Stephen Burum, ASC
Biography

Stephen Burum, ASC was born in Visalia and raised in Dinuba, a rural town in central California. He shot his first 8mm films during his early teens. Burum studied filmmaking in the Theatre Arts Department at UCLA, where he earned a bachelor and master of arts degrees. He began his career shooting 16mm films for a Walt Disney Studios nature film series. After completing a two-year military obligation, Burum worked on the periphery of the industry lensing a few ultra-low budget slasher type films, occasional commercials, documentaries and television specials in both film and video formats.

In 1976, Frances Ford Copolla asked Burum to direct and shoot second unit for Apocalypse Now. He shot his first mainstream feature in 1981, and has subsequently compiled around 30 credits, including such notable films as Rumble Fish, Body Double, Casualties of War, Carlito's Way, The Shadow, Snake Eyes, Mystery Men, Mission: Impossible and Mission to Mars. Burum has earned nominations in the annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award competition for The Untouchables and The War of the Roses, and he took top honors for Hoffa, which also earned an Oscar nomination. Life or Something Like It is slated for release in March.