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22 C I N E M O N T A G E W H A T O U R M E M B E R S D O It could have been disastrous, but I think they both turned out well and audiences were very receptive. I've actually seen clips of Karen freedom fighters in a Thai movie theater giving "Rambo" a standing ovation and chanting the tag line from the movie, "Live for nothing, or die for something." It shows the power of story and cinema. I'm proud of my work on an HBO show called "Lovecraft Country." I edited an episode called "I Am" that revolved around Hippolyta Freeman, the character played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. The reactions and feedback from women in particular made me feel as though I had worked on something timely and important that gave a voice to people who felt they hadn't been heard enough. Creator Misha Green had a clear vision of what she wanted to say, and as a collaborator, I'd say that's the best work to be part of. Q: What was your biggest challenge in your job (or on a particular project) and how did you overcome/solve it? In general, sometimes the politics that come up during higher profile projects can be a lot to deal with. People rarely talk about this stuff openly, but by contrast with my ex- perience in live events and concerts where everyone is straight up about everything, this industry seems to run a lot on fear and power dynamics. There's a lot of money at stake with a lot of personalities involved, and we deal with extremely subjective clashing viewpoints when we try to create the best "version" of a story. This can create some extremely stressful situations for all involved. As an editor, you can sometimes get caught in the middle. I do my best to stay calm, to stay en- gaged, and to keep my ego in check. At the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing, and it's my job to facilitate navigating it all in the best way I can for the project. Being frank and honest with everyone has always been my best tool to deal with these kinds of scenarios. Q: What was the most fun you've had at work? This is kind of impossible for me to nail down. I've had so many amazing experi- ences in my career: Getting to travel while touring with Lollapalooza or Metallica as a video director, working closely with music legends like producer Bob Ezrin, collaborat- ing with iconic directors like Sly and helping to bring back these iconic characters I grew up with — and, quite frankly, working with some of the smartest, hardest-working, most talented craftspeople in the world. I feel blessed that I get to do all this for a living. Q: Jobwise, what do you hope to be doing five years from now? I would like to continue working on projects that touch people. As I get older and further along in my career, quality over quantity becomes more of a focus. Q: What are your outside activities, hobbies, passions? I have quite a few hobbies. I still study and play multiple instruments, dabble in vocals when nobody is around, and record my own music just for my own sanity. I also love sampling and making beats on my MPC. [Ed. Note: MPC Beats is a free beat-making software designed to be a user-friendly DAW (Digital Audio Worksta- tion) that provides a comprehensive set of tools for creating high-quality beats.] I like to read a lot, particularly things having to do with philosophy, paradox, and the human condition. Recently, I've been digging deeply into everything AI. That's an exciting space to me as a creative. I enjoy firearms, golf, and more than anything, loving on my dog, King. He's a 95-pound German Shepherd who looks scary but is such a sensitive and loving soul. I got him about nine years ago from a breed- er, which I wouldn't normally do, but I saw a picture of him and I just knew. He is the best companion anyone could ask for. Q: Favorite movie(s)? Why? "Amadeus" is one of my favorite films of all time. I always thought Salieri was a trag- ically sympathetic antihero — an extremely talented musician who found no joy in his own art because he obsessively compared himself to someone he considered on a higher level. I think that's very relatable for most creatives. "Young Frankenstein" is also one of my all-time favorite movies. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen it; Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder in top form. From a purely editorial perspective, "JFK" is one of my favorites. To this day, the editing still blows me away. "Goodfellas" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" are also edi- torially next-level for me. I can watch them over and over. Thelma Schoonmaker is a brilliant editor and, of course, Scorsese is definitely one of my favorite directors. "Dr Strangelove" is probably my favor- ite Kubrick movie. Peter Sellers, playing three characters, is absolutely genius. I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter's work. His DIY style is just punk rock. Love Hitchcock: The master in building tension and using the audience's imagina- tion against itself. Some of my favorite action-specif ic directors are John Woo, Gareth Evans, and Chad Stahelski. I'm also a huge fan of "hard R" comedies and satire: "Superbad," "Tropic Thunder," "Bridesmaids," "The Hangover " — I'll rewatch these films a lot. They are like com- fort food to me. Q: Favorite TV program(s)? I loved "Game Of Thrones," of course. "Breaking Bad" was an obsession for a while, one of the best TV shows ever. "Righ- teous Gemstones" is amazing! When I interviewed with Simon Kinberg for a project, he turned me on to HBO's com- edy-drama "Succession," which I proceeded to binge-watch to completion. I couldn't get enough of it. So good! I played "The Last Of Us" as a game, and I thought they did an amazing job bringing that to life. There's so much good television writing these days. Q: Do you have an industry mentor? There have been a few, but I would say Stallone has been my biggest mentor as an artist. I didn't go to film school, but I'd been creative my whole life through music. More than anyone, Sly taught me about the SEE PAGE 46