Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/309120
28 CINEMONTAGE / MAY-JUN 14 JF: These two guys taught me so much about editing. One of the first features I cut was for Roger Corman. It was called The Dirt Bike Kid (1985). It was Julie Corman's — Roger's wife — first producing credit on a feature. Richie came down to my room to actually work with me on dialogue and action scenes just out of the goodness of his heart. We assistants who were helped like that by great editors will never forget that stuff. I was lucky enough to meet Sam on a movie called The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), which was Joel Schumacher's first directing credit. Verna Fields, who ran the feature editorial department at Universal, called Sam up and asked him to come on the show and re-cut the movie. We instantly all got along famously. He took me with him on Silkwood. He had me stand behind him as he was putting the picture in the first cut on the Moviola. Literally, I was making marks in my head as he was making them on the film. It was the greatest experience to be able to sit behind him and watch him do this. There were massive amounts of film takes on Silkwood. They shot from every angle and gave you so much. At the end of the day, there would be a stack of outtakes that was bigger than the stack of takes that he would actually cut from, and I'd say, "You have this mountain of film. You haven't even used it. How do you do this?" He said, "Well, you know, I usually go with one take, and with Meryl Streep there always is one great take, at least." So I go with that. It's more true to their performances, and it's more cohesive in terms of something you can cut with. CM: You assisted on these two great dramas, but later became known for comedies. What's the difference? JF: I think it's a misnomer when they always put us in little boxes, and say, "Oh, he can do comedy. He can do drama." If you're good, you can do anything. Comedy is maybe a little bit harder, because it really is all about timing. Comedies are paced much faster. You don't sit on shots. With drama, you may want to stay on one take for 10 minutes. But with comedy, you sort of have to pace it up. Some directors believe there should be a pause in between jokes, some don't. There is a different set of rules for comedy. It has to be a shorter length. You sort of have these things in the back of your head — 95 minutes or less, but there are exceptions. CM: Was there a film where you felt you came into your own as an editor? JF: It was actually a drama, The Waterdance, with Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe and Helen Hunt. I just love the film, the director and the writing. It sort of all came together. As I was cutting it on film on a Moviola, I thought, "Okay, this is gold here." For me, that was sort of the first film where I felt that a piece of my soul was in it a little bit. CM: How do you and Seth MacFarlane work together, especially on A Million Ways to Die in the West? JF: For us, it's about presenting him with something that's close to what I feel he wants, and then working on it together and trying to get it to length. Also, because he is an animator, it's almost like he attacks things with his ear first and his eye second. A scene from A Million Ways to Die in the West. Courtesy of Universal Pictures CineMontage_May-Jun_14-3.indd 28 4/15/14 2:49 PM