‘Elvis’ DP Mandy Walker Becomes Third Woman Ever Nominated for Cinematography Oscar

Mandy Walker has become the third woman to be nominated for an Oscar in cinematography, making her way into the final five on the strength of her work on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.

“I’m so excited and honored and proud,” she told The Hollywood Reporter after watching Tuesday’s 2023 Oscars nominations live, “without any sleep.”

“I’m really proud of the movie and I know that audiences loved the film, and it did well at the box office. I’m glad it’s getting recognition this way,” she said, as her phone was blowing up with messages. Elvis received eight nominations, including best picture and best actor for Austin Butler in the title role. Catherine Martin earned a trio of noms for the movie, for costume and production design as well as for producing. Says Walker, “We are a team; we’ve been collaborating a long time. This movie in particular, is very special to all of us. It was such a spectacular feat to tackle. We put our hearts and souls into this movie.”

Walker is now the third woman to be Oscar nominated in cinematography. She joins a select group: Rachel Morrison, who was nominated for Mudbound in 2018; and Ari Wegner, who received a nom for The Power of the Dog a year ago. “Women do great work and now we are being recognized for it,” Walker said, adding that opportunities for women in her field are “slowly getting better and better.”

Elvis was Walker’s fourth collaboration with Luhrmann. She previously lensed the director’s 2008 epic Australia and the Chanel No. 5 campaigns that featured Nicole Kidman and Gisele Bündchen. The Australian DP’s credits also include Hidden Figures, Truth, Jane Got a Gun, The Mountain Between Us, Lantana, Disney’s live-action retelling of Mulan, as well as Disney’s upcoming Snow White, helmed by Marc Webb.

In making Elvis, meticulous research and testing led to scenes featuring his most memorable performances. This involved collecting and studying historical references, from footage of Elvis’ live Las Vegas performances to his 1968 “comeback special” that aired on NBC. The drama spanned Elvis’ early years in Mississippi and Memphis in the late ’50s to his death in 1977. Walker has said the cinematography “also had to do with the American culture that he grew up in and passed through and that influenced him. Also because he’s such an iconic character and part of American history himself, it’s how he affected American culture, too.”