The editor

I think here's where the score by Alan starts to bring us into a level that just becomes more and more throughout the movie from here on out. The first time I ever watched the movie from beginning to end, I had Alan there. I had Alan there, I had my editor there, I had my assistants there, and I had...

51:17 · jump to transcript →

And the big controversy that we had at the beginning of the movie is when I announced that I thought the movie should be made in widescreen. And everyone said, everyone, meaning my producers, my cameraman, and my editor, said, widescreen? This isn't Spartacus. This is a story about this guy with a low IQ. And this is when I started talking about it with Don.

56:24 · jump to transcript →

me not fun the fun part for me is in the editing room because that's where i have the most fun because it's just me and my film and my editor and you know all the you know the actual shooting of a movie is always just surviving just getting getting through the day and getting enough in the can so you can make it work somehow

1:09:30 · jump to transcript →

was the personal life stuff. Because he was really interested in that wedding scene, which I guess was there before him. But he liked that stuff and showing how grueling the job is and the toll it takes on the personal lives. But I think ultimately, probably in the edit at some point, they were like, it's about action. It's not about the serious drama of this job. It's kind of a little more Top Gun. Well, as you've pointed out, the...

21:05 · jump to transcript →

But it did begin that same year in 1974 when he hooked up with Roger Corman to work as an editor. I'm sure, you know, as probably a lot of people listening to this commentary know, I mean, Roger Corman in the 70s, you know, had this company, New World, that was just a, you know, I was saying that the Alfred Hitchcock show was a hotbed of talent. Corman...

37:19 · jump to transcript →

possibly through Woodstock, because Marty was an editor on Woodstock, one of many editors on that movie. So he may have known him from that, or he may have even known him from NYU, because they were both at NYU at around the same time in the early 60s. In any case, Marty recommended Louis Teague to Corman, and Teague's main gig there for a while was he edited a bunch of movies for Roger Corman, including Monty Hellman's Cockfighter and Jonathan Demme's Crazy Mama, which is a great movie.

38:59 · jump to transcript →

And it was exciting what developed in this scene. All of a sudden, the tension that developed, it was scary, really. And that was shot very quickly. About five, maybe eight takes, but hard to cut because we had to keep hitting those levels. And every now and then it'd go off to another level and it didn't quite hit right. It's just not natural in different takes, things would happen. And so we had to keep constructing back to the way it was written. Editor, Thelma Schoonmaker.

23:15 · jump to transcript →

There's a tremendous amount of improvisation because he knows the parameters of what he wants to say and do. So that allows him to change things as people come up with ideas. Whether it's a cameraman or a prop man, a set designer, he'll take all this and very often put it on film and then decide later on what he wants to do. Don't forget, Marty was originally an editor. So that's the process he likes to go through.

27:24 · jump to transcript →

Editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. When Ray Liotta's on his way to pick up his brother at the hospital, and he almost has an accident, and there's some very quick cutting of his feet flying around, and the car stops just before hitting the car in front of him, Marty had designed that all to be edited to The Who's Live at Leeds. And so we wove a little texture of all those pieces together, just exactly the way he had conceived of it, and it worked like crazy.

1:54:53 · jump to transcript →

Like Frank Marshall, she's a California native. She was born in Berkeley. And she began her career in San Diego working at a local TV station as a camera operator and editor and whatever else needed doing. She ended up producing a local talk show for four years in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles in the late 70s to work in film production.

45:23 · jump to transcript →

Anyway, I guess once it was done or in the edit, at some point he decided, you know, let's make it taller or deeper. They also, you'll see a geode room at some point here too that was like an intricate set that in the publicity materials they talk about a lot, but in the movie you only see about one shot of it. And I can see why they wouldn't want to cut it because it looks pretty cool and it sounds like a lot went into making it, but it wasn't really necessary because it's happening...

1:21:39 · jump to transcript →

Yes, we definitely should talk about it. I mean, you know, again, as we've touched on throughout this commentary... Because this is probably the hardest part for her, I imagine, the climax with all of these different locations. Yeah, well, as we've talked throughout this commentary about, you know, just the sort of top level of talent involved across the board. I mean, the actors, the production designer, obviously Kennedy Marshall. You know, you get... This is a movie that represents, like, Hollywood craftsmanship at its peak, and the editor...

