Reed Morano

Reed Morano (born April 15, 1977)[1] is an American cinematographer and director. Morano was the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year for the pilot episode of The Handmaid's Tale. Morano is known for her cinematography on feature films such as Frozen River (2008), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and The Skeleton Twins (2014).

Reed Morano
Born	April 15, 1977 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Other names	Reed Dawson Morano Reed Morano Walker
Alma mater	New York University (BA)
Occupation	Director cinematographer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Matt Walker ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2018)​
Children	2
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (2017)
Website	reedmorano.com

In 2013, Morano became the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers at that time, and one of only 14 women in an organization of approximately 345 active members.[2] Two years later, she made her directorial debut with her critically acclaimed feature film Meadowland. She also directed the first three episodes of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, for which she won an Emmy Award.[3] She also won a Directors Guild of America Award for directing a drama series for the episode "Offred" of The Handmaid's Tale, which makes her the first woman to win the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series.[4][5]

Early life

Morano was born in Omaha, Nebraska, one of two children of Lyn and Winslow Mankin.[6] Sometime after she moved her with family to Minnesota at 8 months old, her parents divorced, and she and her brother, Justin (now a professor of climate science at Dartmouth College[7][8]) lived with their mother on Long Island.[9] After summering on Fire Island, they moved there year-round when her mother married Casey Morano.[6][9] Morano acquired two older step-siblings and, later, half-siblings Jordan, Morgan and Ali.[9] The blended family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, when Morano was in third grade; they returned to Long Island three years later, and Morano attended Beach Street Middle School in West Islip, New York. After further family moves, Morano attended high school in Hanover, New Hampshire.[9]

Her father, Casey, realizing her interest in theater and drama, "gave me a video camera and said, 'You’re gonna be the family documentarian.' When it was time to go to college, I was going to apply to Boston University for journalism and dad said, 'You love telling stories and taking pictures, why not apply to film school?'"[9]

Morano subsequently attended New York University and graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts Film and TV program in 2000.[10] She returned to NYU as an adjunct cinematography professor and co-instructed the first Advanced Television classes offered.[1]

Career

As a cinematographer

Morano's cinematography has appeared regularly at the Sundance Film Festival beginning in 2008 with Frozen River (credited as Reed Dawson Morano),[11] which won the Grand Jury prize.[12][13] The film was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture.[14] In 2011, Little Birds, shot by Morano, premiered at Sundance as well.[15] The following year, two films shot by Morano premiered there: a feature-length documentary about the band LCD Soundsystem, Shut Up and Play the Hits,[16] and So Yong Kim’s For Ellen (credited as Reed Morano Walker), starring Paul Dano.[17]

In 2013, Kill Your Darlings, a 35mm period piece about the beat poets, set in 1943, premiered there ,[18] and screened as the Toronto International Film Festival[19] and the Venice film festival. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013) premiered at Sundance as well.[20] and theatrically released;[21] In 2014, two feature films shot by Morano premiered there: The Skeleton Twins,[22] a dark comedy starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, directed by Craig Johnson,[23][24] and Mark Jackson’s War Story, a dark drama filmed in Sicily starring Catherine Keener and Sir Ben Kingsley.[25]

Morano also served as director of photography on season one of HBO's drama Looking in 2014.[26] and took over as lead DP on Vinyl, produced by Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter and Mick Jagger.[27]

As a director

Morano also served as her own director of photography on her directorial debut, the critically acclaimed drama Meadowland, starring Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, Juno Temple and John Leguizamo.[28][29] It premiered in the dramatic competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015.[30]

In 2017, Morano directed the first three episodes of the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which was released by the streaming service Hulu in April 2017. For her work on The Handmaid's Tale, she won an Emmy Award.[3] She also won a Directors Guild of America Award for directing a drama series for the episode "Offred" of The Handmaid's Tale, which makes her the first woman in history to win both the Emmy and Directors Guild Award for directing a drama series in the same year.[4][5]

In 2018, Morano directed and shot I Think We're Alone Now, a post-apocalyptic drama centering on the companionship between Del (Peter Dinklage) and Grace (Elle Fanning).[31] The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival,[32] and was later released to theaters on September 14, 2018.[33]

In 2020, Morano released her third feature film as director The Rhythm Section, starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown.

