Ernest Dickerson

Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos.

Ernest Dickerson
Born
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson

(1951-06-25) June 25, 1951
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesErnest R. Dickerson
Occupation(s)Film director, cinematographer
Years active1983–present

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.[1] He studied architecture at Howard University,[2] but also took a film class with Haile Gerima as he already was interested in movies.[3] 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 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,[4] 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 worked as a 2nd unit director on Lee's 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."[5]

The Wire

Dickerson joined the crew of the HBO drama The Wire as a director for the series' second season in 2003.[6] He directed the episode "Bad Dreams".[7][8] Reviewers drew comparisons between Spike Lee's films and The Wire even before Dickerson joined the crew.[9] "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.[10] Following this success Dickerson returned as a director for the third season in 2004.[11] He directed the episode "Hamsterdam"[12][13] and the season finale "Mission Accomplished".[14][15] In 2006 he contributed a further two episodes to the show's fourth season:[16] "Misgivings"[17][18] and the season finale "Final Grades".[19][20] The fourth season received a second AFI Award and Dickerson attended the ceremony to collect the award.[21] 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".[22]

Dickerson returned for the series' fifth and final season in 2008 and directed the episode "Unconfirmed Reports".[23][24]

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 a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series.[25]

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

Year Title Director Notes
1983 Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads Spike Lee
1984 The Brother from Another Planet John Sayles
Desiree Felix de Rooy Shot on 16 mm film[26]
1985 One Night with Blue Note John Jopson
Krush Groove Michael Schultz
1986 She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee Also acted as Dog #8
Almacita di desolato Felix de Rooy
1987 Enemy Territory Peter Manoogian
Eddie Murphy Raw Robert Townsend
1988 The Laser Man Peter Wang
Negatives Tony Smith
School Daze Spike Lee
1989 Do the Right Thing Spike Lee
1990 Def by Temptation James Bond III
Mo' Better Blues Spike Lee
Ava & Gabriel: Un historia di amor Felix de Rooy
1991 Jungle Fever Spike Lee
Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll John McNaughton
1992 Cousin Bobby Jonathan Demme Documentary
Malcolm X Spike Lee

TV movie

Year Title Director Notes
2002 Our America Himself Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Single Camera Photography (Film or Electronic)".[27]

TV series

Year Title Director Episode
1984-1986 Tales from the Darkside Armand Mastroianni "Pain Killer"
James Steven Sadwith "The Odds"
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"
1990-1991 Law & Order John Whitesell "Prescription for Death"
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

TV movies

TV series

Year Title Episode(s) Ref.
1990 Great Performances "Spike & Co.: Do It Acapella"
2001 Night Visions "My So-Called Life and Death"
"Still Life"
2003-2008 The Wire "Bad Dreams" [7][8]
"Hamsterdam" [12][13]
"Mission Accomplished" [14][15]
"Misgivings" [17][18]
"Final Grades" [19][20]
"Unconfirmed Reports" [23][24]
2004 Third Watch "Greatest Detectives in the World"
2005 Miracle's Boys "In the Game of Life"
The L Word "Luminous"
Crossing Jordan "Total Recall"
Criminal Minds "L.D.S.K."
Invasion "The Cradle"
2005-2006 ER "Middleman"
"You Are Here"
"Reason to Believe"
2006 CSI: Miami "Silencer"
The Evidence "And the Envelope Please"
Heroes "Collision"
Masters Of Horror "The V Word"
2007 The 4400 "The Wrath of Graham"
Tell Me You Love Me "Episode 1.6"
Weeds "Release the Hounds"
"The Dark Time"
2007-2009 Lincoln Heights "No Way Back"
"The Day Before Tomorrow"
"Trash"
"Relative Unknown"
2008-2012 Dexter "Sì Se Puede"
"Road Kill"
"Sin of Omission"
"Talk to the Hand"
"Swim Deep"
2008 Eureka "Show Me the Mummy"
2009 Fear Itself "Something with Bite"
Medium "Truth Be Told"
Law & Order "Exchange"
In Plain Sight "A Frond in Need"
Burn Notice "Truth and Reconciliation"
"Shot in the Dark"
The Vampire Diaries "Haunted"
Stargate Universe "Earth"
2010-2012 The Walking Dead "Wildfire" [28]
"What Lies Ahead" (with Gwyneth Horder-Payton) [29]
"Bloodletting"
"18 Miles Out"
"Beside the Dying Fire"
"Seed"
"Welcome to the Tombs" [30]
2010-2012 Treme "Right Place, Wrong Time"
"Can I Change My Mind?"
"Do Watcha Wanna" [31]
"The Greatest Love"
"Don't you Leave me Here"
2014 Under the Dome "Infestation"
2015-2020 Bosch "Chapter Four: Fugazi"
"Chapter Five: Mama's Boy"
"Gone"
"Birdland"
"Aya Papi"
"The Sea King"
"Dark Sky"
"Book of the Unclaimed Dead"
"Salvation Mountain"
"Creep Signed His Kill"
"Copy Cat"
"Some Measure of Justice"
2018 Seven Seconds "Until It Do"
Unsolved "The Mack"
I'm Dying Up Here "Bete Noire"
Strange Angel "Sacrament of the Ancestors"
The Man in the High Castle "Senso Koi"
The Purge "A Nation Reborn"
"I Will Participate"
House of Cards "Chapter 69"
2019 Godfather of Harlem "Rent Strike Blues"
"How I Got Over"
2022 Raised By Wolves "Seven"
"The Collective"
DMZ "Advent"
"The Good Name"
"Home"
Bosch: Legacy "Bloodline"

