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By Peter Tonguette I nterview books with filmmakers con- stitute a full-fledged literary subgenre, but among all of the one-on-one con- versations that have been commemorated in print — Francois Truffaut's with Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Bogdanovich's with Or- son Welles, Joseph McBride's with Howard Hawks — arguably one book stands apart from the rest: Bogdanovich's "Who the Devil Made It," an encyclopedia-sized compendium of the filmmaker-scholar's conversations with 16 of his heroes, men- tors, and peers. The book distinguishes itself not only through its range of inter- viewees — chronologically speaking, from pioneering figure Allan Dwan to modern master Sidney Lumet — but for the empiri- cal advice proffered. Yes, Bogdanovich asks about themes and meanings, but he also in- vites his subjects to expound, at length, on the day-to-day challenges of the job. Picture editor [and sometime CineMon- tage contributor] Steve Hullfish, ACE has accomplished something similar in the world of postproduction with his two-part book series, the latest of which, "Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors, Volume II," has just been published. (The first volume came out in 2017.) Like Bogdanovich, Hullfish cast a wide net — the editors interviewed here include veterans of the New Hollywood movement, such as Walter Murch, ACE and major talents from NOTES ON EDITING STEVE HULLFISH TALKS TO TOP PICTURE EDITORS IN HIS LATEST BOOK younger generations, including Nathan Orloff — and like Bogdanovich, he asked his interviewees about real-world subjects. As such, the book is an ideal reference work for professional editors who might pull it off their shelf looking for guidance, insight, or even moral support about a particular issue in their own work. "The value of being able to hear the opinions of so many great editors — whose advice and approach sometimes conflict- ed — meant that the reader could choose what was useful and valuable for them and could interrogate methods that might seem odd, but could prove useful and even ca- reer-changing," Hullfish writes, explaining the concept behind the original book, in the preface to the present volume. Yet Hullfish bests Bogdanovich in one crucial way: While "Who the Devil Made It" accorded each of its 16 interviewees a chapter of their own, "Art of the Cut" takes a thematic approach: Each topic under consideration is discussed by multiple in- terviewees. Spread over four broad sections ("Preparation"; "Creative — Micro-Level Editing Decisions"; "Creative — Mac - ro-Level Editing Decisions"; and "Social," about, among other things, interfacing with directors and other creative partners) are 26 grouped-by-theme chapters, each containing innumerable sections focusing on even more granular issues. For example, Chapter 8, "Pace and Rhythm," includes sections on how the footage shot for a movie can dictate its eventual pace ("Pace will change according to the emotions of what's happening," says Michael Kahn, ACE), the development of tension and suspense ("The enjoyment comes from the slow build-up of tension and the quick 'unexpected' release," says Petro Scala, ACE), and the various means by which pace can be refined in postproduction ("Tightening dialogue by pre-lapping the cuts helps because when there's a difference in the sound cut and the picture cut, it keeps your brain entertained somehow," says Ivan Victor, ACE). Steve Hullfish. 46 C I N E M O N T A G E B O O K R E V I E W