Oscar-winning cinematographer and Maine native Erik Messerschmidt lost his house in the Los Angeles fires, according to an online fundraiser.
Messerschmidt, who was born in Portland in 1980 and grew up in Cape Elizabeth, won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film “Mank” at the 95th annual awards in 2021.
It’s unclear when Messerschmidt’s house burned down but, according to the fundraising page, it was in Altadena and he built much of it himself over the past 30 years. It also states Messerschmidt and his wife, Naiara Eizaguirre-Paulos, recently had a baby.
“They were just about to bring their new baby, Marnie home from Naira’s native country Spain for the first time to see her home in LA,” Ferguson wrote. “It’s now not even a pile of rubble, it’s just flattened ash, gone!”
More than 300 donors — including famous entertainers — have pitched in to raise nearly $80,000 in just five days for Messerschmidt and his family.
“Donated funds will go towards needs that might not be fully covered by other sources of aid,” states the fundraiser’s organizer, Piper Ferguson, a California-based photographer and art director.
The fundraiser has a stated goal of $80,000 and as of Thursday afternoon, 303 people had donated $74,100. The donors included actor Holt McCallany, who worked with Messerschmidt on the Netflix original show “Mindhunter” and contributed $2,000.
The top donor listed is pop singer and actor Joe Jonas, who gave $5,000. Messerschmidt was the cinematographer on the film “Devotion,” in which Jonas starred.
Other recognizable Hollywood names on the donor list include Marco Perego, filmmaker and husband of Zoe Zaldana; Stefan Sonnenfeld, founder of post-production firm Company 3; and fellow cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw.
