TECH SUPPORT: Best Film Editing — Volume One

No matter how good the storyline, plot, acting, photography and other elements of a film may be, any poorly edited film will be difficult to watch, understand and enjoy.  An editor has the task of not only finding the appropriate length of a film but also putting together scenes so they flow coherently, both visually and story-wise.

This is a category where I often feel “most” editing is confused with “best.”  I wholeheartedly agree that it is challenging to coherently put together a film with lots of action, musical scenes or a non-linear narrative – the sorts of films typically nominated in this category. Though I personally feel that often the most accomplished editing can be seen in the relaxed creation of appropriate pace and tone, stealth editing that goes unnoticed.

This is also, happily, not a field that tends to bring back past nominees at the expense of newbies.  Few working editors have more than four career nominations and at least two to three newcomers seem to be nominated every year.

Historically, this category has had an incredible crossover with Best Picture.  Though in recent years, that has changed, the last three years having had only a 2/5 crossover with the big category. Last year’s winner, “The Bourne Ultimatum,” is a very rare example of a winner that was not even nominated for Best Picture.

Chris Dickens has in many ways the clearest path to a nomination here.  Despite the editor having received no attention in the category to date, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” should feature noticeable cutting between the tenseness of a game show and the rags-to-riches story of the protagonist’s life.  Given the extremely warm reception the film has received to date, I would say a nomination is highly likely.

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall also have the sort of vehicle that screams “likely nominee” in this category.  “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a film that will not only feature cutting through 80 years of time but also war scenes.  When its strong Best Picture buzz is added into the equation, a nomination seems likely.

Steven Rosenblum surprised many by securing his third career nomination two years ago for Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond.”  Again editing a Zwick effort, “Defiance,” he will likely be back in the running this year for this war-time effort, one bound to have much suspense and considerable action – exactly the sort of traits in films which are recognized by this branch.

Elliot Graham has cut another film receiving strong consideration in the Best Picture arena.  Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” may not have a jarred narrative or lots of action but it does recreate history, certainly an impressive achievement, and if the film catches on (there are mixed opinions on whether or not that will happen), a nomination is definitely possible (the director serving co-editor duties on the picture).

Also on the “biopic of sorts” front are three-time nominees (and one-time winners), Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hopkins, working on “Frost/Nixon.”  Ron Howard’s film will have to build tension between its two principal characters by going back and forth between the famous on-screen encounters of the two and their personal dramas, those not recorded for television.

Joel Cox has edited four Best Picture nominees for Clint Eastwood over the years, nominated for “Million Dollar Baby” and winning for “Unforgiven.”  If Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” manages to become a major player, I would certainly expect Cox to be in contention.  But I would not count on a nomination even if the film really catches on given that he’s only received notice from Eastwood films that contain action of a certain stripe.

While no one has seen Baz Lurhmann’s “Australia” yet, it certainly has the potential to be a big Oscar player, particularly in the crafts categories.  Epic in length and scope, editing these sorts of films always ends up being a major challenge.  Dody Dorn and Michael McKusker are both prior nominees and they could very well be in contention again.

“Revolutionary Road” is not the sort of film that typically gets nominated in this category.  That said, it certainly has its sights set on being a Best Picture nominee.  When films start to sweep, the film editing arena often comes into play.  Tariq Anwar was nominated for “American Beauty” so I would not rule him out.

Dylan Tichenor was finally nominated last year for “There Will Be Blood.”  Paul Thomas Anderson’s film managed to become a major Oscar player despite not being traditional fodder.  This year, Tichenor is cutting “Doubt,” based on the John Patrick Shanley play.  While the film is being considered more of an “actor’s film,” it could manage to squeeze its way into the Best Picture race.  That said, it could also easily be the sort of film that would not receive a nomination here even if it was a major player.  And given Tichenor’s difficulty in finding Oscar traction (he was not even nominated for “Brokeback Mountain”), I doubt he’ll be back this year.

Action films and summer blockbusters often frequent this category as well.  Dan Lebental pieced together the massive hit – and critical success – “Iron Man” this year.  I have no idea how this film will fare in awards season (it might be overshadowed by “The Dark Knight” in the summer blockbuster category), but a citation here strikes me as a possibility that must be noted.

And then we come to “The Dark Knight” itself.  Looking more and more like a possible Best Picture nominee, it seems incredibly unlikely that it would be cited there without a nod in this category.  Even in the absence of a Best Picture nomination, a critically acclaimed superhero film with a gross of over $500 million would seem like a possible nominee as far as I am concerned.  It would be the second career nomination for Lee Smith, cited five years ago here for Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.”

There’s our seventh category examined!  Next week we move to one of the most unique categories – Best Makeup.