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Alumni Shine During Awards Season

January 18, 2013

Year after year, Columbia College Chicago alumni are in the habit of racking up award nominations, and this year is no different. The college is proud to acknowledge the alumni who have achieved so much.

During the Golden Globes, which kick off award season in Hollywood, two Columbia alumni were included in the win for Best Animated Feature by Brave: Everett Downing Jr. ('00) and Aaron J. Hartline ('98), both of whom were animators on the film.

Additionally, Game Change—produced by HBO Films which is run by Len Amato (BA '75)—won Best Mini Series or TV Movie, as well as winning awards for supporting actor and actress.

Other Golden Globe alumni nominations included:

  • Best Motion Picture, Lincoln: Janusz Kaminski (BA '87) was the cinematographer.
  • Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Hatfields & McCoys: Aaron Semmel ('01) served as co-producer on the project.
  • Best Animated Feature Film, Hotel Transylvania: directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (BA '92).
Scott Adsit ('87) is part of the ensemble cast in the NBC series 30 Rock, which was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

Tony Kushner, a 2003 honorary degree recipient, is the screenwriter for Lincoln and is nominated for Best Screenplay for the Critics' Choice Awards, BAFTAs, and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for Best Adapted Screenplay.


Cinematography is where many Columbia alumni shine, and this year is no exception. For the ASC Awards, alumni nominees were:
  • Television Movie/Miniseries, American Horror Story: Asylum ("I am Anne Frank: Part 2"), and for Half-hour Episodic Series, The New Normal (Pilot): Michael Goi, ASC (BA '80), which are his third and fourth nominations. He was previously nominated for The Fixer (1999) and Judas (2005).
  • Feature Film, Lincoln: Janusz Kaminski (BA '87), who picked up his fifth ASC nomination. His four previous ASC nominations include Spielberg's Schindler's List, Amistad, and Saving Private Ryan, as well as Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Kaminksi won Oscars for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.
Sundance and Slamdance film festivals:
  • Between Us, starring Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs, will screen at Slamdance this year. Michael David Lynch's (BA '05) serves as the co-producer and line producer on the feature film.
  • Ten alumni will screen their films at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013, and Diane Weyermann ('92) will serve on the Sundance 2013 US Documentary Jury.


In upcoming awards news:

Janusz Kaminski (BA '87), who was nominated but didn't win a Golden Globe, is nominated for an Oscar for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Lincoln. His work on the Steven Spielberg film has also been nominated in the Best Cinematography category by the Critics' Choice Awards, American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) award, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs).

Paul Garnes' (BA '96) Middle of Nowhere received four Independent Spirit Award nominations: Best Supporting Female, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, and the esteemed John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for less than $500,000,) for which Garnes is specifically nominated as producer.

Cloud Atlas was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award in the Best Visual Effects category. Pamela Austria (BA '10) was the Visual Effects Production Assistant on the project.

Additionally, Andy Richter ('90) is part of the writing team for Conan, which was nominated for a WGA award in the Comedy/Variety Series category.

Audio Arts & Acoustics alumni recently received national recognition for their Live & Installed Sound skills at the 12th Annual Parnelli Awards gala in Las Vegas. Kevin Glendinnin ('01) and Vic Wagner (BA '07) were honored at what is considered "the Oscars of the Live Event Industry."


Several Columbia alumni also received Annie Award nominations, honoring achievement in animation. Those alumni include:
  • Best Animated Special Production, Beforel Orel: writer/creator/producer Dino Stamatopoulos ('86) and executive producer/actor Scott Adsit ('87)
  • Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production, Bubble Guppies ("Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairytale"): Michael Rubin ('88)
  • Best Animated Feature, Brave: Everett Downing Jr. ('00) and Aaron J. Hartline ('98) were both animators on the film. The film also received Golden Globe, Oscar, and BAFTA nominations in the same category.
  • Genndy Tartakovsky (BA '92) is nominated for three Annie Awards: Best Animated Short Subject, Goodnight Mr. Foot; Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production, Hotel Transylvania; Best Animated Feature, Hotel Transylvania.

The following alumni are affiliated with projects that are nominated for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards:
  • Nadine Velazquez (BA '01) starred opposite Denzel Washington in Flight, which is nominated for Best Motion Picture. Velazquez recently starred in The League and Hart of Dixie, but is most known for her starring role in My Name is Earl.
  • Jacqueline Fleming (BA '96) and Thanh Phan ('05) star in Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day, which is nominated for Best Independent Motion Picture.
  • Paul Garnes (BA '96) is the line producer on The Game, which is nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series.