Personal life

Morano married fellow cinematographer and gaffer Matt Walker in 2008.[6] They divorced in 2018. They have two sons together. Reed lives with her sons in Brooklyn, New York.[34] Elder son Casey played Olivia and Luke's son in Meadowland.[35]

Filmography

Year	Film and television	Role
2007	Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa	Cinematographer
2008	Frozen River
2011	Little Birds
	Yelling to the Sky
2012	For Ellen
	Shut Up and Play the Hits
	Free Samples
	The Magic of Belle Isle
2013	Kill Your Darlings
	The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
	Autumn Blood
2014	The Skeleton Twins
	War Story
	Looking	Cinematographer (season 1)
	And So It Goes	Cinematographer
2015	Meadowland	Director and Cinematographer
2016	Vinyl	Cinematographer
	Halt and Catch Fire	Director
	Divorce	Cinematographer
2017	Billions	Director
	The Handmaid's Tale	Director and Executive Producer
2018	I Think We're Alone Now	Director and Cinematographer
2020	The Rhythm Section	Director

Videography

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Notes
2016	Sandcastles	Beyoncé	Director of Photography
	No Love Like Yours[36]	Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Director of Photography

Commercials

Title	Brand	Notes
Eaten Alive[37]	1-800 Contacts	Director of Photography
Is It Still Paint?[38]	Benjamin Moore & Co.	Director of Photography
iPad Pro	Apple	Director of Photography
Anthem	CitiBank	Director of Photography
Title unknown	American Airlines	Director of Photography
A Story Takes Flight	Visit Dubai	Director

Accolades and recognition

In 2011, Morano was honored at the Women in Film and Television International's Crystal + Lucy awards with the 2011 Kodak Vision Award.[39] The same year, she was named one of Variety's “10 Cinematographers to Watch”.[40] Morano has also been featured as one of Ioncinema.com’s “American New Wave 25″[41] and one of five innovative cinematographers in ICG Magazine’s “Generation Next” spotlight.[42]

Later in 2012, Morano's work was featured in IndieWire’s "On the Rise '12: 5 Cinematographers Lighting Up Screens in Recent Years."[43] IndieWire also featured Morano as a “Heroine of Cinema” in both 2011 and 2013. In 2012, Morano was featured in Kodak’s long-running OnFilm series. The following year, she became the youngest member of the American Society of Cinematographers, and one of 14 women in an organization of approximately 345 active members.[2]

In 2015, Morano was named Woman of the Year at the Fusion Film Festival.[44]

In 2017, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale.[45]

