Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834
MIKE HILL MARCH 24, 1949–JAN. 5, 2023 P i c t u re e d i to r M i ke H i l l , AC E , w h o died on Jan. 5 at the age of 73, spent his career in the company of a most eclectic cast of characters. Over the course of a career that lasted more than three decades, the Academy Award-winning editor helped give shape and style to movies about a mermaid, a group of senior citizens who have tapped into a fountain of youth, a family of firefight- ers, a gaggle of newspapermen a n d – w o m e n , s e v e r a l h e r o i c astronauts fighting to survive in outer space, and a Grinch. Partnering with career-long colleague Dan Hanley, ACE, Hill co-edited an unusually eclectic group of pictures for director Ron Howard that included "Splash" (1984), "Cocoon" (1985), "Back- draft" (1991), "The Paper" (1994), "Apollo 13" (1995) — for which the team won Oscars — and "How t h e G r i n c h S to l e C h r i s t m a s " ( 2 0 0 0 ). H a n l e y a n d H i l l a l s o received Oscar nominations for "A Beautiful Mind" (2002), "Cin- derella Man" (2005), and "Frost/ Nixon" (2008). "Mike would tell anyone who asked that he was the luckiest person in the film industry," said H i l l 's w i d o w, L e A n n e B a k e r. "He got to work every day with people he trusted, respected and considered family. He counted the 22 films he made with part- n e r D a n H a n l e y a n d d i re c to r Ron Howard as one of his life's greatest achievements." Speaking with CineMontage, Howard repaid the compliment. "I always felt Mike could have been a director if he wanted to," Howard said. "He was very thoughtful about story and character. He had great taste in movies, and a broad appreciation for films of all types. . . . He was a pleasure to be in the trenches w i t h b e c a u s e h e w a s a l w a y s go i n g to speak the truth, but he was also a complete team player." Born to John and Maxine Hill in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1949, Hill attended the Uni- versity of Nebraska at Omaha, from which he received a degree in criminal justice in 1972. While in school, Hill had the first taste of what would become his life's work when he was hired as an assistant film editor for a local television station. His responsibilities included splicing commercial breaks into classic movies that were being readied for broadcast, including Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront" (1954). When he f irst moved to California, however, Hill initially found employment in the field he had studied: He worked as a guard at the California Institution for Men, a prison in Chino. "He realized prison work was not going to be his future so he drove to Los Angeles and applied for work at all the unions," Baker said. "Edi- torial offered him a job as an apprentice at Paramount." That's where he first encountered Han- ley, who was six years his junior. "We worked together in shipping and then he got a job as an apprentice on the Hal Ashby film 'Bound for Glory,'" Hanley said. "Our paths crossed a ga i n w h e n h e c a m e b a c k t o Paramount." Hill, who also served as an apprentice on Kazan's "The Last Tycoon" (1976), invited Hanley into the cutting room. "A couple times he would let me come up- stairs and show me how to sync dailies on 'The Last Tycoon,'" said Hanley, adding that the two developed a rapport outside of work, too. " W e w e r e p r e t t y g o o d f r i e n d s ," H a n l e y s a i d . " W e p l a y e d b a s k e t b a l l t o g e t h e r. Garry Marshall had a court on the [Paramount] lot. . . . Mike was a big movie buff. He would just revel in really interesting actors. I remember, while we were in shipping, he would take me to a USC film festival where they showed old-time movies. . . . We saw these Brando films, films that I probably never would have seen, like 'Reflections in a Golden Eye.'" In time, both editors had come to work with veteran picture editor Robert James Kern, whose credits dated back to the 1950s. Kern, who had edited the first few made- for-TV movies of Ron Howard, was slated to work with Hanley and Hill on Howard's feature film debut, "Night Shift" (1982). When Kern suffered a stroke, however, Hanley and Hill were left to work on the 52 C I N E M O N T A G E I N M E M O R I A M