Quiz

Dennis Hopper asked him to shoot Easy Rider (1969). At first Kovacs turned it down, but Hopper was persistent. It was filmed entirely on location, during a 12-week trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Later Kovacs said that they knew the film was special, but didn't realize it would win awards and become an influential, iconic movie.

He was born on a farm in Hungary, and studied film in Budapest during the 1950s.

Smuggled into Austria a documentary--taking up 30,0090 feet of film--he'd created with friend Vilmos Zsigmond of a Hungarian revolt against the;at country's Communist government.

Member of the "Official Competition" jury at the 59th Venice International Film Festival in 2002.

Entered the US as a political refugee in 1957.

Member of the ASC's board of directors and the ASC Education Committee.

Recipient of two lifetime achievement awards for cinematography: one at the Hawaii International Film Festival and one at CamerImage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, in Torun, Poland, in 1998.

Children: daughters Julianna and Nadia.

Went to secondary school in Budapest, later attending the State Academy of Drama and Film (1952-56).

Naturalized US citizen from 1963.