References
  1. https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2023/07/juice-director-ernest-r-dickerson-on-newark-tupac-and-prequel-series-as-hip-hop-turns-50.html
  2. "Profile on Ernest Dickerson, ASC". DPTV. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  3. A. Obenson, Tambay (2013-03-04). "Interview: Award-Winning Cinematographer, Writer & Director Ernest Dickerson, Reintroduced". Shadow and Act/Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  4. Kaufman, Lloyd. "The Importance Of Being "Ernest"". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-06-27. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  5. Ravo, Nick (April 18, 1993). "Ernest Dickerson Would Rather Be Called Director". The New York Times. p. H14. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  6. "Season 2 crew". HBO. 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  7. David Simon, George P. Pelecanos (2003-08-17). "Bad Dreams". The Wire. Season 2. Episode 11. HBO.
  8. "Episode guide – episode 24 Bad Dreams". HBO. 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  9. Jeff Shannon. "The Wire Complete First Season on DVD". Amazon.com.
  10. "AFI TV programs of the year – official selections (2003)". American Film Institute. 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  11. "Season 3 crew". HBO. 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  12. David Simon, George P. Pelecanos (2004-10-10). "Hamsterdam". The Wire. Season 3. Episode 4. HBO.
  13. "Episode guide – episode 29 Hamsterdam". HBO. 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  14. David Simon, Ed Burns (2004-12-19). "Mission Accomplished". The Wire. Season 3. Episode 12. HBO.
  15. "Episode guide – episode 37 Mission Accomplished". HBO. 2004. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  16. "Season 4 crew". HBO. 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  17. Ed Burns, Eric Overmyer (directors), Ed Burns, Eric Overmyer (writers) (2004-11-19). "Misgivings". The Wire. Season 4. Episode 10. HBO.
  18. "Episode guide – episode 47 Misgivings". HBO. 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  19. Ernest Dickerson (director), David Simon (story and teleplay), Ed Burns (story) (2004-12-10). "Final Grades". The Wire. Season 4. Episode 13. HBO.
  20. "The Wire episode guide – episode 50 Final Grades". HBO. 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  21. "AFI Awards 2006 salutes film and television (2006)" (PDF). American Film Institute. 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  22. Jim King (2003). "3rd Exclusive David Simon interview". The Wire at AOL. Retrieved 5 November 2007. Page 5
  23. Ernest Dickerson (director), William F. Zorzi (story and teleplay), David Simon (story) (2008-01-13). "Unconfirmed Reports". The Wire. Season 5. Episode 2. HBO.
  24. "The Wire episode guide – episode 52 Uncomfirmed Reports". HBO. 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  25. Walker, Dave. "'Treme' wins 2 NAACP Image Awards". nola.com. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  26. "Felix de Rooy Curriculum-vitae". Kunstforum.be. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  27. "Awards for Our America (2002) (TV)". Imdb.com. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  28. AMC. "The Walking Dead episode "Wildfire" details". Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  29. AMC. "The Walking Dead episode "What Lies Ahead" credits". Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  30. Mazzara, Glen (2012-11-07). "Ernest Dickerson will direct the @WalkingDead_AMC finale #316". Twitter. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  31. HBO. "Treme episode "Do Watcha Wanna" synopsis". Retrieved 7 July 2011.
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