Following Oscar-nominated cinematographer Adam Greenberg‘s death at age 88, James Cameron paid tribute to his collaborator on the first two Terminator films.
In a statement shared with Deadline, the 3x Oscar-winning director said Greenberg had been “a guiding light” to him ever since they worked together on Cameron’s breakout The Terminator (1984) and Greenberg “graciously” returned for the 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
“I learned so much from Adam, not just about cinematography, but about the spirit of independent production,” he said. “He refused to let budget limitations inhibit his artistic expression. Adam had done scores of films when I worked with him on my first, and his scrappy, can-do spirit has been a guiding light for me ever since, even on the biggest of productions.”
Cameron continued, “I saw him last a few years ago, when he graciously came in to help color time Terminator 2: Judgment Day for its stereo 3D re-release. I had just been in the middle of arguing with the colorist that the blues in a night scene were too purple, and needed a little cyan. Adam took one look at the scene, took me aside and said ‘Jim, don’t you think it needs a point of cyan?’ He remembered a point of color over two decades later. That’s precision. I now see color with his eyes.
“I could not have done my Terminator films without Adam. He taught me the narrative power of color and lighting. Nobody did night photography like Adam. I pride myself on my hand-held camera operating, but I learned that at Adam’s knee. He was the master. I know there is a whole generation of filmmakers that he influenced, and there were a handful of us that were privileged to have him shoot for us. We got to learn the lessons directly at his side. His talent and spirit will be missed.”
After establishing a cinematography career in Israel and making the jump the US film industry, Greenberg served as DP on the first two Terminator films, with Judgment Day earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.
Fellow cinematographer Avraham Karpick, who worked for Greenberg on the 1984 J. Lee Thompson film The Ambassador, was one of several industry peers to mourn the director of photography’s death, announcing that he died on Thursday.
