Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/990701
50 CINEMONTAGE / Q2 2018 It was a conversation with Rick Berman, the executive producer of both The Next Generation and Voyager, that opened the door for Gravett and led to him getting a job at Unitel Video in Burbank (now Level 3 Post), where he accrued enough days required for Editors Guild membership. "I was not afraid to take a lateral move that would eventually help me to make a move forward," he reflects. Gravett returned to Paramount and worked on six seasons of Star Trek: Voyager as an assistant editor. His first job as an editor was on HBO's Carnivale. Gravett says he is happy with the broad range of shows he's been able to work on, especially after working in sci-fi for so long. CineMontage interviewed Gravett in late April in the run up to Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why, which dropped May 18 on Netflix, and the June 19 premiere of Love Is __ on Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network. CineMontage: You are the supervising editor on Love Is___, the new dramedy series on OWN, about a black power couple in Hollywood. How did you get involved in this series? Jacques Gravett: I worked with the producer of Love Is__, Mara Brock Akil, on Being Mary Jane [2013-present; about the life of a young black woman, including her work, family and the popular talk show she hosts], so it's familiar territory. In this business, you usually get to work with people for one project or a period of time and then everyone moves on. But there are instances in which you get to work with the same people over and over again — and that's what made this so special. It's great to be around nice people that care about you and allow you to be creative. I was on 13 Reasons Why when I got the call from Mara that she was going to be directing the pilot and she wanted me to cut it. Mara is very kind and talented and her husband Salim Akil, who has his own show Black Lightning [2018], is the executive producer on it. They're a true Hollywood power couple. CM: What makes this series so unique? JG: It's a true story and something that's rarely seen on television; you know, black love, two African-American people deeply in love, telling the tale of their relationship. And the backdrop is Hollywood and the struggles with that. It's a story that's told from their perspective — remembering how they met, how they made it, what worked and what didn't. Of course, there are some surprises along the way. CM: What does your work as the supervising editor entail? Love Is__. OWN