Mark London Williams explores the complex interplay of creativity and technology in cinematography as Emmy winners reveal their artistry behind impactful storytelling. September came in like an Emmy award and went out like one, too. The winged statuettes were handed out at the top of the month, and their larger than life versions decorate the Television Academy, where the Emerging Cinematographer Awards were once again held, just as the month was yielding to October.
For all it's Worth

Aug 28, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams

“It was a true joy establishing the look of what this world was.”The observation is perhaps a quintessential distillation of the cinematographer’s art – establishing the landscapes of the stories they’re capturing – whether narrative, or documentary – and how those reflect the inner landscapes of the characters’ lives.
The politics of Emmy

Jul 31, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams

In a recent newsletter, American historian Heather Cox Richardson was applying Ernest Hemingway’s line about how one goes bankrupt – “first gradually, and then suddenly” – to the flurry of events affecting history and politics on this side of the pond, all of which have transpired since our last column here. This, along with everything else still transpiring, such as Emmy nominations, summer film releases, labour negotiations, and more, all of which are part of the usual focus here.
March 2024: Out with a bang

Mar 22, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams |Helen Parkinson

In our December column, having just come back from the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA)’s own award gathering, which serves as a kind of “pre-season” event before nominations kick in, even there the story of the soul-wracked scientist who helped beat Hitler to the bomb, won the evening’s top prizes for both its colour grading and editing, which felt, we wrote, “like a bit of an augury heading into award season proper”. And so it was.
February 2024: A dose of cinematic cheer

Feb 28, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams |Percival L. Everett |Helen Parkinson

But there the word was, used by Nick Offerman, who continued both his own personal award season streak, and that of The Last of Us in general, winning again for his guest-starring in the show’s “Long, Long Time” episode. In what is becoming the series’ most renowned episode, both he and co-guest star, Murray Bartlett, find love at the end of the world – both the imploding one outside, and, as it turns out, in their own personal one, as well.
Event Review: Creative Arts Emmys and Golden Globes

Feb 9, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams |Helen Parkinson

“We were all in the Calvin Klein ad.” As a statement of solidarity, it may not have quite the ring of “Ich bin ein Berliner,” or even “I am Spartacus,’ if we’re sticking to Hollywood fare, but it was precisely the kind of unlikely utterance that the Golden Globes has become famous for. Or perhaps infamous.
Matthew Lewis / Boiling Point

Jan 26, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams |Helen Parkinson

2021’s Boiling Point successfully mixed two distinct movie genres: The meal-as-revelation film, which includes such wide-ranging fare as Big Night, Ratatouille, and perhaps even The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, along with the “single shot story”, which ranges even farther, from movies like Rope to Russian Ark to Birdman.
January 2024: Chain reactions

Jan 24, 2024 | britishcinematographer.co.uk | Mark London Williams |Helen Parkinson

Of course, Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things are right behind in the nominations tally, and so is Barbie, with eight, though the sharp-edged, pink-hued summer blockbuster seems to have lost award momentum, despite its box office dominance, as things look much more “heimer” than “Barben”, after that one brief summer moment where the two equally shared the limelight.