McLachlan honored for Millennium work

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McLachlan honored for Millennium work
The Province            March 6, 1998

By Glen Schaefer

Cinematographer Robert McLachlan heads to Los Angeles today for a party honoring his work in the TV series Millennium.

The American Society of Cinematographers hands out its annual awards Sunday night at a Century City bash and McLachlan is nominated for an episode he shot last year called Thin White Line.

Later this month, he’s up for similar honors from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for another Millennium episode. The gloomy series about crime and the paranormal is a far cry from the sunny Beachcombers episodes that used to be McLachlan’s paycheque, but he says Millennium is his best job ever.

“There’s the old cliché about how cinematography is painting with light. I like to think that on Millenium we’re using a much finer paintbrush and fewer strokes.”

The 42-year old McLachlan, who was shooting an episode yesterday in a Point Grey park, grew up in North Vancouver just a few blocks from where he now lives. The married father of two teens isn’t affected enough by success to be embarrassed at the mention of a new Porsche he bought a week ago. “It’s my Volvo antidote.”

He got his start working summers at Woodward’s department store in the early ‘70s during breaks from Simon Fraser University. He suggested that he make a movie about an old peanut butter machine that was due to be taken apart. Woodward’s gave him $1,000 and he was rolling.