Richard H Klinebecame the latest cinematographer to be inducted into the American Society ofCinematographers' (ASC) lifetime achievement hall of fame at a luncheon inHollywood yesterday (20).

Kline receivedtwo Academy Award nominations in 1968 and 1977 respectively for Camelot and King Kong, and his credits include Body Heat,The Andromeda Strain, Soylent Green, and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes.

Russ Alsobrook,who chairs the ASC's awards committee, hailed Kline's courage to explore newfrontiers, adding: "He has inspired many cinematographers to pursue theirdreams.'

'Criticstend to praise cinematographers for beautiful pictures, especially sunsets, butour real job is to visually enhance the story, create moods, properly capturethe actors' performances, and especially protect their image,' Kline said.

Previousrecipients include Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall, Owen Roizman, Victor J Kemper,Vilmos Zsigmond, and Laszlo Kovacs.

Kline will be honoured for his "exceptional and enduringcontributions to advancing the art of filmmaking" at the 20th Annual ASCOutstanding Achievement Awards on Feb 26 2006 in Century City.