Best of 2019: Breaking Down Three Key Scenes With Ad Astra’s Editors
*We’re reposting some of our favorite interviews of 2019. Happy Holidays! On Tuesday we published the first part of our conversation with Ad Astra editors John Axelrad and Lee Haugen. Director James Gray’s film (which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross) is the rare intimate epic. It involves some of the most breathtaking sequences in any film ...
Best of 2019: Spencer Averick on Finding Truth & Humanity in the Edit of When They See Us
*We’re reposting some of our favorite interviews of 2019 from some of our favorite films and shows of the year. Netflix rarely releases viewer numbers, but on June 12th, the streaming service tweeted that Ava DuVernay’s miniseries When They See Us has been its most-watched content in the US since the show’s premiere on May ...
Editor Gordon Rempel on the Music of Editing
Gordon Rempel sees parallels between the approach he takes editing film and television and his love of making music. With more than two decades of experience in both fields, he would know. “I actually have a musical background. I’ve been playing in bands continuously since I was a teenager. Music takes a lot of the ...
Unraveling Marriage Story with Editor Jennifer Lame
It was well past 9 pm on a Sunday night when the word “hello” drifted through the speaker of my phone. On the line was editor Jennifer Lame who pulled herself away from Christopher Nolan’s action-thriller Tenet. “It’s nice speaking with you again,” she said in an even-tempered tone. A tone very unlike the characters ...
Breaking Down Three Key Scenes With Ad Astra’s Editors
On Tuesday we published the first part of our conversation with Ad Astra editors John Axelrad and Lee Haugen. Director James Gray’s film (which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross) is the rare intimate epic. It involves some of the most breathtaking sequences in any film this year, as well as a very personal father/son story in ...
Ad Astra’s Editors Talk Space Pirates, Murderous Monkeys & More
James Gray’s Ad Astra travels as far as the icy colossus Neptune, an achingly gorgeous planet, as blue as our own, but, alas, utterly lifeless. Only that’s not entirely true in Gray’s space epic, which finds Brad Pitt’s astronaut Roy McBride traveling to the distant giant planet to find his father, Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones). It ...
TIFF 2019: Harriet Editor Wyatt Smith on Capturing a True American Hero
Based on the iconic life of freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet reveals the story of this American legend’s escape from slavery and her incredible courage after in her quest to free other slaves. Starring a phenomenal Cynthia Erivo in the title role, Harriet looks at a 10-year chapter in Tubman’s extraordinary life and is structured ...
Best of Summer 2019: Ready or Not’s Editor on Cutting This Devilish Delight
*As summer draws to a close, we’re looking back at some of our favorite interviews and stories. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet’s Ready or Not has been getting rave reviews. They’ve taken a simple childhood game and turned it on its head, to devilishly delightful results. Samara Weaving plays Grace, a young woman enjoying ...
Best of Summer 2019: Editor Spencer Averick on Cutting When They See Us
*As summer draws to a close, we’re looking back at some of our favorite interviews and stories. Netflix rarely releases viewer numbers, but on June 12th, the streaming service tweeted that Ava DuVernay’s miniseries When They See Us has been its most-watched content in the US since the show’s premiere on May 31st. In the ...
How Ready or Not’s Editor Amped up the Emotional Stakes
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet’s Ready or Not has been getting rave reviews. They’ve taken a simple childhood game and turned it on its head, to devilishly delightful results. Samara Weaving plays Grace, a young woman enjoying her wedding day. She joins her husband Alex (Mark O’Brien), whose wealthy family built their empire on ...
How I Am Mother‘s Editor Cut Netflix’s Chilling Sci-Fi Thriller
Humankind has all but gone extinct, but Mother (Rose Byrne) is on the case. The fact that Mother is a dulcet-voiced robot shouldn’t alarm you—at least, not yet. Her mission is to repopulate the earth, and she begins her work with a little girl (whom she simply calls daughter) who is all but perfect. Daughter ...
Spencer Averick on Finding Truth & Humanity in the Edit of When They See Us
Netflix rarely releases viewer numbers, but on June 12th, the streaming service tweeted that Ava DuVernay’s miniseries When They See Us has been its most-watched content in the US since the show’s premiere on May 31st. In the UK, When They See Us has been running second only to Black Mirror. But audiences hardly need ...
How Avengers: Endgame‘s Editor Handled Time Traveling Twists & Turns
SPOILER ALERT: This story reveals plot points seen in Avengers: Endgame and other Marvel films. Even before Avengers: Infinity War was completed editors Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt were already working on what they were calling Avengers 4 in April of last year. The project, shrouded in secrecy, was to be a culmination of 10+ ...
The Bespoke Technology That Made Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Possible
Sugar puffs or frosties? Yell at dad or pour tea all over a keyboard? By now, the audience choices and subsequent on-screen fallout possibilities in Netflix’s first interactive film for adults, Bandersnatch, have been well documented across the web. Home-made flow charts painstakingly illustrate the complexity of 19-year-old video game creator Stefan’s journey as he ...
Oscar Watch: Black Panther Co-Editor Michael Shawver on the key to Cutting Fight Scenes
Editor Michael Shawver goes way back with writer/director Ryan Coogler. In fact, he edited Coogler’s first two films, his 2013 breakout film Fruitvale Station, and his deft resurrection of the Rocky franchise with 2015’s Creed. His work on Creed turned out to be the perfect training for his next Coogler project; the epic, game-changing Black Panther. Shawver’s gut—and keen eye—led him to ...
Oscar Watch: How NASA Footage Inspired the First Man Editor’s Style
The moon landing was welcomed as a shared triumph in American history, but no one had more at stake than the men who traveled there. The mission’s success was as much a feat of will as of science. First Man captures the danger and courage of pioneering space travel in both broad historic and intensely ...
Oscar Watch: Black Panther‘s Co-Editor on the Key Scene She Influenced
A rich African inspired heritage and fierce women warriors proved this year that fresh perspectives are long overdue on screen. Black Panther came out swinging and took a major swipe at barriers to cinematic representation. The immensely talented team dreamed up a world that was not only thrilling and gorgeous but also put new faces ...
Oscar Watch: The Favourite‘s Editor on Cutting the Year’s Most Deliciously Devilish Film
Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite is a delicious piece of filmmaking. Gorgeous to look at, actors having the times of their lives, and that special brand of merry malice that Lanthimos is uniquely capable of is all on the menu here. Set in the 18th-century, The Favourite revolves around Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and rival courtiers ...
On the Basis of Sex: Editing the Origin Story of a Real-Life Hero
Every great hero begins somewhere. Before saving the planet, superheroes often channel their gift from the gods, survive the bite or a spider, or mutate after alien radiation exposure. The hero of On the Basis of Sex, however, began her journey of toppling titans and freeing the people in a place far more ordinary. A ...
How the Crazy Rich Asians Editor Helps Us Navigate the World of Singapore’s Elite
Crazy Rich Asians hinges on dynamics. The complicated web of relationships will either catch true love or tangle the unsuspecting couple. Rachel (Constance Wu) gets off to a rocky start with her boyfriend’s mother (Michelle Yeoh), but there are even more delicate power struggles within the family. In the elite Singapore circles of Crazy Rich ...