1:29:55 · jump to transcript →

So I just kind of recut it. I remember when Susan Shipton, my editor, came in in the morning. This is the last film I edited on film, actually. So she came in the morning, and there was this mess of film on the floor. Because I was just madly trying to kind of put all these scenes together and overlap and kind of create this feeling, knowing that I could then hand it to you, Mychael, and that it would all...

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How did the composing community allow that appropriation of their own responsibility as artists? I don't quite get... Well, I think it goes even earlier in the process than that. It's very... In the typical process, the picture editor, as soon as assembly, you know, while the footage is being shot and assembled, the picture editor nowadays absolutely...

1:28:06 · jump to transcript →

universally will start putting in temporary score music from other films and therefore making huge decisions without really very much thought and and not from a knowledge of being a composer from being a picture editor and they cut to this music so that if you take this temporary music out the film isn't even cut to its true self it's being cut to music that is not even

1:28:34 · jump to transcript →

Steve Kemper is an editor I've worked with in the past four films. He is a truly gifted editor. A lot of this is editing. I thought what would be interesting when I designed the sequence was to have three different vantage points, three different series of

48:10 · jump to transcript →

A good film editor can make a director look a lot better than he or she really is. I got complaints when I was shooting the film, specifically in this scene, that things were too dark. I must say, when people saw it together, they didn't feel that way. So quite often, when you're taking chances photographically, people will complain when they see dailies.

1:24:30 · jump to transcript →

This is about, you want to scare people, don't show everything. So to me, not to know where the hand was going to come from and not to telegraph where the hand was going to come from. And then I was trying to make you look down. That shot there I thought was a very clever touch by the editor, to make you look down before the hand comes to the roof.

1:41:17 · jump to transcript →

Lachlan Craig. Now, I've often thought since making it, and in the edit, I thought, how am I going to get time out of this? And I figured I didn't need this scene. As all this talk goes on about, you know, doing this and doing that and, you know, how he picks the fight and all this kind of stuff, when it would have been really simple to just walk or ride up to the guy and just nail him over the head with a mace and say, okay, the fight's picked, and then ride off.

1:19:58 · jump to transcript →

I mean, I was lucky, yes, but, and fortunate, but to have an editor as good as Steve Rosenblum was to really bring his own thing to it. I mean, he took what I gave him and he managed to sort of make it better, you know, which is, when it comes right down to it, the edit's just the final rewrite. And he's a master of it.

2:03:35 · jump to transcript →

It is, and the whole idea about that is make it seamless. That's the goal, so that later on an audience forgets about all kinds of techniques you use to just follow the story and that you get the feeling of reality. That's what I always like, that you have a feeling of reality to it, that it feels real and not, oh, we watch a movie here, look at that, great shot, great effect here, great effect there. You should forget that. You should just go with the story and the drama. Who was your editor?

1:25:37 · jump to transcript →

Yeah, I mean, at least I try, because sometimes it's so time-pressed situation in post-production that you have, especially if it's sort of not so important dialogue with smaller parts, you give it to your editor, you know, who does the dialogue. But no, normally I would try to be always there, especially with the big parts and the important stuff, yes. Because it's, you know, it's acting. It's important to be there. That's a big part of post-production. Yes.

1:38:39 · jump to transcript →

Alexander Payne

I used many, many, many of the same people between Citizen Ruth and Election. The production designer, Jane Stewart, and the DP, Jim Glennon, and the editor, Kevin Tent, and the composer, Rolf Kent, and even the same assistant cameraman, and the same prop master, and a lot of the same grips and electricians, and Omaha crew people, a lot of the same actors. In a way, Citizen Ruth was something of a dry run for Election.

13:48 · jump to transcript →

Alexander Payne

Her dad's a golfer. Not that it's that important, but something. What happened at the speeches was an unconscienceable travesty. That little bitch Tammy Metzler wanted to make a fool out of me. Well, it wasn't going to work. If all those students who cheered for Tammy Metzler only knew how hard I worked for Carver. Like all the late nights I spent at the yearbook office just to give them their stinking memories. I actually was editor-in-chief of my high school yearbook when I was a senior, so...

