Game of Thrones Season 6 earns two ASC nominations for cinematography

We’re nearing the end of 2016, and that means that Hollywood awards societies are nominating what they see as the best of the year in movies and TV. Yesterday, we reported that the show is up for two Writers Guild awards, and Apple revealed that the show’s sixth season was among the best-selling TV shows on iTunes this year. Now, the American Society of Cinematographers has unveiled which shows it’s nominating for its 31 annual Outstanding Achievement Awards. Game of Thrones Season 6 got two nods, more than any other TV series, although they’re both in the same category.

Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television

• John Conroy for Penny Dreadful, “The Day Tennyson Died” (SHOWTIME)
• David Dunlap for House of Cards, “Chapter 45” (NETFLIX)
• Anette Haellmigk for Game of Thrones, “Book of the Stranger” (HBO)
• Neville Kidd for Outlander, “Prestonpans” (STARZ)
• Fabian Wagner, BSC for Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards” (HBO)

The strength of Fabian Wagner’s work on “Battle of the Bastards” is obvious. The main draw is the splashy action photography he did for both the Battle of the Bastards itself and the Battle of Meereen. But he also found time to sneak in more atmospheric shots, like the one of Davos silhouetted against the night sky above, with Ramsay’s pyres burning in the distance.

Anette Haellmigk’s work on “Book of the Stranger” is more subtle, as she brought a lot of different color palettes to scenes set in King’s Landing, Meereen, Castle Black, the Iron Islands, and Vaes Dothrak. But she brought the spectacle as well, particularly in the scene where Daenerys burned down the Dothraki hut.

Both Wagner and Haellmigk have been nominated for Outstanding Achievement Awards for their work on Game of Thrones before, although neither have ever won. Wagner earned a nod for his work on Season 5’s “Hardhome,” but lost to Vanja Černjul, who lensed the pilot of Netflix’s Marco Polo. Both Wagner and Haellmigk were nominated in 2014 (he for “Mockingbird” and she for “The Children”) but lost to Jonathan Freeman for his work on Boardwalk Empire. And Haellmigk was also nominated in 2013 for lensing “Kissed by Fire.” She lost, oddly enough, to Jonathan Freeman for his work on “Valar Dohaeris,” the Game of Thrones Season 3 premiere. Will this be the year one of them finally takes the award?

The winners will be revealed at a ceremony on February 4, 2017.

h/t The Wrap