Dunkirk, I, Tonya And Coco Take Top Honors
The 68th annual ACE Eddie Awards recognized the best editing of 2017 with trophies handed out in ten categories of film, television and documentaries.
Lee Smith, ACE, took home the Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) Eddie for Dunkirk, while Tatiana S. Riegel, ACE, won Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy/Musical) for I, Tonya. Coco, edited by Steve Bloom, won Best Edited Animated Feature Film and Jane, edited by Joe Beshenkovsky, ACE, Will Znidaric and Brett Morgen, won Best Edited Documentary (Feature).
Among his motivations for working on Jane, Beshenkovsky noted, “When we started this film, we thought it was important to make a movie about a strong, powerful woman, a real life Wonder Woman. We felt there was an absence of female role models and it was important for our daughters to have someone to look up to.”
With over 1000 in attendance, the black-tie ceremony was held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel with actress/comedian Tichina Arnold serving as the evening’s host. American Cinema Editors president, Stephen Rivkin, ACE, presided over the evening’s festivities. In his opening remarks he emphasized the American Cinema Editors’ mission “to promote the art of storytelling to the next generation of film editors and to the world, raising up the perception of the craft, and to the important creative contribution that editing has in the film making process.”
The iconic writer, producer, creator and show runner of such hits as Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan was honored for his prolific career with the ACE Golden Eddie Award, presented to him by longtime collaborator, editor Skip MacDonald, ACE. Talking about editors, Gillian commented that over his 30-year career, he had “a 100 people make me look really, really good.” He continued, “If I’ve done anything right, it’s that I hired the very best people I could find.”
Career Achievement Awards went to industry veterans Mark Goldblatt, ACE and Leon Ortiz-Gil, ACE. Their work was highlighted on screen with clip reels exhibiting their remarkable contributions to film and television throughout their careers.
Director Joe Dante was on hand to present the award to Goldblatt, Oscar® nominated editor for Terminator 2: Judgment Day who also edited the original Terminator and blockbusters such as X-Men: The Last Stand, Pearl Harbor, True Lies, and Chappie, among many others. Dante mentioned he has known Goldblatt for over forty years, since they got their start at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures. “What first bonded Mark and I was our love for movies. All kinds, all genres.”
In accepting his award, Goldblatt warned that he might get a little philosophical because he was a philosophy major. “As cinema editors, we have the privilege to work on the greatest art form I know. What starts as words on the page, we help transform into images and sound that can convey emotions, evoke thought, and effect people the world over. At their best movies are the result of a massive collaboration with a higher goal that’s simply making the best movie possible, and that’s to have a great experience that arises from our shared creativity.”
Law and Order SUV actress and director, Mariska Hargitay, presented the trophy to Ortiz-Gil, a three-time ACE Eddie Awards nominee whose impressive list of credits includes TV series Law & Order, 24 and Dragnet.
Sharing fears after directing her first episode of “Law and Order,” Hargitay talked about seeing her first cut, “I’m like, wow, Mariska…Mariska, Mariska, Mariska, you got it. You got IT. I mean, look at the way that the scenes move. Look at the pacing, the tension, the flow, baby. Look at the storytelling. And then for the briefest, most fleeting moment, I lived the dream. I lived the dream of inborn genius. I lived the dream of a director’s innate eye. The dream of an iconic match between an artist and a medium. And then came Leon, dream crusher. I realized, shit, it’s the editing.” And the editor was Ortiz-Gil.
Beating out hundreds of competitors from film schools and universities around the country, Mariah Zenk of Missouri State University took home the Student Editing award presented to her by producer Gale Anne Hurd.
Television winners included Black-ish – Lemons, edited by John Peter Bernardo and Jamie Pedroza, for Best Edited Comedy Series for Commercial Television; Curb Your Enthusiasm – The Shucker, edited by Jonathan Corn, ACE, for Best Edited Comedy Series for Non-Commercial Television; Fargo – Who Rules The Land of Denial, edited by Andrew Seklir, ACE, for Best Edited Drama Series for Commercial Television; The Handmaid’s Tale – Offred, edited by Julian Clarke, ACE & Wendy Hallam Martin, for Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television; Genius: Einstein Chapter One, edited by James D. Wilcox, for Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television, Vice News Tonight– Charlottesville: Race & Terror, edited by Tim Clancy, Cameron Dennis, John Chimples & Denny Thomas, for Best Edited Non-Scripted Series and Five Came Back: The Prince of Victory, edited by Will Znidaric, for Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical), making Znidaric the evening’s two-time winner.
Other presenters at the ACE Eddie Awards included director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) and film editor Joe Walker, ACE, filmmaker Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), actress Parminder Nagra, Sam Lerner (The Goldbergs), actress Betty Gabriel (Get Out), actor Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Lemon) and Lady Bird cast members Jordan Rodriguez & Marielle Scott.
The full list of winners:
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC)
Dunkirk
Lee Smith, ACE
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY)
I, Tonya
Tatiana S. Riegel, ACE
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Coco
Steve Bloom
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Jane
Joe Beshenkovsky, ACE, Will Znidaric, Brett Morgen
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (NON-THEATRICAL)
Five Came Back: The Price of Victory
Will Znidaric
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Black-ish: “Lemons”
John Peter Bernardo, Jamie Pedroza
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Curb Your Enthusiasm: “The Shucker”
Jonathan Corn, ACE
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
Fargo: “Who Rules the Land of Denial”
Andrew Seklir, ACE
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
The Handmaid’s Tale: “Offred”
Julian Clarke, ACE & Wendy Hallam Martin
BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION
Genius: Einstein “Chapter One”
James D. Wilcox
BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES
VICE News Tonight: “Charlottesville: Race & Terror”
Tim Clancy, Cameron Dennis, John Chimples & Denny Thomas
STUDENT COMPETITION WINNER
Mariah Zenk – Missouri State University
