Features

RECALLED

Directed by Michael Connors

“Recalled” is the story of three National Guard troops during the night before their deployment to Iraq. Specialist Reyes is desperate to escape the deployment. Lieutenant Sefton was granted a transfer and won’t be deploying. His replacement, Lieutenant Chambers, has just arrived on base.

With Sefton as the central character, the film explores themes of personal responsibility, dedication, and honor.

In the script, Sefton’s backstory is presented at the film’s start through non-linear storytelling and a series of flashbacks. While this made sense on the page, it didn’t play in time. Tonally, the film’s opening felt muddled and misdirected.

Working slowly and exploring every option, director Mike Connors and I restructured the film’s first act completely. The result is a more taught and engaging opening to the film, with much of Sefton’s backstory being revealed later.

When we began screening for friends, Mike had two requests: that we get a lot of input, and that we never screen for a large group. The result was six small screenings in three weeks, with revisions made between each screening. For optimal picture and sound quality, I ended up carting half of my equipment to Mike’s apartment for each screening. It was a grueling month, but the film benefited immeasurably from the high number of screenings.

THE HEART SPECIALIST

Freestyle Releasing
Directed by Dennis Cooper

Starring Zoe Saldana and Wood Harris, “The Heart Specialist” was distributed in January 2011 by Freestyle Releasing. Playing in over 70 cities, the film made a modest $1.1 million — and we’re very proud of that.

This was my first feature, and I sold myself to director Dennis Cooper by saying, “At worst, you’ll get a very skilled computer guy, which is still worth more than what you’re paying.” Fortunately, Dennis was happy with my creative talents. I worked around the clock to really get the best out of each scene, and Dennis, an old-school Hollywood type, gave me insider tips on the best lunch spots in town.

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?

New Regency
Directed by Mark Mylod
Edited by Julie Monroe

Best summer job ever! A workaholic, I couldn’t imagine taking the TV hiatus off, so I went back to work in features. This was my fourth show assisting Julie Monroe, and she had me cutting a good deal of the movie.

I was only on during production, which consisted of two months in Boston. Then I handed over the reigns to another assistant and returned to editing “Modern Family.”

The summer was marked by several memorable moments: our basement offices flooding during a summer storm; discovering my favorite cocktail, a rye cocktail called the vieux carré; and earning my first Emmy nomination!

It was a funny moment, walking into the office that morning and telling Julie, “So, guess what? Your assistant editor just got nominated for an Emmy!”

IT’S COMPLICATED

Universal Pictures
Directed by Nancy Meyers
Edited by Joe Hutshing, ACE

Nancy Meyers is a passionate, detail-oriented director, and she’s not afraid to make questionable decisions if she feels it will better the film. Several weeks in, she brought on David Moritz to help with the edit, then replaced him with Brent White, then replaced Brent with David again.

Weekly, Joe Hutshing would have us three assistants squeeze onto the loveseat in his office to take a first look at his cuts. Joe won two Oscars with Oliver Stone, but he also cuts regularly for Cameron Crowe and Nancy. Critiquing his first cuts is a rare and invaluable experience.

I left the film a few weeks early to start editing “Modern Family.” On my last day, Nancy put her hands on my shoulders and said, “Good luck, Jon.  Always make good things.” Simple words, but true.

One of the perks of working on an $85 million film is that there’s ample time during the workday for pranks. My favorite was quickly erecting a nativity scene in Joe’s office while he was out to lunch.

W.

Lionsgate
Directed by Oliver Stone
Edited by Julie Monroe and Joe Hutshing, ACE

It’s hard to believe, but we went from the first day of photography to an answer print in under five months. (We started shooting on May 12 and made the answer print on October 6!)

As the 1st assistant editor, I was the hub of an editorial team that included four editors, three assistants, two PAs, and a volatile (though genius and lovable!) director. Despite all these moving parts and the absurd schedule, we met every deadline.

Oliver Stone is an inspiration. Part madman, part genius, he has the energy to shoot all day and re-write all night. After screenings, he assembled the entire team to go over every note. We were all expected to voice our opinions, and if Oliver was interested, he’d say, “Ok.  Let’s see it.” Several of my ideas are in the final cut, especially in the first confrontation scene between W. and his father.

We were making “W.” during the 2008 presidential race. A childhood friend of mine was an operative in the John McCain campaign, and he called me one day. “Is there anything in this movie we need to worry about?” he asked. I told him it was a movie about George W. Bush, not about McCain or Republicans or Barack Obama. I doubt the film had much influence on the election, and I always felt it would have garnered more interest if released closer to the inauguration.

