Los Angeles, CA (December 17, 2021)—Multiple CAS, Oscar and BAFTA award-winner and nominee Paul Massey, CAS, will be presented with the Cinema Audio Society’s Career Achievement Award at the 58th CAS Awards on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.
“The Cinema Audio Society is delighted to announce Paul Massey, CAS, as this year’s Career Achievement recipient, said CAS President Karol Urban. “Paul has been crafting the final sound for films that have become part of the fabric of our popular culture and collective experience for decades. The success of these contributions has yielded him an Oscar, four BAFTAs and four CAS Awards, and an imposing number of nominations. Additionally, his continued boundless enthusiasm, energy and talent for sound mixing and the sound mixing community make him an ideal recipient of this honor.”
Upon hearing the news that he was to receive the award, Massey said, “I am overjoyed, honored and humbled to receive this CAS Career Achievement Award. It means so much to me accepting this recognition from my peers, who I respect so much.”
Massey was born near Pinewood Studios, London. As a teenager, he studied music through the Royal Academy of Music, playing in various bands and orchestras.
At age 19, Massey emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, to work as an assistant recording engineer at a prominent recording studio. Upon arrival, however, the job was no longer available. Faced with not having enough money to return to London, he worked for bands and on construction crews until he decided to go to Fanshawe College to study Recording Engineering. A year later, he obtained an assistant position at Master’s Recording Studio, so he left college and never looked back.
Over the next nine years, Massey recorded and mixed albums, commercials and scores with various musicians. He then recorded and mix live tours with bands such as Yes, Supertramp, The Police, The Band and Tears for Fears for a series of TV concert films, utilizing world-class recording trucks from Le Mobile and Record Plant, among others. This experience introduced Massey to mixing sound for picture. During this time, Massey also mixed several projects for TV along with many IMAX specialty films.
Massey moved into film more formally when he joined Deluxe/Filmhouse in Toronto, where he met and worked with Andy Nelson in the late 1980s. In 1989, Nelson moved to Los Angeles and recommended Massey to J.R. DeLang at Todd-AO. Sight-unseen, DeLanf offered him a re-recording mixer position over the phone. In 1990, Massey moved to L.A.
Massey has since worked at many studios in L.A., primarily Todd-AO, Sony, and Fox, while also working internationally at facilities in London, such as Twickenham, Goldcrest and Pinewood with directors, picture editors and sound crews, many of whom have become lifelong friends. A few long-term collaborating directors include Sir Ridley Scott, James Mangold and Gore Verbinski.
His work has garnered him 25 combined Oscar, BAFTA and CAS Awards nominations. Bohemian Rhapsody earned Massxey an Oscar, BAFTA and CAS Award. He also won both a BAFTA and CAS Award for Walk the Line and Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, and another CAS Award for Ford v Ferrari and another BAFTA for Almost Famous.
