Both times I have seen Dreamgirls, one name has leapt out at me — namely that of cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler. And the reason his name jumps out at me is because I remember working on a set with a cinematographer named Tobias something-or- other many years ago, in my late teens or early 20s.
A guy I knew at church named Don Knodel had been working in the local movie biz for a few years — going back to The Fly II (1989), at least — and he was hoping to direct a film of his own, about a man whose skin takes on a rock-like texture after he survives an avalanche. So he rounded up some colleagues to shoot a scene from his script, with professional acting and make-up and cinematography etc., and he let non-professionals like me handle the less important stuff; I was assigned to video playback.
The idea behind the shoot was to show the finished scene to investors who might finance a full-length film. I remember people remarking at the time that the cinematographer, a guy named Tobias, was very good at his work, and the fact that Don had him volunteering his time like this was something of a coup.
The IMDB page for Schliessler lists 44 films, nearly all of which seem to have been shot in the Vancouver area, so he could very well be the same guy. As it happens, though, I have seen only four of those films; and while Bliss (1997) was shot in Vancouver, The Rundown (2003), Friday Night Lights (2004) and Dreamgirls — i.e., his three most recent projects — were all shot in the U.S.
Looks like he’s hit the big time! And with all the Oscar buzz around Dreamgirls, who knows, he might even get a nomination. If this is who I think it is, then I can sort of say, “I knew him when…”
Incidentally, Knodel did eventually make a feature film of his own, called Man without a Name (2004). I caught a screening almost two years ago, and posted some thoughts on it here.
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