Ernest Dickerson
{{Short description|American film director}}
{{Infobox person
|birth_name = Ernest Roscoe Dickerson
| birth_date ={{Birth date and age|1951|6|25}}
| birth_place = Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
| othername = Ernest R. Dickerson
| occupation = Film director, cinematographer
| years_active = 1983–present
|image =}}
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos.
As a cinematographer, Dickerson is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they were classmates at the Tisch School of the Arts and worked together on Lee's 1983 master's degree thesis student film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, which ultimately won a Student Academy Award. Dickerson went on to shoot the Lee-directed films She's Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), and Malcolm X (1992).
As a director, Dickerson is known for crime thriller and horror films such as Juice (1992), Demon Knight (1995), Bulletproof (1996), Bones (2001) and Never Die Alone (2004). He has also directed several episodes of acclaimed television series, including Once Upon a Time, The Wire, Dexter, The Walking Dead, and Godfather of Harlem.
Early life
Dickerson was born in Newark, New Jersey.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2023/07/juice-director-ernest-r-dickerson-on-newark-tupac-and-prequel-series-as-hip-hop-turns-50.html |title='Juice' director Ernest R. Dickerson on Newark, Tupac and prequel series as hip-hop turns 50 |first=Amy |last=Kuperinsky |date=15 July 2023 |work=NJ.com |publisher=Advance Publications |access-date=25 February 2024 }} He studied architecture at Howard University,{{cite web|title=Profile on Ernest Dickerson, ASC|url=http://www.tpdp.tv/core/2010/02/01/profile-on-ernest-dickerson-asc/|publisher=DPTV|access-date=1 March 2012}} but also took a film class with Haile Gerima as he already was interested in movies.{{cite web|last=A. Obenson|first=Tambay|title=Interview: Award-Winning Cinematographer, Writer & Director Ernest Dickerson, Reintroduced|publisher=Shadow and Act/Indiewire.com|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/interview-cinematographer-director-writer-ernest-dickerson-reintroduced?page=4#blogPostHeaderPanel|access-date=7 March 2013|date=2013-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411021644/http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/interview-cinematographer-director-writer-ernest-dickerson-reintroduced?page=4#blogPostHeaderPanel|archive-date=11 April 2016|url-status=dead}} He later relocated to New York City to attend New York University's film program at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he met fellow student Spike Lee. His first feature film as director of photography was also Lee's first film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), filmed while both of them were still students. Lee kept Dickerson in mind and he returned to work on a few more films as Spike Lee's cinematographer.
Career
After graduating, Dickerson began his career as cinematographer on music videos for Bruce Springsteen, Anita Baker, and Miles Davis, and went on to film John Sayles' Brother from Another Planet (1984), his first professional film as a director of photography.
While working on the first two seasons of George A. Romero's television series Tales from the Darkside, Dickerson was a cameraman on John Jopson's concert film One Night with Blue Note (1985) and was later contacted by Spike Lee,{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Lloyd|title=The Importance Of Being "Ernest"|website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6LbRqTKzo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627195647/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6LbRqTKzo |archive-date=2014-06-27 |url-status=dead|access-date=1 March 2012}} who had found the budget to shoot his movie She's Gotta Have It (1986). Dickerson continued his collaboration with Lee on five more films, including Do the Right Thing (1989). Their last collaboration was on Malcolm X in 1992, the same year Dickerson made his directing debut with the crime drama Juice. He also served as second unit director, cinematographer, and camera operator on Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St Anna (2008).
For television, Dickerson has directed several episodes of acclaimed shows such as Once Upon a Time, Dexter, The Walking Dead and Treme. A long time horror movie fan, he has also worked with Mick Garris on both Masters of Horror and Fear Itself and directed Demon Knight and Bones (2001).
Dickerson has always wanted to make films, and being a director himself has always been a dream of his. In an interview with The New York Times, he says: "I love to shoot, but directing is all about telling stories," he says. "And there are so many stories out there I want to tell."{{cite news|last=Ravo|first=Nick|title=Ernest Dickerson Would Rather Be Called Director|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/18/movies/film-ernest-dickerson-would-rather-be-called-director.html|work=The New York Times|date=April 18, 1993|page=H14|access-date=May 1, 2020}}
=''The Wire''=
Dickerson joined the crew of the HBO drama The Wire as a director for the series' second season in 2003.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_2.shtml|title=Season 2 crew|access-date=14 October 2007|publisher=HBO|year=2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012034646/http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_2.shtml|url-status=dead}} He directed the episode "Bad Dreams". Reviewers drew comparisons between Spike Lee's films and The Wire even before Dickerson joined the crew.{{cite web| author = Jeff Shannon| title = The Wire Complete First Season on DVD| publisher = Amazon.com| url = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ERXC2/102-0548796-0195351}} "Bad Dreams" was submitted to the American Film Institute for consideration in their TV programs of the year award and the show subsequently won the award.{{Cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/tvevents/afiawards03/tvshows03.aspx|title=AFI TV programs of the year – official selections (2003)|access-date=17 October 2007|publisher=American Film Institute|year=2003}} Following this success Dickerson returned as a director for the third season in 2004.