Art of the Cut

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Sam Restivo and Oscar-winning editor, Claire Simpson about their editing of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II. Claire and Sam have been on Art of the Cut previously for their work on Ridley’s Napoleon.  Claire won an ACE Eddie, a BAFTA and an Oscar for her editing of Best Picture winner, Platoon. She was nominated for another Oscar and an ACE Eddie and won a BAFTA for her editing of The Constant Gardener.  Along with Platoon, she’s edited two other Oscar Best Picture nominees: The Reader and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. In addition to Napoleon and Gladiator II, Sam was an additional editor on The Last Showman, The Last Duel, House of Gucci and Robin Hood.  The discussion today is about - among other things - re-organizing the film to find the best moment to reveal critical information, the difference between editing action and dialogue scenes, and the importance of experimentation. If you want to follow along with this podcast with a transcript and visual support including clips, trailers, and exclusive photos, check out the blog at: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Oscar nominee, Juliette Welfling about Jacques Audiard's film, Emilia Perez, currently on Netflix. Juliette's been on Art of the Cut before another of Audiard's films, The Sisters Brothers. Her other films include The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Editing. She also edited the films: Rust and Bone, A Prophet, The Past, Free State of Jones and Ocean's Eight, The discussion today is about - among other things - structuring a film for character, not allowing an editor's cut to go too long, and working with a naked director - metaphorically. This podcast is also available transcribed as a blog with great visual support at: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today, we’re talking with Myron Kerstein, ACE about teaming up again with director Jon Chu to edit the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway hit, Wicked. Before that they collaborated on In the Heights. And before THAT on Crazy Rich Asians - not to mention Kerstein's work with Lin-Manuel Mirandad on tick, tick...BOOM! and we’ve talked about ALL of those films here on Art of the Cut. Kerstein’s previous work as an editor includes the feature films Going in Style, Garden State and Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. He’s also directed an episode of the Apple Plus TV series, Home Before Dark. To go DEEP into the editorial archives he was once an assistant editor on the iconic series, Sex and the City. The discussion today is about how his directing work affects his editing, how he treats dance numbers like any dramatic scene, and the fellow musical editor - and fellow Art of the Cut guest - that Myron turned to for advice. If you'd like to see lots of video featurettes and trailers and exclusive images, check out the blog of this interview at: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, we’re talking with Dreamworks veteran editor, Mary Blee about the film, “The Wild Robot.” Mary’s editing career began as an assistant editor on the 1991 animated film “Beauty and the Beast.” She’s worked in sound editing and VFX editing. Did additional editing on “Kung Fu Panda” and was an associate editor on “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Croods.” She was Second Editor on “The Boss Baby” and also worked on subsequent “How To Train Your Dragon,” “Croods” and “Boss Baby” films. The discussion today includes Mary’s approach to cutting storyboards with feeling, the Rubik’s cube of story beats and how they sometimes need to be spun into proper alignment, and the magic response that a director can have to leave an editor “flying home on a cloud.” Today is a really good episode to READ along with the podcast because we will have exclusive storyreels for the scenes that are discussed in the podcast and you'll really want to see those, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous timeline screenshot in the blog and clips from the movie. Get it all here: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, we’re talking with the editors of Netflix’s documentary “Greatest Night in Pop.” They also were part of the editing team of “Mountain Queen: The Summirs of Lhakpa Sherpa.” Carlos Haynes has  worked on Neymar: the Perfect Chaos, Amend: the Fight for America, and Kevin Hart - Don't fuck this up. David Brodie was an editor on  The volunteer, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski and Selena Gomez: my Mind and Me. Will Znidaric was an editor on  projects like Biggie: I've got a story to tell, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, and Quincy. The discussion today will be a deep-dive into successful documentary editing including how to build a character arc, treating interviews like a narrative editor treats performance, and how you need to know where your story is going before you decide on how the documentary will begin. To read along with this podcast and see clips, trailers, and exclusive photos go to: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE discusses editing Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea. Una was first nominated for an editing BAFTA 15 years ago. And again in 2013 and THREE TIMES in 2015. She won a BAFTA for Three Girls and was nominated for another BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for editing Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast which we discussed right here on Art of the Cut. She was also on Art of the Cut previously for her work on The Crown and for Death on the Nile. Today we’re going to be talking about the importance of taking time to build up character for big emotional payoffs later, jump-cutting for emotion, and discovering that collapsing or compressing scenes can reveal new things, dramatically. If you'd like to follow along with this interview and read the transcription as well as see clips, trailers and photos, check out the blog version of the podcast on Boris's site: borisfx.com/blog/aotc.

Today on Art of the Cut, editors Michael Anthony Brown and Michael Oliver about their Emmy winning work on Welcome to Wrexham. Brown also won an Emmy for his work on Wrexham last year. Other work includes the TV series, Mr. McMahon, Action, and Losers. Oliver won a Sports Emmy 2011 for HBO’s 24/7 Penguins/Capitols. He’s also edited projects like Being Liverpool, We Are LAFC and Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend. Today we’re talking with the Emmy-winning editors of this series about the importance of starting at a pace that gives you someplace to go, how to use slo-mo, and the games you play with the audience to keep them guessing. If you want to follow along and READ this interview with trailers, clips and exclusive photos, check out: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid discuss editing Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night - a film recounting the chaos just before going LIVE with the first episode of Saturday Night Live. Nathan Orloff has been on Art of the Cut before, most recently for his work on Deadpool/Wolverine. He also joined us for his previous collaborations with Reitman on  Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Ghostbusters: Afterlife He was also on for editing John Wick 4. Shane Reid was also on Art of the Cut with Nathan for Deadpool/Wolverine and for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Shane also edited the Nick Cave documentary, One More Time with Feeling.  Today we’re going to be talking about Reitman’s commitment to his highly choreographed long takes, how there was no temp score because composer Jon Batiste was actually recording the score ON THE SET, and creating the dynamics between chaos and quiet. If you want to follow along with this interview, you may read it and see exclusive photos and clips and trailers from the movie here: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, editor Jeff Groth, ACE, discusses editing Joker: Folie a Deux. For those of you who didn’t take French - that’s “Madness between two.” Jeff’s been on the show before to talk about the last Joker movie, and also The Grey Man. Groth was nominated for an ACE Eddie for his work on the TV series Entourage. He was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for his work on Joker.

Today on Art of the Cut, editor Cam McLaughlin discusses working with legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, on his film Megalopolis. Cam's previously talked with Art of the Cut about working on Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley. Cam was also an associate editor and music editor on del Toro's Shape of Water. His TV work includes The Girlfriend Experience and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.  Discover the collaboration process of legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola as he works with editor Cam McLauchlin; how they used AI; and getting to contribute to the script process. To read along and see exclusive photos and video clips check out borisfx.com/blog/aotc.