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_outlineEditor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, ACE and assistant editor Matt Absher
The Fall Guy editing team of editor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, ACE and assistant editor Matt Absher once again find themselves in the cutting room of a David Leitch action spectacular. With this film being the fifth the trio has worked on together; their postproduction process is like a highly coordinated stunt sequence.
THE FALL GUY, directed by David Leitch from a script written by Drew Pearce, is loosely based on the 1980's TV series about a stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. The film version follows a stuntman (Ryan Gosling) working on his ex-girlfriend's (Emily Blunt) directorial debut action film, only to find himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding the film's lead actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
ELÍSABET RONALDSDÓTTIR, ACE
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir is an award winning tv and film editor, who has worked on over 50 feature films, television programs, documentaries, as well as animated features. She is best known for her collaborations with film directors David Leitch for BULLET TRAIN (2023), JOHN WICK (2014), ATOMIC BLONDE (2017), DEADPOOL 2 (2018) and Baltasar Kormákur for JAR CITY (2006), THE SEA (2002) and CONTRABAND (2012).
Although Elísabet edited various movies throughout her career, she developed international recognition for her ability to balance humor and seriousness in action features. She built her international prominence by editing CONTRABAND (2012) and later JOHN WICK (2014), which also began her career-long partnerships with Baltasar Kormákur and David Leitch. She first started in the industry by editing Icelandic tv programs, shows, and films.
Elísabet is also actively participating and changing the industry. She is a founding member and two-term inaugural chairwoman of Women in Film & Television Iceland (WIFT Iceland). In addition, Elísabet has sat on the Icelandic Producers Guild board and served for two years as chairwoman of The Icelandic Film & TV Academy in 2005 and 2006. Since 2007 Elísabet has been a board member of the prominent Filmmakers at Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF). Born and raised in Reykjavik Iceland, Elísabet is graduate of the London Film School.
MATT ABSHER
Assistant editor Matt Absher has been Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir's right hand man in the cutting room for seven films spanning eleven years. In addition to their most recent work on David Leitch's THE FALL GUY, the two collaborated on; THE MISSIONARY (2013), JOHN WICK (2014), ATOMIC BLONDE (2017), DEADPOOL 2 (2018), SHANG-CHI and THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021) and KATE (2021). Aside from his work with Elísabet, Matt has also assisted editors such as Stephen Mirrione on THE INFORMANT! (2009) and Nick Monsour on NOPE (2022).
Editing THE FALL GUY
In our discussion with The Fall Guy editing team of editor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, ACE and assistant editor Matt Absher, we talk about:
- Defining David Leitch
- Intercutting to the chase
- Taming a triad of tones
- Syncing split screens
- Voice over and out
The Credits
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