Following numerous US-based critics’ citations, Emmanuel Lubezki’s work on Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life has earned him the American Society of Cinematographers’ Award at the ASC’s 26th annual awards. The ceremony was held Sunday night at the Hollywood and Highland Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles.

An Oscar nominee for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, The Tree of Life is a complex family drama starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain. The film marked the second time the Mexican-born Lubezki took home the ASC Award; he had previously won for Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men (2006). An earlier ASC nomination for Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999) preceded Lubezki two victories.

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Brad Pitt recently spoke with Variety’s Christy Grosz about his work on two best picture Oscar nominees, “Moneyball” and “The Tree of Life,” and collaborating with one of the most reclusive directors in the business.

How did Terrence Malick convey his concepts for “Tree of Life” to you as an actor?

He would come in with three pages of single-spaced thoughts and maybe some dialogue. What he does is he gets up in the morning and just bangs on the typewriter for an hour, ideas for the day’s work. I learned as an actor to pick a few things from that consciousness notebook that he would give me, and I would start to build something around that.

He starts with a very dense script but (uses) that as a spring board to capture those truthful missteps. He would do stuff like push Chivo (cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) before a shot just to put him off balance. We were in the car doing what I thought was a very important scene and all of a sudden he threw the dog in the front seat to create this chaos.

How did that work with the young actors?
I know the dialogue, at least as it is written, and Jessica (Chastain) knows the dialogue, but the boys don’t. He may tell them right before a scene, give them a response to aim for, but it’s very free form.

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If The Tree of Life is named best picture at the 84th annual Academy Awards, Brad Pitt, one of the movie’s five credited producers, will not be invited up onstage to accept the award.

Instead, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that the four producers it has approved as official nominees are Bill Pohlad, Sarah Green, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill.

Academy rules allow for no more than three producers to be nominated and to potentially receive Oscar statuettes for best picture. In “rare and extraordinary circumstances,” it may approve a fourth producer at the recommendation of the Producers Branch Executive Committee, which in this case decided to approve four individuals after considering the contributions of the various producers to the film.

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Saying he was “dizzy with joy … and caffeine,” Brad Pitt had plenty to celebrate early Tuesday morning after the Oscar nominations were announced in Beverly Hills.

Not only did he receive a nod for Best Actor in Moneyball, but that film, along with his movie Tree of Life, were both nominated for Best Picture.

But the star, 48, isn’t solely about celebrating himself.

“I am especially over the moon for Jonah [Hill] (and the other Moneyballers acknowledged today),” Pitt said in a statement. “Considering both films … nearly didn’t make it to the screen, this is especially sweet.”

Pitt’s plan to honor his fellow nominees this very special morning? “Pancakes for everyone.”

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It’s been a good day for Brad Pitt. Not only is he Brad Pitt, but he also scored a Best Actor nomination for his work in Moneyball and watched both Moneyball and The Tree of Life nab nominations for Best Picture. So it’s no surprise that the actor is “over the moon” about the 2012 Oscars lineup. � Pitt tells EW. “So this is it, a great honor for everyone involved.” And Moneyball costar Jonah Hill’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor? “That’s just icing on the cake,” he says.

This year’s nomination is an especially meaningful one for Pitt. The actor, who has been nominated twice before for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Twelve Monkeys (1995), served as producer on both Moneyball and The Tree of Life. “I was working on both films from their inception,” he says. “And just what it took to get to the screen — all the artists and all the craftsmen, all the great talented people. And I’m just so happy that Tree of Life wasn’t forgotten.”

Of course, it has some stiff competition, especially from front-runners The Artist and The Descendants. But, for now, Pitt’s not focusing on Oscar’s Feb. 26 outcome. “At this point it almost becomes apples and oranges,” he says. “It’s a great, great group of films and I’m just so happy that our two films are recognized this way, because as I said, Moneyball was just dead in the water two years ago and The Tree of Life had its own difficulties.”

Speaking of The Descendants, how does Pitt feel about going up against good cane-stealing friend George Clooney in the Best Actor category? “It’s great fun having a friend in there and if it’s not me, then it might as well be him,” he says. I couldn’t be more happy.”

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Other nominations for Moneyball are Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Tree of Life has been nominated for Best Picture, and Best Director. Read more. Thanks Gabriella & Natlc.

Tree of Life also won Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. Moneyball also won Best Adapted Screenplay. Read more. Thanks Mickey.