Early life

Deschanel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ann Ward (née Orr) and Paul Jules Deschanel. His father was French, from Oullins, Rhône, and his mother was American. Deschanel was raised in his mother's Quaker religion. He went to Severn School for high school. He attended Johns Hopkins University from 1962 to 1966, where he met Walter Murch, with whom he staged happenings, including a memorable one in which Murch simply sat down and ate an apple for an audience. Murch graduated a year ahead of him and encouraged Deschanel to follow him to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he graduated in 1968. During this time, he was a member of a band of film students called The Dirty Dozen, a group that attracted the attention of the Hollywood system. Following his graduation, he attended the AFI Conservatory and graduated in 1969 as a member of its first class.

Career

Deschanel's cinematography credits include A Woman Under the Influence (1974, John Cassavetes directing), Being There (1979, Hal Ashby directing), The Black Stallion (1979), The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984), Fly Away Home (1996), The Patriot (2000), Timeline (2003), and The Passion of the Christ (2004, Mel Gibson directing).

He directed his first film The Escape Artist in 1982, and a second, Crusoe, in 1989. In 1990, Deschanel directed three episodes of the David Lynch series Twin Peaks. In 2007, he directed an episode of Bones, which stars his daughter Emily. He was the cinematographer in the 2009 film My Sister's Keeper. He was also the cinematographer for the 2011 thriller Dream House.

He was an original member of the American Zoetrope production team, along with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.

Awards

He was awarded the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 by the American Society of Cinematographers.

He has been nominated for five Academy Awards, each time in the field of cinematography. The first nomination came in 1983 for the film The Right Stuff. His second was in 1984 for The Natural. A third came in 1996 for Fly Away Home, then a fourth in 2000 for The Patriot and finally a fifth for his work in The Passion of the Christ.

He also won the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) award for his work in The Patriot.

Filmography

As director

• The Escape Artist (1982)
• Crusoe (1989)

As cinematographer

• Lanton Mills (1969)
• The Black Stallion (1979)
• More American Graffiti (1979)
• Being There (1979)
• The Right Stuff (1983)
• The Natural (1984)
• The Slugger's Wife (1985)
• It Could Happen to You (1994)
• Fly Away Home (1996)
• Hope Floats (1998)
• Message in a Bottle (1999)
• Anna and the King (1999)
• The Patriot (2000)
• The Hunted (2003)
• Timeline (2003)
• National Treasure (2004)
• The Passion of the Christ (2004)
• The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
• Killshot (2008)
• My Sister's Keeper (2009)
• Dream House (2011)
• Killer Joe (2011)
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Winter's Tale (2014)
• Unforgettable (2016)
• Rules Don't Apply (2016)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]