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_3.shtml|title=Season 3 crew|access-date=14 October 2007|publisher=HBO|year=2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012034651/http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_3.shtml|url-status=dead}} He directed the episode "Hamsterdam" and the season finale "Mission Accomplished". In 2006 he contributed a further two episodes to the show's fourth season:{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_4.shtml|title=Season 4 crew|access-date=14 October 2007|publisher=HBO|year=2007|archive-date=12 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012034656/http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_4.shtml|url-status=dead}} "Misgivings" and the season finale "Final Grades". The fourth season received a second AFI Award and Dickerson attended the ceremony to collect the award.{{Cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/about/press/2007/awards06_release.pdf|title=AFI Awards 2006 salutes film and television (2006)|access-date=17 October 2007|publisher=American Film Institute|year=2007}} Showrunner David Simon has said that Dickerson is the show's directorial work horse and that he knows the show as well as the producers; Simon has praised Dickerson's directing saying that he "delivers each time".{{Cite web|url=http://members.aol.com/TheWireHBO/exclusive4-5.html|title=3rd Exclusive David Simon interview|access-date=5 November 2007|publisher=The Wire at AOL|year=2003|author=Jim King}} Page 5
Dickerson returned for the series' fifth and final season in 2008 and directed the episode "Unconfirmed Reports".{{cite episode | title = Unconfirmed Reports | episode-link = Unconfirmed Reports | series = The Wire | series-link = The Wire | credits = Ernest Dickerson (director), William F. Zorzi (story and teleplay), David Simon (story) | network = HBO
| airdate = 2008-01-13 | season = 5 | number = 2}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/episode/season5/episode52.shtml|title=The Wire episode guide – episode 52 Uncomfirmed Reports|access-date=22 January 2008|publisher=HBO|year=2008|archive-date=17 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117121550/http://www.hbo.com/thewire/episode/season5/episode52.shtml|url-status=dead}}
=Later work=
He would later work with David Simon again, directing several episodes of the New Orleans–based drama Treme, including the season 2 finale "Do Watcha Wanna", which won Dickerson an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series.{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Dave|title='Treme' wins 2 NAACP Image Awards|url=http://www.nola.com/treme-hbo/index.ssf/2012/02/treme_wins_2_naacp_image_award.html|work=nola.com|access-date=20 March 2012}}
Dickerson also worked with Executive Producer and writer Eric Overmyer on both The Wire and Treme. Dickerson directed the episode "Fugazi" for Overmyer's series Bosch in 2014.
Filmography
=Cinematographer=
Film
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 1983
|Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads | |
| rowspan="2"|1984
|The Brother from Another Planet | |
| Desiree
|Shot on 16 mm film{{cite web|title=Felix de Rooy Curriculum-vitae |url=http://www.kunstforum.be/artiest/felixderooy |publisher=Kunstforum.be |access-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726142640/http://www.kunstforum.be/artiest/felixderooy/ |archive-date=26 July 2012 }} |
| rowspan="2"|1985
| |
| Krush Groove
| |
| rowspan="2"|1986
| Spike Lee | Also acted as Dog #8 |
| Almacita di desolato
| Felix de Rooy | |
| rowspan="2"|1987
| Peter Manoogian | |
| Eddie Murphy Raw
| |
| rowspan="3"|1988
| |
| Negatives
| Tony Smith | |
| School Daze
| Spike Lee | |
| 1989
| Spike Lee | |
| rowspan="3"|1990
| James Bond III | |
| Mo' Better Blues
| Spike Lee | |
| Ava & Gabriel: Un historia di amor
| Felix de Rooy | |
| rowspan="2"|1991
|Spike Lee | |
| Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll
| |
| rowspan="2"|1992
| Documentary |
| Malcolm X
| Spike Lee | |
TV movie
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 2002
| Himself | Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Single Camera Photography (Film or Electronic)".{{cite web|title=Awards for Our America (2002) (TV)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303373/awards?ref_=tt_awd|publisher=IMDb|access-date=6 March 2013}} |
TV series
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Episode |
|---|
| rowspan=8| 1984–1986
|rowspan=8| Tales from the Darkside | "Pain Killer" |
| James Steven Sadwith
| "The Odds" |
| rowspan=2| Michael Gornick
| "Slippage" |
| "The Word Processor of the Gods" |
| Armand Mastroianni
| "If the Shoes Fit..." |
| Warner Shook
| "Grandma's Last Wish" |
| Richard Friedman
| "Parlour Floor Front " |
| Gerald Cotts
| "A Choice of Dreams" |
| rowspan=6| 1990–1991
|rowspan=6| Law & Order |
| E. W. Swackhamer
| "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" |
| Charles Correll
| "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die" |
| Martin Davidson
| "By Hooker, By Crook" |
| Michael Fresco
| "Prisoner of Love" |
| Gwen Arner
| "A Death in the Family" |
=Director=
Film
- Juice (1992) (Also writer)
- Surviving the Game (1994)
- Demon Knight (1995)
- Bulletproof (1996)
- Ambushed (1998)
- Blind Faith (1998)
- Bones (2001)
- Never Die Alone (2004)
- Double Play (2017)
TV movies
- Futuresport (1998)
- Strange Justice (1999)
- Our America (2002)
- Monday Night Mayhem (2002)
- Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie (2002)
- Good Fences (2004)
- For One Night (2006)
- Last Man Standing (2011)
TV series
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0225416}}
- [http://members.aol.com/morgands2/text/mbbernst.htm Ernest Dickerson] interview about Mo' Better Blues.
{{Ernest Dickerson}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Ernest Dickerson
|list =
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Ernest}}
Category:American action film directors
Category:African-American film directors
Category:African-American television directors
Category:American cinematographers
Category:Film directors from New Jersey
Category:American television directors
Category:American horror film directors
Category:Howard University alumni
Category:Artists from Newark, New Jersey