At the 53rd Annual Awards, the Cinema Audio Society was proud to present its highest accolade to a man who personifies the high standards of the Cinema Audio Society, John Pritchett, CAS.
Pritchett, who was born in Santa Monica, California, was discovered by director Robert Altman while working as a recording engineer in Dallas, Texas. Pritchett made seven pictures with Altman, including The Player, Short Cuts and Kansas City. He was the second soundman in Hollywood to go digital, with Altman’s Short Cuts in 1993.
Known for his successful working relationships with some of Hollywood’s most creative directors, Pritchett has made four movies with director Lawrence Kasdan, including Wyatt Earp and French Kiss; four with writer-director David Mamet, including The Spanish Prisoner and State and Main; three with writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood and Inherent Vice, and two films with Oliver Stone, World Trade Center and W. He was also the sound mixer on such hits as 2006’s The Break-Up, 2000’s Miss Congeniality and 1987’s Dirty Dancing.
Twice nominated for an Academy Award, in 2006 for Memoirs of a Geisha and in 2003 for Road to Perdition, Pritchett was also nominated for a CAS Award for both films and won for Road to Perdition in 2003. He was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in 2007 for There Will Be Blood. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his work on Citizen Cohn, a nomination he shared with a previous CAS Career Achievement honoree, Richard Portman. At the same CAS Awards evening he was also nominated for his Outstanding Sound Mixing on Westworld.
His 102nd film, Everybody Wants Some for director Richard Linklater, continues his reputation for expertise in handling complex technical requirements during production. “People hire me because my team and I are able to get the sound needed with the least disruption,” said Pritchett.
He is a member of the Cinema Audio Society, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild and the IATSE. Oh, that SAG card—on-camera funeral cortége drummer in Wyatt Earp (among others)!
“It’s truly an honor to announce the selection of John Pritchett by the CAS for our Career Achievement Award this year. John is the consummate ‘Mixer’s Mixer’ with a widely diverse career in film and television. His collaboration with directors such as Robert Altman, Paul Thomas Anderson and Richard Linklater and many others on over 100 projects is a portfolio of excellence and innovation. John Pritchett is a beloved figure and has generously given back to the sound community for many years as a noted mentor and supporter of many of our best practitioners in the field.” said CAS President Mark Ulano.
Pritchett joined an illustrious group of past CAS Career Achievement honorees that includes Don Rogers, Walter Murch, Les Fresholtz, Tomlinson Holman, Richard Portman, Jim Webb, Charles Wilborn, Gary Rydstrom, Willie Burton, Mike Minkler, Ed Greene, Dennis Sands, Randy Thom, Jeffrey S. Wexler, Scott Millan, Chris Newman, Andy Nelson, David Macmillan and Doc Kane.
Congratulations, John!
Last modified: August 5, 2021
