MPSE Awards

By Sam Molineaux
Feature films Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl charted top honors at the Motion Picture Sound Editors 51st Golden Reel Awards, Feb. 28. Joining the two seafaring pics in feature film categories were A Mighty Wind, Cold Mountain, and City of God, which won for best sound editing in a feature film: foreign.
In accepting the award for best sound editing in feature film: sound effects and foley, Master and Commander supervising sound editor Richard King paid tribute to director Peter Weir. Sharing the award with King were supervising foley editor Christopher Flick and sound effects editors Michael Mitchell and Hamilton Sterling.
In a nice change of pace, it was all girls on stage to pick up the Golden Reel for best sound editing in a feature film: dialogue and automated dialogue replacement for Pirates. Of the 10 sound editors in this category, seven were women.
Following his win for best sound editing in a feature film: music, musical feature for A Mighty Wind, music editor Fernand Bos, MPSE was immediately back on the stage to pick up a second award, for best sound editing in a feature film: music for Cold Mountain. “It feels like I was just here,” he deadpanned. “I had a great year!”
Feature film category awards were presented by sound designer Gary Rydstrom and former MPSE career achievement award-winner Charles L. Campbell.
In the television categories, And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself picked up a pair of awards, for best editing in television long form: dialogue and automated dialogue replacement, and sound effects and foley. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Six Feet Under came out on top in the television episodic category. The breakthrough French animated feature The Triplets of Belleville sailed past hefty competition in the best sound editing in feature film: animated – sound category; while Finding Nemo, Spongebob Squarepants and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius surfaced in the three other animation categories.
Director Arthur Hiller presented the career achievement award to his long-time friend and MPSE founding member Don Hall. “Don Hall is the guru of sound editors. We’ve all gained from his total dedication to the art of film,” Hiller remarked of the man who’s been a sound editor on over 90 feature films, including M*A*S*H, Young Frankenstein and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In his acceptance speech, the soft-spoken Hall quipped “The big decisions were never about the mix. They were always ‘Where are we going to have lunch today?’”