Wicked: Part One
The Rough Cut
Editor, Myron Kerstein ACE WICKED: PART ONE editor, Myron Kerstein ACE finds himself in the familiar positions of both cutting a musical and also collaborating with director Jon M. Chu. This is Myron's third musical in a row, following Lin-Manuel Miranda's tick, tick Boom! (2021) and Chu's IN THE HEIGHTS (2021). Prior to IN THE HEIGHTS, Myron first cut for Chu on his film, CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018). Adapted from the venerable Broadway smash, WICKED: PART ONE follows the journey of a young woman named Elphaba. Misunderstood and often outcast because of her green skin, Elphaba forges...
info_outline
Emilia Pérez
The Rough Cut
Editor -Juliette Welfling EMILIA PÉREZ editor Juliette Welfling took on the job of editing her first musical without knowing the rigor and precision that would be required for the job. For better or worse, neither did writer/director Jacques Audiard, himself new to the world of making a musical. It turns out, experience might be overrated, as the Netflix Oscar-hopeful has won over critics since its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by Jacques Audiard, EMILIA PÉREZ is based on Audiard's opera libretto of the same name. Audiard's opera was...
info_outline
A Real Pain
The Rough Cut
Editor - Robert Nassau A REAL PAIN editor Robert Nassau might be Brooklyn's secret cinematic weapon when it comes to finding an editor who knows how to cut not-too-dark dramedies. And the seems to be what writer/director/actor Jesse Eisenberg was looking for when it came time to turn over the cutting room keys to his latest project. Premiering to much fanfare at Sundance 2024, A Real Pain is now delighting critics and audiences alike in its theatrical run. A REAL PAIN follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour...
info_outline
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
The Rough Cut
Editor - Otto Burnham Editor Otto Burnham took on the job for SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY knowing that he wouldn't be lacking for source material on his subject. Rather, the challenge would lie in processing the countless hours of material from Reeve's work and his life to find the real superhero within. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, who co-wrote the script with Otto, SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY is an intimate view into the life of actor Christopher Reeve. The film chronicles his rise to stardom upon landing the role of Superman in the 1970's,...
info_outline
Joker: Folie à Deux
The Rough Cut
Editor, Jeff Groth ACE JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX editor, Jeff Groth ACE had a tough act of his own to follow, coming off of his ACE Eddie and Oscar nominated work on Todd Phillips' JOKER (2019), but follow it he did. Directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver, the sequel follows failed comedian Arthur Fleck as he struggles with his dual identity. While incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital as he awaits his trial, Arthur meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn. JEFF GROTH, ACE Having worked previously with Phillips on such films as THE HANGOVER III...
info_outline
Challengers
The Rough Cut
Editor - Marco Costa CHALLENGERS editor Marco Costa knew one thing going into Luca Guadagnino's recent tennis movie, and that's that Luca didn't know anything about tennis. Luca would explain to Marco that this film isn't about tennis. The incredibly kinetic action in the tennis sequences that Marco cut say otherwise. CHALLNEGERS stars ZENDAYA as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Tashi is married to Art, a champion on a losing streak. Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption...
info_outline
Saturday Night
The Rough Cut
Editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid SATURDAY NIGHT editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid team up for the second time in 2024 with their latest Jason Reitman / Gil Keenan project about NBC's long-running sketch comedy show. Having previously cut GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE together, the pair developed a strong working relationship that certainly came in handy when Shane had to do double duty between this project and DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024). SATURDAY NIGHT is a frenetic dramatization of what happened behind the scenes during the ninety minutes leading up to the first broadcast of...
info_outline
Megalopolis
The Rough Cut
Editor - Cam McLauchlin MEGALOPOLIS editor Cam McLauchlin had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side when he knocked on Francis Ford Coppola's door. Now that Coppola's decades-in-the-making passion project has become a "surreality", McLauchlin still can't quite explain everything that took place in the making of this film. One thing is clear to Cam however, this was Francis's vision and Francis IS "Cesar Catalina". MEGALOPOLIS takes place in a somewhat alternate universe, where New York City is New Rome, and stars Adam Driver as Caesar Catalina, a brilliant artist, who...
info_outline
Industry
The Rough Cut
Editor - Kyle Traynor Although INDUSTRY editor Kyle Traynor joined the series already in progress in its sophomore season, by season three he would be given the cutting room keys to half of the season's episodes, including both the series premiere and its finale. Created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, INDUSTRY follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited number of available full-time employment opportunities at Pierpoint, a top investment bank in London. The graduates include Harper Stern, a Black upstate New York native who uproots her life in pursuit of success despite...
info_outline
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...
info_outlineEditor Michael Ruscio, ACE and assistant editor Josh Carley
The 3 BODY PROBLEM editing team of editor Michael Ruscio, ACE and assistant editor Josh Carley collaborated for the first time to take on arguably the biggest episode of the Netflix adaptation of the Chinese sci-fi novel. Helmed by former GAME OF THRONES showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Wiess, 3 BODY PROBLEM masterfully blends multiple genres, including action, fantasy and psychological thriller.
The wheels of 3 BODY PROBLEM are set in motion when Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who sees her father beaten to death during a struggle session in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, is conscripted by the military. Due to her scientific background, she is sent to a secret military base in a remote region. Her decision at the base to respond to contact from an alien planet implicates a group of scientists in the present day, forcing them to confront humanity's greatest threat.
MICHAEL RUSCIO, ACE
Michael Ruscio began his editing career making films with independent mavericks Alan Rudolph and Robert Altman. He has enjoyed editing some of the top dramatic shows of the past twenty years, including The Sopranos, Homeland, Dexter, House of Cards and Six Feet Under, where he first met Rodrigo Garcia, for whom he edited the film Raymond & Ray. Recent work featuring Michael's talents include Pieces of Her, Your Honor, Carnival Row, Ridley Scott's Raised by Wolves, and Hulu’s Catch-22. Ruscio was nominated for an ACE Eddie Award for the finale of Six Feet Under and won the 2009 Eddie for the pilot of True Blood. He created a workshop for the American Film Institute on the art of editing which he also taught at the Los Angeles Film School. Additionally, he has directed multiple episodes of the HBO series True Blood and his short film In Order of Appearance received ensemble and individual acting awards during its festival run. He is currently editing the upcoming Amazon series Butterfly.
JOSH CARLEY
Josh Carley started his editing career in his home state of Louisiana, where he cut short films, trailers, EPKs, web pieces, local commercials, music videos, and a large array of other kinds of projects. His work led him to projects with other local filmmakers, and projects for SYFY, Lifetime, and Hallmark. In 2018 Josh moved to Los Angeles where he still resides with his wife and kids. He’s had the privilege on working as Assistant Editor on such shows as Amazon’s Utopia and The Terminal List, FX’s The Old Man, and Apple TV’s Truth Be Told. In addition to 3 Body Problem, his most recent work can be seen in the upcoming final season of The Umbrella Academy.
Editing 3 BODY PROBLEM
In our discussion with the 3 BODY PROBLEM editing team of Michael Ruscio and Josh Carley, we talk about:
- Doubling down on dialogue to deliver the action
- Slicing through the VFX work
- Taking a different angle on the same scene
- Sound advice for assistants
- Transcontinental cutting rooms
The Credits
Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs
Check out Frame.io for the "Rough Cut Blog Spectacular"
See what's new with Avid Media Composer
Subscribe to The Rough Cut for more great interviews with the heroes of the editing room
Explore The Rough Cut on YouTube