Rez Ball
The Rough Cut
Editor - Jessica Baclesse REZ BALL editor, Jessica Baclesse says she got the job for the film through a chance encounter with a not-so-stranger across a crowded room. Random or not, Jess already had plenty of editing experience under her belt, including time logged cutting a big sports movie with Michael B. Jordan's directorial debut, CREED III (2023). REZ BALL was directed by Sydney Freeland and co-written by Freeland and Sterlin Harjo (RESERVATION DOGS). It tells the story of the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico who, after losing...
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TRC Book Club - The Documentarian
The Rough Cut
The Documentarian - Roger Nygard, ACE Roger Nygard's The Documentarian is the ultimate go-to source for making and selling documentaries, answering every question and containing crucial strategies every filmmaker needs to know to succeed as a documentarian. Included are insights from experts and award-winning documentary filmmakers such as Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), Liz Garbus (Ghosts of Abu Ghraib), Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), Freida Lee Mock (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision), Errol Morris (The Fog of War), Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls), Michael Tollin (The Last Dance), Frederick...
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TRC Book Club - Art of the Cut: Vol II
The Rough Cut
Editor and Author - Steve Hullfish, ACE This is the second volume of the widely acclaimed Art of the Cut book published in 2017. This follow-up text expands on its predecessor with wisdom from more than 360 interviews with the world’s best editors (including nearly every Oscar winner from the last 30 years). Because editing is a highly subjective art form, and one that is critical to the success of motion picture storytelling, it requires side-by-side comparisons of the many techniques and solutions used by a wide range of editors from around the world. That is why this book...
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Alien: Romulus
The Rough Cut
Jake Roberts ACE, Will Files, Polly McKinnon and Lee Gilmore Although the ALIEN: ROMULUS postproduction team of Jake Roberts ACE, Will Files, Polly McKinnon and Lee Gilmore came into this project with a wealth of knowledge and experience amongst them, they still learned a thing or two from director Fede Álvarez, including Fede's not-so-secret formula for jump scares, as well as the notion that clear dialogue isn't always as important as gripping action. Plus, they reveal the hidden intent of Álvarez to split ALIEN and ALIENS into the two sides of the REMUS/ROMULUS space station. ALIEN:...
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Furiosa
The Rough Cut
Editor - Eliot Knapman FURIOSA editor Eliot Knapman is no stranger to the post-apocalyptic postproduction of a Mad Max movie, having previously worked as ACE editor Margaret "Margie" Sixel's second assistant on MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. For director George Miller's latest film in the franchise, not only was Eliot tapped to be co-editor with Sixel, but was there on set with Miller throughout production doing the first assembly under what had to be fun, but arduous, conditions. FURIOSA is the fifth installment in Miller's Mad Max franchise, and the first not focused on series...
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Deadpool & Wolverine
The Rough Cut
Editors Dean Zimmerman ACE and Shane Reid DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE editors, Dean Zimmerman ACE and Shane Reid are the "buddies" in the cutting room of what is shaping up to be the biggest, R-rated buddy movie of all time. Zimmerman joined this film with two other Shawn Levy / Ryan Reynolds films to his credit, but it would be Mrs. Pool (Blake Lively) who would be Shane Reid's connection into the "Merc With a Mouth" franchise. Deadpool's peaceful existence comes crashing down in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse. ...
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Twisters
The Rough Cut
Editor - Terilyn A. Shropshire, ACE TWISTERS editor Terilyn Shropshire has more than a few action movies under her belt, but those films mostly featured action in the style of man (or woman) vs. man; films like THE OLD GUARD and THE WOMAN KING. This time Teri takes on Mother Nature in a film where the visual effects are front and center in the set pieces. A standalone "spiritual" sequel to TWISTER (1996), TWISTERS tells the story of scientist and storm chaser, Kate Cooper. Haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado, Kate gets lured back to the open plains by her friend,...
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Clipped
The Rough Cut
Editors - Susy Benaim and Todd Downing, ACE CLIPPED editors Susy Benaim and Todd Downing are no strangers to telling true stories about real-life characters, compelling and complicated real-life characters. Those storytelling skills were put to the test for CLIPPED, a sordid soap opera about the day of reckoning for one of the NBA's most notorious owners. Created by showrunner Gina Welch and based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast The Sterling Affairs, CLIPPED focuses on the downfall of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (Ed O'Neill), amid the team's drive to win a...
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Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
The Rough Cut
Editor - Dan Lebental ACE BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F editor Dan Lebental not only took on the daunting task of bringing back a beloved character that audiences haven't seen in thirty years, but he did it with one hand. The other was working simultaneously on another Bruckheimer blockbuster, BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE. With the help of his long-time assistant, Dawn Michelle King, and his trusty "embedded sound design" workflow, Dan was able to pull off making both films in fine style. BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F sees the titular hero return to Beverly Hills to aid his adult daughter after...
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The Sympathizer
The Rough Cut
Editor - Viks Patel THE SYMPATHIZER editor Viks Patel was a fan of director Park Chan-wook long before they ever teamed up to work on their new MAX series. But unbeknownst to Viks, the pair had actually worked together previously, in a sense, on SNOWPIERCER (2020). Viks edited the pilot for the series which Director Park exec produced. Back together again on THE SYMPATHIZER, the two joined creative forces to bring Viet Thanh Nguyen's book to the small screen in a big way. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and...
info_outlineEditors - Mags Arnold, Brenna Rangott and Matt Chessé ACE
TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY editors Mags, Brenna and Matt had never worked together prior to uniting under showrunner Issa López for the fourth season of the HBO MAX anthology series, but you wouldn't know it from talking to them. The camaraderie between the three and the fun they have is in stark contrast to the dark and dangerous tone of their hit show.
TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY is set in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska and follows the investigation behind the mysterious disappearance, and even more mysterious discovery, of eight men from a research station. Leading the investigation are two law enforcement officers who share a troubled past, Detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis).
MATT "CHALKY" CHESSÉ, ACE
Editor Matt Chessé, ACE often finds himself cutting with frequent collaborator, director Marc Forster. The pair have been working together since 2000 and have joined forces on such films as; MONSTER'S BALL (2001), FINDING NEVERLAND (2004), THE KITE RUNNER (2007), QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) and CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (2018). Matt also cut TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY star, Jodie Foster's film MONEY MONSTER (2016).
MAGS ARNOLD
Mags Arnold entered the film industry in 1993 as a trainee sound editor, crossing over to picture editing as second assistant editor in 1994. She was promoted to first assistant editor in 1995, working on films such as HIGH FIDELITY (2000) and CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN (2001), both under celebrated editor Mick Audsley. Following her work as an assistant, Mags has cut shows such as WITCHER (2023) and BIG LITTLE LIES (2019).
BRENNA RANGOTT
Brenna is the lone editor on "Night Country" who has past experience with showrunner Issa López, working on the series BRITTANIA (2019) together. Despite her cheerful demeanor, Bren could often be found in the cutting rooms of horror genre projects like STARVE ACRE (2023), FATHER OF FLIES (2021) and HOST (2020).
Editing TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY
In our discussion with TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY editors Mags Arnold, Brenna Rangott and Matt Chessé, ACE, we talk about:
- Fun with field trips
- When the editor is the scene stealer
- Keeping things light when the story's so dark
- Playing the paranormal against the practical
- How "clumping" is better than cross cutting
The Credits
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