‘Zodiac,’ ‘Milk’ and ‘American Gangster’ Cinematographer Harris Savides Has Died at Age 55

Cinematographer Harris Savides, who worked with directors David Fincher, Gus Van Sant, Woody Allen and Noah Baumbach, has passed away. The cause of death is not yet known. He was 55 years old.

Though he worked on Fincher’s breakthrough “Se7en,” Savides nabbed his first solo DP gig on the 1996 thriller “Heaven’s Prisoners,” directed by Phil Joanou. He went on to shoot “The Game” and “Zodiac” for Fincher; “Finding Forrester,” “Gerry,” “Elephant,” “Last Days,” “Milk” and “Restless” for Van Sant; “Margot at the Wedding” and “Greenberg” for Baumbach; “The Yards” for James Gray; “American Gangster” for Ridley Scott; “Whatever Works” for Woody Allen; “Somewhere” for Sofia Coppola; and others. He last shot Coppola’s crime drama “The Bling Ring,” which has yet to be released.

He was nominated for five Spirit Awards.

Savides was originally an international fashion photographer who became a force in music videos, filming stand-outs of the form such as Jake Scott’s “Everybody Hurts” video for R.E.M. and Mark Romanek’s videos for “Closer” (Nine Inch Nails), “Scream” (Michael and Janet Jackson) and “Criminal” (Fiona Apple).

A call to Savides’ rep at the Skouras Agency, Spyros Skouras, Thursday afternoon confirmed Savides’ passing.