By Mary Ann Skeweres
The Editors Guild held the installation dinner for the 2008 Officers and Board of Directors last month—an intimate affair with the atmosphere of a family gathering as colleagues shared pre-dinner cocktails and postproduction war stories. The evening welcomed the incoming and showed appreciation for the outgoing board.”We face a year of many new and old challenges, but with the diplomatic nature that postproduction professionals naturally possess, I expect nothing less than clear, concise and dynamic solutions,” said Guild president Lisa Zeno Churgin.
The event also served as a platform to present the Motion Picture Editors Guild Fellowship and Service Award to member and past VP Dede Allen, A.C.E. This honor, bestowed for only the second time, “salutes an individual who embodies professionalism, collaboration, mentorship, generosity of spirit and commitment to the labor movement.”
Allen was joined by family members, including husband Stephen Fleischman, son re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman, and grandchildren. Along with his wife, actress Annette Bening, Warren Beatty was on hand to present the award. From their first collaboration on Bonnie and Clyde, Beatty said he trusted Allen to be honest and on the side of the director against the powers-that-be. At first screening of the picture for studio head Jack Warner, he recalled, the picture ended and after a long silence Warner exclaimed, “How long was that fucking movie?” Told that it was one hour and 59 minutes, the mogul exclaimed, “Well that’s the longest one hour and 59 minutes I’ve ever seen! That was a three piss-picture.”
“I’ve had a fantastic life and a fantastic career,” said Allen. “I really hope the young people here have as exciting and wonderful a life in your work and in the things you care about as I’ve had.”
Written by Mary Ann Skweres