References

1. "Alumni: Reed Morano". New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017. American cinematographer and director Reed Morano was born on April 15, 1977 in Omaha, Nebraska.
2. Berstein, Paula. "8 Female Cinematographers You Should Know About". Indiewire. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
3. Andreeva, Nellie (2017-09-18). "'Handmaid's Tale's Reed Morano's Emmy Win A Breakthrough For Female Directors". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
4. Dave McNary. "DGA Awards: 2018 Winners List – Variety". Variety.com. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
5. Joyce Eng (2018-01-31). "DGA Awards: Reed Morano first woman to win Emmy and DGA for drama?". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
6. Pendana, Sharon (June 6, 2011). "The Trove: Reed Morano Walker". (interview) Pendulumswing.Wordpress.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
7. "Dartmouth Climate Modeling & Impacts Group". github. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
8. "Twitter". twitter. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
9. Lovece, Frank (September 18, 2017). "Emmy-winning director Reed Morano has strong LI connection". Newsday. New York City / Long Island. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
10. "Fusion Film Festival Names Acclaimed Cinematographer Reed Morano 2015 'Woman of the Year'" (Press release). New York University Tisch School of the Arts. February 5, 2005. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
11. Oppenheimer, Jean (August 2008). "A Dangerous Business" (PDF). American Cinematographer. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
12. ""Frozen River": Winner, Sundance Grand Jury Prize". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
13. Duarte, Daniella (January 28, 2015). "Reed Morano: A Celebration of Women Behind the Camera". Fusion Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
14. Saito, Stephen (December 2, 2008). "The 2009 Spirit Award Nominations". IFC. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
15. "Little Birds". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
16. "Shut Up and Play the Hits". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
17. Drake, Carolyn. "'For Ellen,' With Something Distantly Like Love". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
18. "2013 John Krokidas: "Kill Your Darlings"". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
19. "Kill Your Darlings". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
20. "Sundance Film Festival 2013: Alicia Keys' The Inevitable Defeat Of". Access Hollywood. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
21. "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete". The-Numbers.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
22. "figuring out skeleton twins most vicious line". Vulture.com (New York). Retrieved May 23, 2015.
23. Berkshire, Geoff. "Sundance Film Review: 'The Skeleton Twins'". Variety. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
24. Lurie, Danielle. "Interview with The Skeleton Twins and War Story D.P. Reed Morano, ASC". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
25. Umstead, Ben. "Sundance 2014 Review: 'War Story', A Devastating Study of Conflict, From Within". TwitchFilm.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
26. Hammett Knott, Matthew. "Heroines of Cinema: Reed Morano, The Next Big Thing in American Cinematography". Indiewire. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
27. Diaconescu, Adrian. "Cinematographer turned director Reed Morano lines up killer 'Meadowland' cast". TechnologyTell.com. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
28. Castillo, Monica. "Olivia Wilde And 'Meadowland' Director Reed Morano Reveal Story Behind Movie's Heartbreaking Opening Scene". International Business Times. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
29. Valentini, Valentina. "'Meadowland' Director Credits Star Olivia Wilde for Film's Impact". Variety. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
30. "Meadowland". Tribeca Film. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
31. Ford, Rebecca (October 20, 2016). "Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning to Star in 'I Think We're Alone Now' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
32. "2018 Sundance Film Festival: Feature Films Announced". Sundance Film Festival. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
33. Canfield, David (July 24, 2018). "I Think We're Alone Now teaser: Peter Dinklage stars in a very different kind of post-apocalyptic film". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
34. "Interview with The Skeleton Twins and War Story D.P. Reed Morano, ASC". Filmmaker Magazine.
35. Crow, David. "Interview: Olivia Wilde & Reed Morano Talk Personal Connection to Meadowland". DenOfGeek.com. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
36. Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2016-03-10). "How Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros made their new video with an iPhone". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
37. "1-800-Contacts Ran the Perfect Ad on 'Eaten Alive' and It Wasn't Even (Totally) Planned – Adweek". Adweek.com. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
38. "In New Ads, Benjamin Moore Wonders If It's Selling Paint or Something Else Entirely – Adweek". Adweek.com. 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
39. "Flash!! Gloria Amadeo, Annette Bening... Hollywood's elite at Crystal + Lucy Awards". Amadeo4U.com. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
40. Collins, Stacey. "Reed Morano: Relies on intuition". Variety. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
41. Lavallee, Eric. "For One Date Only; Beastie Boys' Oscilloscope to Feature LCD's Shut Up and Play the Hits this Summer". Ioncinema.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
42. "To The Mountain". ICG Magazine. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
43. Lyttelton, Oliver. "On The Rise '12: 5 Cinematographers Lighting Up Screens In Recent Years". Indiewire. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
44. Saiewitz, Amanda. "Fusion's Woman of the Year, Reed Morano, Talks the Industry's Gender Issue, Shooting While Pregnant, Her Proudest Works, and More". Fusion Film Festival. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
45. "69th Primetime Emmy Nominees/Winners- Directing for a Drama Series | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

External links

• Official website
• Reed Morano at IMDb