Derek Vanlint

Who was Derek Vanlint?

Derek Vanlint, C.S.C. was a Canadian cinematographer and film director. He was best known as the cinematographer for the 1979 science fiction film, Alien. His work on this film earned him a Best Cinematography Award nomination from the British Society of Cinematographers.

After Alien, Vanlint was Director of Photography for the 1981 fantasy-adventure film Dragonslayer. He also handled miniature photography on the 2000 film X-Men, based on the Marvel Comics magazine. He was both director and cameraman on the horror film The Spreading Ground starring Dennis Hopper. The film was entered into the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival.

In addition to his work in feature films, Vanlint was a veteran television commercial director. He worked on advertisements for such companies as British Airways, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Guinness, Kellogg's, Levi's, Maxwell House, Pepsi, and Visa.

Vanlint died in Toronto following a short illness on 23 February 2010. He was 77 years old.