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Stephen Prince

When Yamamoto directed Horse, for example, in 1941, Kurosawa scripted the picture and worked as second unit director and editor, and Honda served as the assistant director. When Kurosawa directed Stray Dog in 1949, Honda was his chief assistant director. It's a striking coincidence that they both made, as directors, a pair of tremendously influential films that were released the same year, in 1954, Seven Samurai and Godzilla.

1:15:27 · jump to transcript →

There's a Barry Bonds baseball card. - Yep. For those who wanted to see Barry in his younger, thinner days. Um.... Now, this was actually the real house here, which was in Winnetka, Illinois... ...and, um.... It was interesting because we were... We were able to shoot a great deal of the film at this house. None of the interiors that you see in the film were shot here... . UM... ...but this house worked out very well for us. Strangely enough, you know, with today's budgets... ...we would've built the back of that house completely... ...because the fact that we did all of those stunts later in the film... ...on the actual location was just ridiculous. And they were very friendly. - They were great. They had T-shirts made up. - They loved it. They used to have hot chocolate and stuff for us... ...and invite us in. They were great. They were a great family. It's incredible because I see... ...the things people do to people's apartments and houses... ...when they rent them out, like, you Know, for production. I'm like, "I'd never do that." - No, I know. Once you learn... Once you've seen it done, you know... Not to discourage any of you guys out there listening... ...to renting out your houses to future productions. But make sure you're paid very well. - Yes. That voice on the answering machine was Raja Gosnell... ...who was the editor of this picture... ...who's gone on to become a director in his own right. I

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Paul M. Sammon

by Curtis Harrington, which was a Roger Corman special, where Roger Corman took a Soviet science fiction film, filmed American scenes with Basil Rathbone, and the guy on the left is Forrest J. Ackerman, editor and publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland. John Davison, the producer of this film, got his start with Roger Corman at New World Pictures. In fact, he was his publicity department. And John's first film was Hollywood Boulevard with Joe Dante. John also did Piranha.

52:05 · jump to transcript →

There should be. Why isn't there? It's not the actors. It's, like you say, the editor. I think the score, by the way, which we haven't mentioned yet. I don't know what you make of it, but I freaking love the atmospheric side of it. I don't know about the themes. I didn't really notice them too much, to be honest. But the general sort of ambience is brilliant. Yeah, I love... Yeah, I mean, Eric Goldenthal combines electronic with, like, orchestral stuff, but also...

54:15 · jump to transcript →

My name is Terry Rawlings. I'm the editor of Alien³. And it was a thrill to work with David Fincher on his very first film, which was a very difficult task, in a way. And it was nothing to do with David Fincher, who I think did an incredible job. And I wish that he had fought for it harder in places because it became very difficult handling sort of the front office at Fox. They never let us properly complete the film in Pinewood Studios before we left, so there were things outstanding for the film. So when we first got it all together, it just didn't quite work because of the areas that were missing.

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In terms of the editing of the picture, was there anything that changed dramatically during the post-production that you had shot? Was there anything cut from the movie that was left on? Was it pretty much the movie that you intended? Looking at it now, I'm really pleased with the editing of this movie. Burt Lovett was the editor, and he's a guy. He had worked with Scorsese on New York, New York, and some of the documentaries that Scorsese did years ago. Just a terrific guy and a great editor.

1:11:12 · jump to transcript →

And there's Kenneth Kokin's credit. Yes, our co-producer. We have a neat little group. Kenneth Kokin, our co-producer. Chris and John Ottman, editor and composer. And myself. And we've known each other for a long time. Chris and I went to high school together. And I know Ken and John from film school at USC. San Pedro last night. The idea for the titles... We debated that one forever, as to exactly how to do that.

