Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel on ‘Never Look Away,’ ‘Lion King’ and more

One of those affected by the Academy’s decision to present four awards during commercial breaks during the Oscars telecast this year is our guest today: cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. We recorded our interview before the Academy announced its decision but Deschanel’s position is clear: he’s among those who signed a letter of protest.

Deschanel’s in the race for his work on the German film ‘Never Look Away.’ This is his sixth nomination; he’s never won though he was previously in contention for films you may have heard of: ‘The Right Stuff,’ ‘The Natural,’ ‘Fly Away Home,’ ‘The Patriot’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ.’

Decades before anyone could imagine an Academy that wanted to relegate the announcement of the cinematography award to a commercial break, Deschanel was a college student in Baltimore. He tells us how he went from thinking about going into medicine to following some friends to USC film school. The rest, is history.

He tells us about some of the most memorable moments in his long career and explains how it actually worked to his advantage to not understand a word of German while shooting the German film ‘Never Look Away.’ Plus he tells us about getting completely drawn in to the virtual world of Disney’s new live-action ‘Lion King.’