Cinema Audio Society president, David E. Fluhr, announced that the organization will honor production sound mixer, Chris Newman, with the its Career Achievement Award, to be presented at the 49th CAS Awards, Feb. 16 at the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium-Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.
“The Cinema Audio Society has a long tradition of honoring talent, excellence, integrity, and contributions to the craft of sound mixing,” said Fluhr. “I am delighted the board of directors has chosen to honor Chris Newman with this award.”
“Chris Newman is the gold standard of production sound mixers,” former CAS President, Richard Lightstone, added.
Newman has previously received the CAS award for outstanding achievement in sound mixing for a feature film for The English Patient. Newman is also a three-time Oscar winner. Newman won Oscars for The English Patient, Amadeus and The Exorcist, and has been recognized by BAFTA, having won awards for Fame and Amadeus.
In a career of more than 40 years, Newman has been the production sound mixer on more than 85 feature films, including Medium Cool, The French Connection, The Godfather, Nell, Thunderheart, Tender Mercies, Silence of the Lambs, Sophie’s Choice, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The People versus Larry Flynt, Primary Colors, The Manchurian Candidate, Chorus Line, Man on the Moon, Philadelphia, Fame and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
Prior to working on feature films Newman spent a decade working on documentaries including working for Ted Yates’s NBC unit in Southeast Asia in 1966. Having taught sound and filmmaking in Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and at NYU and Columbia University, Chris currently teaches both sound and production at The School of Visual Arts in New York.
As the 31st recipient of the Cinema Audio Society’s highest honor, Newman joins a group of past honorees that includes Ray Dolby, Robert Altman, Jack Solomon, John Bonner, Bill Varney, Don Rogers, Walter Murch, Jim Webb, Richard Portman, Tomlinson Holman, Mike Minkler, Ed Greene,Dennis Sands, Dennis L. Maitland, Sr., Randy Thom, Jeffrey S. Wexler and Scott Millan.
