Michael Slovis

Michael Slovis
Slovis at the 2013 Montclair Film Festival
Born
Alma mater
OccupationsCinematographer, television director, television producer
Years active1980–2014 (Cinematography)
2001–present (Director)
SpouseMaria Slovis
Children3

Michael Slovis, ASC[1] is an American cinematographer, television director, and producer.

Early life and education

Slovis was born in Plainfield, New Jersey.

He was educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[2]

Career

For many years, he worked as a camera operator on films. He became a cinematographer in 1995, working on the films Party Girl (1995), Half Past Dead (2002), Halloweentown (1998), The Thirteenth Year (1999), and Ready to Run (2000). In 2000, Slovis became a cinematographer on the series Ed, and worked on the series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, New Amsterdam, Fringe, Royal Pains, Rubicon, Running Wilde, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul.[3]

As a director, Slovis made his directorial debut with the 2001 television film Spirit. Later, he directed episodes of Ed, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Rubicon, Breaking Bad, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Hell on Wheels[3] In 2006, Slovis won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series for his work on CSI.[4]

In 2014, Slovis directed the first two episodes of the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones, titled "The Wars to Come" and "The House of Black and White".[5] In 2017, he directed episode 3 of the second season of the series Preacher.[6] Slovis directed the episodes "Thank You", "Something They Need", and "Worth" of The Walking Dead, and returned to the franchise by directing two episodes of the spin-off series The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.[7][8]

Slovis is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.[1]

Personal life

Slovis currently resides in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Maria. They have three children.[3]

Filmography

Cinematographer

Film

Short film

Year Title Director
1989 Coyote Mountain Jeffrey W. Mueller
1990 The Burning Ghat James Rasin

Feature film

Year Title Director
1994 Heading Home[a] Maria Heritier
1995 Party Girl Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Malicious Ian Corson
Breach of Trust Charles Wilkinson
1998 Scar City Ken Sanzel
Charlie Hoboken Thomas F. Mazziotti
The White Raven Andrew Stevens
1999 Five Aces David Michael O'Neill
The 4th Floor Josh Klausner
2002 Half Past Dead Don Michael Paul
  1. ^ Also credited as co-producer

Direct-to-video

Year Title Director
1996 Vibrations Michael Paseornek
Crash Dive Andrew Stevens
2003 The Foreigner Michael Oblowitz
2005 The Marksman Marcus Adams

Television

TV movies

Year Title Director
1996 Angel Flight Down Charles Wilkinson
1997 Seduction in a Small Town
Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story Steven Hilliard Stern
Out of Nowhere Charles Wilkinson
1998 Halloweentown Duwayne Dunham
1999 The Thirteenth Year
Michael Landon, the Father I Knew Michael Landon Jr.
2000 Ready to Run Duwayne Dunham
2009 Exit 19

TV series

Year Title Director Notes
2004 Ed Himself Episode "Pressure Points"
2006–2007 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 3 episodes
2008 New Amsterdam 7 episodes
2009 Castle Rob Bowman Episode "Flowers for Your Grave"
Fringe Norberto Barba
Brad Anderson
Bobby Roth
Episodes "Ability", "Unleashed",
"Midnight" and "There's More Than One of Everything"
Royal Pains Don Scardino
Jace Alexander
Constantine Makris
4 episodes
2009–2013 Breaking Bad 48 episodes
2010 Rubicon Guy Ferland
Jeremy Podeswa
2 episodes
Running Wilde Alex Hardcastle
Jeff Melman
Scott Ellis
4 episodes
2012 30 Rock John Riggi
Beth McCarthy-Miller
Jeff Richmond
Michael Engler
Steve Buscemi
Claire Cowperthwaite
11 episodes
2014 The Leftovers Peter Berg Episode "Pilot"

Director

TV series

Year Title Director Executive
Producer
Notes
2001 Spirit Yes No TV movie
2004 Ed Yes No Episode "Pressure Points"
2006–2007 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Yes No 3 episodes
2010 Rubicon Yes No Episode "Wayward Sons"
2010–2013 Breaking Bad Yes No Episodes "Kafkaesque", "Cornered", "Live Free or Die" and
"Confessions"
2011 Hell on Wheels Yes No Episode "Pride, Pomp and Circumstance"
2011–2018 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Yes No 13 episodes
2012 30 Rock Yes No Episode "Alexis Goodlooking and the Case of the Missing Whisky"
2012–2014 Chicago Fire Yes No 4 episodes
2014 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Yes No Episode "Nothing to Fear"
Chicago P.D. Yes No Episodes "Stepping Stone" and "At Least It's Justice"
2014–2017 Elementary Yes No 4 episodes
2015 Game of Thrones Yes No Episodes "The Wars to Come" and "The House of Black and White"
The Man in the High Castle Yes No Episode "Kindness"
The Affair Yes No Episode "211"
2015-2018 The Walking Dead Yes No Episodes "Thank You", "Something They Need", "Worth"
2016 The New Yorker Presents Yes No 1 episode
Better Call Saul Yes No Episode "Bali Ha'i"
2016-2018 Preacher Yes Yes 7 episodes
2017 The Path Yes No Episodes "The Father and the Son" and "The Red Wall"
2018-2022 New Amsterdam Yes Yes 15 episodes
2022 The Calling Yes Yes Episode "Blameless and Upright"
2024-2026 The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Yes No Episodes "L'Invisible" and "Vouloir, C'est Pouvoir"
2025 Law & Order: Organized Crime Yes Yes Episodes "Lost Highway" and "Lago D'Averno"

Miniseries

Year Title Director Co-Executive
Producer
Notes
2014 Gracepoint Yes No Episode 8
2018 The Looming Tower Yes No Episodes "Boys at War" and "The General"
2024 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Yes Yes Episodes "Bye" and "What We"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Title Episode Result Ref.
2006 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Cinematography CSI: Crime Scene Investigation "Gum Drops" Won [9]
2007 "Built to Kill, Part 1") Nominated
2009 Breaking Bad "ABQ" Nominated
2010 "No Más" Nominated
2012 "Face Off" Nominated
2013 "Gliding Over All" Nominated
2014 "Granite State" Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b "Breaking Bad / Michael Slovis, ASC - Part 1". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  2. ^ Gajewski, Josh (May 16, 2010). "'Breaking Bad': Michael Slovis, a visual storyteller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Breaking Bad crew, Michael Slovis". AMCtv.com. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  4. ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards and Nominations for Michael Slovis". Primetime Emmy® Award Database. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  5. ^ "UPDATED: What can we expect from Game Of Thrones season 5?". The Wars to Come & The House of Black and White. February 21, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Preacher Recap: All That Jazz". Damsels. July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Murray, Noel (2017-03-27). "'The Walking Dead' Recap: Knives Out". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  8. ^ "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live release date on AMC and AMC+". Undead Walking. 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  9. ^ "Michael Slovis". Television Academy. Retrieved 2026-02-12.