American Cinematographer - July 2015 - 85

Opposite: The
late Andrew
Lesnie, ASC, ACS
worked his magic
on The Last
Airbender. This
page, top: Lesnie
shined a light on
I Am Legend.
Bottom: The
cinematographer
with director
Peter Jackson
(foreground left),
cast and crew on
The Lord of the
Rings: The Return
of the King.

concerned the suit he hired from a shop in
Manly, Sydney," says Deane. "The guy
behind the counter asked, 'Where you off
to mate, a wedding?' Andrew answered,
'No, I'm off to the Academy Awards.' The
guy looked at Andrew with an expression
that said, 'Yeah right, mate. Pull the other
one,' and told Andrew, 'This will cost you a
lot more if you can't return it by Monday.'
Andrew took the suit, won for Best Cinematography, and came home to find the
shop owner using him in his advertising -
yet he still charged overdue fees! Andrew
thought this was hilarious."
"Andrew was a master at putting
visual concepts onto the screen," offers
gaffer Reg Garside. "On the Hobbit films,
Andrew and I shared a five-by-five-foot tent,
with two large monitors and a host of
people wanting to share it with us. This was
our on-set home for over a year; you get to
know a lot about a person in that time. His
philosophy was simple: light beautifully, but
quickly. Andrew was not just a great storyteller; he had fantastic memory, keeping the
lighting continuity for three long films in his
head."
When Lesnie became an ASC
member in 2005, one of the reasons cited
was his generosity with professionals and
students alike. As Australian Cinematographers Society President Ron Johanson points
out, "I was constantly amazed at Andrew's
capacity to engage with so many people,
given his incredible schedule. He took the
time to talk to students and fellow cine-

matographers at every opportunity. This
generosity of spirit endeared him to so
many."
Lesnie was also quick to give credit to
his collaborators. When AC visited the set of
King Kong (2005), Lesnie insisted that
production designer Grant Major's work
feature in the article. Major - also a veteran
of the Lord of the Rings trilogy - reflects,
"Strangers are thrown together on film
projects, so it was great to meet somebody
I could relate to on a very creative level -
especially on these highly technical and
complicated films. Andrew's good humor
and sharp professionalism garnered him
such a lot of respect from his own crew and
the production at large. As far as I know, he
had the only Lord of the Rings book signed
www.theasc.com

by all the key crew and actors!"
"Andrew navigated a stellar career,"
says Arnold. "He understood how films are
made: the politics, the mechanics and the
craft. But what I will miss most about him is
his warmth, his sense of humor and his
smarts. No matter where he had traveled
and what he had done over all the years I
knew him, he was the same - he was just
Andrew.
"I still recall my first day at [AFTRS],"
he adds. "A kid walked up and introduced
himself. 'Hi, my name is Andrew. If you're
working on something, I want to work on it,
too.'"
- Simon Gray
●

July 2015

85
http://www.theasc.com
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