"You saw their names in the opening credits. Then you saw their names in Variety. Now discover how they went from dailies to Oscar-nominated films."
That's the American Cinematheque's call for "Invisible Art, Visible Artists," an Editors' Seminar presented by the American Cinema Editors on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 10 am at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The 150-minute program will feature an open discussion with all of this year's Oscar-nominated editors, subject to availability.
This year's Oscar nominees in the best editing category are:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
Milk (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
This is the great thing about Oscar time. Artists, technicians, and craftspeople not named Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt receive quite a bit of publicity they merit but don't usually get at other times of the year. And this editors' seminar is a great chance for Angelenos to find out not only how movies are made, but also how (at times) good performances are made as well. Indeed, many a talented editor has been credited with saving — or at least ameliorating — both mediocre films and mediocre actors.
As an aside … I clearly remember my college film editing teacher telling us that after doing editing work (both sound and picture) ourselves — something we had to do for the class — we'd never look at a movie the same way again. How right he was.
Free Admission for "Invisible Art, Visible Artists." Tickets available on day of seminar only at box office. No online ticketing. Doors open at 9:00 AM. The Egyptian Theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd.
Adrian Presentation at the Lasky-DeMille Barn in Hollywood
Oscar 2009: Art Direction Nominees at the Egyptian Theatre
Golden Globes 2009: Foreign-Language Nominees Screenings
Tippi Hedren, Robert Osborne at THE BIRDS Screening
This is a great event. I attend every year and its fun to see all the behind the scenes craft people talk about their work on an amazing crop of films. They speak very candidly about aspects you would not hear from others like the actors or directors. They sometimes slip budget info. and have great stories that no one ever hears about things that happen on set, how they create illusions in the production design and the editors have editing room gossip. Plus, its free, but it does sell out so I have learned to arrive early.
Sweet! That should be quite an informative morning.