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The 70th Annual ACE Eddie Awards featured the best film editors in the industry, many of whom are nominated for Oscars. The event was held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA. I was proud to be on hand representing Reel Talker. Many of the top editors in attendance and special guests walked the red carpet and I got to speak to them. Check out the fascinating things these talented men and women had told me about their jobs and nominated projects.
THELMA SCHOONMAKER (THE IRISHMAN):
Thelma was very kind and engaging. I found her to be very humble, given her legendary status as one of the all-time greats in film editing. She revealed some interesting things, such as The Irishman being one of her easiest projects to edit. Another big takeaway was to hear her talk about Martin Scorsese’s new approach to doing fewer takes. It was a privilege to speak to Thelma.
JEFF GROTH (JOKER):
Jeff was very forthcoming and honest with his answers. I was pleased to hear him answer my questions about the ending of the film. He was very definitive in his responses, to leave no doubt. I appreciated that. Great stuff from Jeff.
ANDREW BUCKLAND & MICHAEL MCCUSKER (FORD V FERRARI):
Andrew and Michael seemed to make a great team and it was good to get them in the interview together. Michael mentioned how they view themselves as product enhancers, so they make a good product event better. I really liked that analogy.
MATTHEW FRIEDMAN (THE FAREWELL):
Matt shared a cool fact about leaving an alternate ending of the movie on the cutting floor. He went into detail about the scene, which was pretty neat to hear him talk about. He did share his thoughts about the difficulty of being an editor and having to leave out some key scenes. I found that to be interesting.
JAMES CUDE (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT):
James had a very fun personality and talked about the isolation that editors have to deal with when they do their work of being alone in a room for hours end. It’s a valuable perspective from someone who does this for a living that might not always be thought of when it comes to the job they do im making a movie happen.
ROSANNE TAN (MR. ROBOT):
Rosanne was very fun and I really enjoyed hearing her talk about being a fan of the show prior to working on it and then still being a fan. It’s cool to see people working in the industry on their favorite shows and still being fans of them.
JAKE PUSHINSKY (WHAT’S MY NAME:MUHAMMAD ALI):
Jake shared about his approach and research to this documentary and how it will be documented from the available footage of Ali, which is as an authentic approach to piecing a documentary as you can have.
DAVA WHISENANT (BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY):
Dava spoke about the concept of the documentary and the involvement of the people that were part of this creation originally. She seemed genuinely happy she was part of this project and the joy it brought to the people who took part in creating this unique concept.
AXEL GEDDES (TOY STORY 4):
Mystery is solved. Axel revealed his point-of-view and my question on whether Toy Story is a Woody or Buzz story, according to Axel, who put it eloquently, it’s Woody’s story. Makes a lot of sense, especially the way he described it. It was a very fun interview for me.
KYLE SCHADT (SURVIVING R. KELLY: “ALL THE MISSING GIRLS”):
Kyle spoke about editing sensitive content and how important it is to tell this story properly. Erika added a great perspective from a woman’s point on how this documentary has an impact. Really good stuff from both of Kyle and Erika.
CATHY REPOLA (NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MPEG):
Cathy was very great. Spoke highly of the editors and about the people who are editors. Also, she discussed the possibility of the Eddie’s being broadcasted in the future. Good all-around content from Cathy, who was the recipient of the ACE Heritage Award during the awards ceremony.
REAL TALK:
This is a fantastic event to attend. It’s low-key, fun and accessible. I enjoyed speaking to so many great editors. I had the opportunity to be inside for the awards ceremony, which was fantastic. Great atmosphere, fantastic dinner and an overall good time. Some of the highlights of the ceremony were the speeches by honorees Lauren Shuler Donner, Tina Hirsch, Alan Heim and Cathy Repola. Taika Waititi gave the funniest and most entertaining speech of the night! D’Arcy Carden hosted the show and did a nice job.
Click here for the list of the 2020 ACE Award Winners
