Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/990701
48 CINEMONTAGE / Q2 2018 by Laura Almo • portraits by Wm. Stetz W hen Jacques Gravett, ACE, first started working in television, any talk of diversity in Hollywood was a long way off. The industry was comprised of mainly men, most of them white. Gravett says he found his way by working hard, getting to know people in the business and continually honing his craft so that when an opportunity did come, he was ready. "I was able to climb the ladder by building my own ladder," reflects Gravett, whose credits include episodes of the TV series Carnivale (2003-2005), Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), The Shield (2002-2008), Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014), Being Mary Jane (2013-present), Chicago Justice (2017), Shots Fired (2017), 13 Reasons Why (2017-present) and the new series Love Is__. "I built my own path. I got to know people. I took classes and, as people got to know me, they understood that I was serious about the business and that I was good at what I did. There was nobody who said, 'Hey, this is the way to do it; this is where you need to go.'" Gravett's path to editorial was very much a practical decision. After graduating from San Diego State University with a degree in business administration and an emphasis in management, the LA native moved back home with aspirations of getting back into the film industry. As a child, he had gotten a taste of "the business" working on a few commercials, which was uncommon for an African-American kid back then. Gravett had loved the excitement of being on a studio lot seeing movies and TV shows being made, so as an adult he wanted to start a career in Hollywood. Naively assuming he would use his newly minted business degree to get into the industry, he finally scored a job as a page at Paramount Studios. Six months later, he got a gig as a PA. "I took that opportunity and made the most of it," recalls Gravett, who, because he hadn't gone to film school, treated his PA position as his own personal film school. Settling in at Paramount, Gravett worked on the Star Trek franchise, which turned out to be a boon for him as the studio was spinning off multiple related shows and there were many opportunities for a diligent, serious PA. "I decided to get into editing because I thought it was going to be one of the best routes to keep moving up in the industry," he explains. "I was able to spend time with some of the editors on Star Trek: The Next Generation [1987-1994] and Star Trek: Voyager [1995-2001] and got to know a little bit about the cutting room. I also took classes on weekends to learn about editing and read the Avid manual — back when they actually put out books — and practiced a lot." 13 Questions Why Jacques Gravett on Editing, Diversity and Mentoring the Next Generation 13 Reasons Why. Netflix