Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536017
By Rob Feld A s a film-loving kid growing up in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, with no industry connections, a career in film seemed remote and unreal to Eric Kissack. That changed during a semester abroad at the Prague Film Academy, where the craft of filmmaking suddenly revealed itself as something human, tactile, and achievable. "We made short films, and for the first time, it felt doable," Kissack recalled. But it wasn't until a bitter winter shoot left him sick and sidelined that he found his true calling. "I went into the edit room to recover. I was physically getting better, and creatively, it just felt like home." Amid the warmth and focus of the cutting room, he discovered his place. "It was calm, it made sense. It formed this primal association for me — this is where I belong," he recalled. His instincts for story and structure are on full display in the Apple TV+ series "The Studio," a much-talked-about parody of modern Hollywood from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. A longtime collaborator of the duo, Kissack joined the project from the outset, not only as editor but as a key creative partner on set. The series unfolds as a workplace satire about beleaguered film executive Matt Remick (Rogen) navi- gating the absurdities of a struggling movie studio. Told entirely through meticulously choreographed long takes, each episode is a breathless single-shot descent into chaos, a masterful blend of comedy and technical ambition. With the opportunity to make comedy play through the creative limitation of editing constrained by the single-shot rule, Kissack became a crucial presence during production, rewriting the edit as the cameras rolled. Whether coaching camera operators on what he would need to hide cuts or guiding actors through real-time pacing tweaks, Kissack brought the tools of the edit bay directly onto the set. It was a rarified experience for any editor. CineMontage: Did you have a mentorship experience that stuck with you? Kissack: One of my best friends in col- lege happened to be the daughter of Paul Hirsch, one of the most acclaimed editors of all time. He was the first professional editor I ever met and talked to. It was the first time I got to sit down with someone and witness their life as a working professional in the in- dustry. He had a good life, he was respected. 22 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E THE LONGEST TAKE FOR SETH ROGEN'S SATIRIC 'THE STUDIO,' THE EDITOR ERIC KISSACK HAD AN UNUSUAL ON-SET ROLE Eric Kissack.