RIGHTEOUS KILL

Millenium / Nu Image Films
Directed by Jon Avnet
Edited by Paul Hirsch, ACE

This was my first film as Paul Hirsch’s 1st assistant editor, and his daughter Gina served as our apprentice editor. During production, Paul called me and Gina in every morning to watch the scenes he’d edited the previous day.

Paul expected us to point out anything that felt wrong, and we obliged. Paul loved to teach, so whether he agreed with our thoughts or not, he explained to us exactly what he had done. We learned about the rhythm of cutting dialogue, the ability to create expectation in a cutting pattern, the role of Morty the Explainer, the cardinal rules of cutting any scene – and all from the master!

Paul is also a man of truisms. One of my favorites is, “Editors are like cops. Our job is to serve and to protect. We serve and protect the film most of all, but we also serve and protect the director, the producers, the actors, and everybody involved before us.”

One more note: my friends call me Jon, and director Jon Avnet decided there could only be one Jon in the cutting room. Dismissing my middle name Maxwell, he asked if I have any nicknames. “My Jewish name is Mordecai,” I replied. And that’s the story of why Jon Avnet calls me Mordecai.

LIONS FOR LAMBS

MGM
Directed by Robert Redford
Edited by Joe Hutshing, ACE, Paul Hirsch, ACE, and Walter Murch, ACE

This was a dream job for a young assistant editor. I joined the project when Paul Hirsch was asked to help editor Joe Hutshing solve some structural problems. Several weeks later, Walter Murch was also asked to join. Between these three editors, we had six Oscars’ worth of talent at work.

At lunch, Joe, Paul, and Walter would muse over the good ol’ days. Paul reminisced about early “Star Wars” screenings for friends, and Walter told the story of mixing “Apocalypse Now” for forty straight hours before the film’s premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York.

When Robert Redford – Bob to his friends – joined us, we spoked openly about the film’s problems and what solutions were available. It was a three-month crash course in top-teir editorial problem-solving.

Walter had been working with Francis Ford Coppola on Final Cut Pro. This was his first time on an Avid in years. As one of the assistant editors who knew both programs well, I was occasionally called to Walter’s office to show him how to use his system. I was teaching Walter Murch how to edit on an Avid!

And Walter deserves his reputation as an editing genius. The emotional climax of the film wasn’t hitting, and by inserting a single shot, Walter made it work. It was shockingly simple and effective.

At our wrap dinner, Bob kneeled next to my chair to wish me luck on my next project. We spoke for ten minutes about Connecticut, east-coast foliage, long car rides. Though we’d spoken many times before, something about this conversation was absolutely captivating.  Robert Redford has more charisma and presence than anybody I’ve met since.

DECK THE HALLS

New Regency
Directed by John Whitesell
Edited by Paul Hirsch, ACE

With a background in commercials, I’m fairly skilled in visual effects. During the director’s cut, Paul Hirsch asked me to remove a wart from the crevasse of Danny DeVito’s nose. Using After Effects, I removed the wart from a dozen or so shots.

When post-production began, director John Whitesell wanted the wart removed for the release, but New Regency didn’t have the money. “If this kid can do it on his laptop,” John asked, pointing at me, “How much can it possibly cost?”

“You can do this on your laptop?” asked Elissa Loparco, the SVP of Post Production. “Can you do it for the final release?”

New Regency rented me a top-of-the-line Mac Pro tower, and I went to work removing warts from 2K film scans. In this higher resolution, the wart was visible in more shots. By the time we finished the DI, I had removed warts from over 50 shots.

This was also my second and last film training under Thom Calderon, a great assistant editor. Thom was plagued by illness, then missed several weeks when he broke his arm in a biking accident. Having to take over for him forced me to learn everything quickly – and allowed me to step into the 1st assistant editor position on Paul’s next film.

DATE MOVIE

New Regency
Directed by Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg
Edited by Paul Hirsch, ACE

My big break!

I met Paul Hirsch at a special screening of “Ray,” and after an eight-month-long email courtship, he offered me the job of apprentice editor.

Thom Calderon, Paul’s 1st assistant editor, conducted an interview to make sure I was qualified enough for the job. After asking a series of very specific questions about the Avid system, Thom asked what music I liked.

“I’ve been listening to a lot of 70′s punk,” I said. “Bands like Gang of Four, Wire, X.”

“Huh,” Thom replied. “That’s what I listen to.”

Over the next two films, Thom taught me everything I know about being an assistant editor.