LOS ANGELES — With an outfit complete with sparkly red shoes that represent the excitement and passion she has for her craft, Mandy Walker was on her way to speak about the movie that could cement her place in history.

What You Need To Know

  • Mandy Walker is the third woman to ever be nominated in the best cinematography in the ceremony’s 95-year history

  • If Walker wins, she’ll shatter a glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to take home the cinematography award

  • "Elvis" received eight Academy Award nominations total

  • Although this is Walker's first Oscar nomination, this is her 21st feature film

Although this is Walker’s first Oscar nomination, "Elvis" is her 21st feature film.

As she headed to a screening and Q&A of “Elvis” in Sherman Oaks, she was thrilled to talk about the film that earned her an Oscar nomination for best cinematography. She is only the third woman to ever be nominated in the category in the ceremony’s 95-year history, and if she wins, she will shatter a glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to take home that award. “Elvis” received eight Academy Award nominations.  

Walker’s excitement was palpable as she talked about the movie.

“I never get tired of it because I get asked different questions each time, and it’s always really nice to see an audience watching the movie in a theater,” she said.

Despite this being her first Oscar nomination, Walker is no stranger to the industry. With 21 feature films under her belt, she has been in the game for a while. She considers it an honor to be a woman in the industry and recalled a time when she was one of a few.

“When I first started, I would be the only woman in my department with a whole lot of blokes," she said. "So now, it’s getting better, and there are more and more. And this is just showing people that women are shooting movies, and we’re doing good work."

Walker has worked on some significant films throughout her career, including the Baz Luhrmann-directed “Australia.” 

“When Baz asked me to shoot ‘Australia,’ it was the first time a woman had ever shot a feature film that was over $100 million,” she said. “He’s always championing women in the heads of departments on his movies, so in this film, there’s Gail Berman and Catherine Martin, who are producers. And Catherine Martin was also the production designer."

For Walker, “Elvis” is the favorite among the movies she has shot in her career. It’s a passion project that involved months of preparation and special tools to bring to life.

“I had this camera with me when we did Austin’s workshops, and it was the very first time Baz was working with Austin, and I was exploring and looking at angles of his face and different lenses to see when he looked most like Elvis,” she said. 

Walker also had lenses made that she felt represented that time to the audience, as well as changing the color in the grading and the lookup tables. The lenses made for the film took the audience from the ‘50s into the ‘60s that were spherical, and when they moved into the 1970s, she changed to anamorphic lenses.

“Elvis” producer Schuyler Weiss spoke to the passion that went into the cinematography.

“The most remarkable aspect is what we call the dance with the camera, and that’s Mandy’s months she spent rehearsing with Austin, who plays Elvis," said Weiss. "So the movement of the camera was in perfect harmony with the choreography of Elvis’ movement."

“Whether it’s shooting on these massive sets we shot on, we built several downtown blocks of Memphis on a back lot, and Mandy captured it all, or these heartbreakingly intimate moments of Elvis alone — the difference in her cinematography between the huge scale and the emotional intimacy, Mandy can handle it all,” he added.

As she heads to the Oscars ceremony, Walker is just proud of her work.

“I’m actually just super happy to be nominated for this," she said. "And I’m really proud of our movie. And if I won, I hope that it opens the door for many more women to win that award."