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Hello. My name is Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I'm the director of Alien Resurrection. Hi. I'm Dominique Pinon. I played Vriess, the guy on the wheelchair. And I'm Hervé Schneid, the editor. My name is Sylvain. I was a storyboard artist and a concept artist on Alien Resurrection. This was designed, composed, shot almost entirely and never used, because we couldn't complete it for budgetary reasons. But initially, in the first opening of the film, we looked at the mouth. The mouth of an insect. Except we didn't know it was an insect. We mistake it for an alien creature. And the camera backs out and actually reveals a little bug. And in one camera move, as it keeps on backing up, we see a finger crushing that insect and sticking the insect into a straw. And splattering that insect against the glass as we recede... And we go all the way back into outer space and actually reveal a giant spaceship, which is where the story begins. I remember especially about the main credit. When I arrived in LA, I was waiting for an offer from the studio. You can imagine - a poor French guy like me, I was very scared. I was in a hotel, waiting for the answer, and I didn't sleep because of jet lag and because I was scared. I thought "OK. To prove to myself I am able to make this film, I have to find a good idea for the main credit, for the first shot." Immediately, I found the story of the guy alone in a big spaceship, with the milk shake and the pipe. He scratches insects, he puts them in the pipe, he blows the insect on the camera. I was very happy about this idea. I told this idea to the studio and they were happy, too. We began to work on it, but it was very very very expensive. One day, my line producer told me, if you could find another idea, because we have not enough money to finish this idea. This is a secret - I was pretty relieved. In fact, I think it was a little bit too funny for the beginning of Alien. I didn't say anything to the people. I said "You want to cut my idea?!" But, in fact, I was very happy, and I prefer the credit we have now. This is a model, and at this time, we hesitated about to use CGI or models for the spaceships. And Pitof preferred to use models. Maybe it was one of the last films with spaceship in model. That was very impressive. I came once on the set while you shot the models, and it was really big. - Yeah. Not really big. It's never enough big. And Pitof made a lot of parts, and he mixed the different parts.

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Taylor Hackford

And Mary Ann, who's innocent, just like she was in the beginning... ...she's right alongside. What I wanted to do at the end of this film, and that's why at this point... ...you see Neal Jones morph into Al Pacino... ...you realize you can't beat the devil every time. You might win one battle, but he's back there the next morning. I would not leave this film with you having a happy ending. I did that with Officer and a Gentleman. I want to basically say: Every single day of your life you can't get smug... ...and you have to confront morality. I think we all do. And that's why this is a moral tale. I'm not deeply religious and I don't think of this as a religious film... ...but I do think that it is a film of somebody who still feels... ...a certain idealism, and a realization that we have responsibilities in our life. And I think that all the people that worked on the film worked on it... ...in a fairly righteous way. You know, Andrew Neiderman wrote a novel at the beginning. Four writers contributed to the screenplay. And I want to mention the people I haven't mentioned. There's Mark Warner... ...who is my collaborator, my editor, fabulous collaborator through... ...this process. You can feel the pace of this film. Everybody put themselves into something here. I also want to give credit to Per Hallberg, who was the sound designer. All the way through this I think there are subtle effects in addition to the score... ...that really give you the feeling that there is something else going on. There are a lot of artists that worked on this film, and when you go through... ...the process of collaboration, you have a vision as a film maker... ...and you want to get that vision on the screen. But you can't do it alone. I know it's trite to say this, but you utilize... ...and when someone has a great idea, you grab it. I encourage that, and I worked with a wonderful group of collaborators... ...on this film, and I'm very proud of it. After having gone and talked for two hours here, almost nonstop... ...this must be a lot of dribble. I apologize if, in fact, it's gone on... ...ad nauseam, but, again, we had an opportunity to make a film. I appreciate Warner Bros. was very tough to work for. We had a lot of disagreements, but they did allow me to make a film... ...and, they did, ultimately, give me final cut of the film... ...so that I was able to make the film I wanted. No excuses. I'm very proud of it. I hope you enjoyed it. Subtitles conformed by SOFTITLER

2:17:38 · jump to transcript →

Here's a little glitch. I just realized no one's going to ever hire me now. You might want to rescind that. He's just kidding. It works out well. I love cutting pictures very sharply. I mean, the movie's really fast-paced, and yet we understand everything. That's the key. Yeah, what I strive for as a picture editor is jarring and slowly paced.

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