Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538125
31 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E in Thailand, Pithai showed me video of these tribes of monkeys charging through the streets. They're like gang members, and they have turf wars as they go around stealing from people's homes. It's wild! Pithai had experience shooting these monkeys in their natural environment. He knew where they lived, where to find them, and how to shoot them. We went to a place in Phuket called Monkey Hill. There are monkeys everywhere, and they're used to all the tourists hiking around, so they're not afraid. You can go right up to them. Pithai knew how to give them treats and where to place the treats so we could get them to move and run where we needed them to. It was a dream to be in Thailand and have the kind of access and trust that Mike White gave me to just "go for it" and shoot whatever I needed. What a fantastic gift for an editor. CineMontage: When the shoot wraps, how do you transition back to working indoors in a cutting room? Valerio: It's nice to get settled back in a proper cutting room where I can focus my attention on the cuts without being whipsawed by second unit shooting. And we have the amazing fortune of posting on Kauai, Hawaii, near Mike's home. Mike is one of the smartest editors I've worked with. He's so good at shaping and bringing out the best in performances. He knows exactly what little things to chip away and how to restructure a scene or an entire episode to make it as engaging as possible. We always watch the first cut together. It's nerve-wracking for me to show him that cut because I'm aware of the expectations. I want him to love it. Like Lochlan Ratliff, "I'm a pleaser!" I'm thrilled when I can present a first cut that he's happy with. He'll give me his first impressions right away, in the room. Then he goes away and studies it more on his own and comes back with notes the next day. Sometimes he's excited and thinks it's all working great, and we only need some trims. Other times, a character's storyline might not be landing the way it should, or the structure isn't working, and we need to figure that out. Many scenes within the show are modular in this ensemble of characters, so we'll move the pieces around to maximize the momentum. CineMontage: What was left on the cutting room floor? Valerio: Oh my, there was a lot this sea- son. Most episodes were at least 90 minutes long, and we cut them down to about 60 minutes. The finale originally lasted about two hours and was cut down to 90 minutes. Every episode had some significant cuts. CineMontage: How do you collaborate with the rest of your editing team? Valerio: Our entire editorial team was terrific, and everyone contributed so much. Scott Turner, whom I've known for a long time, was our other editor. He'd been a post-production coordinator and then an assistant editor of mine on "Banshee." While I was in Thailand, he was back in LA cutting dailies for his episodes. We SEE PAGE 48 P H OT O : H B O SOUND MIX: Patrick Schwarzenegger, left, and Sam Nivola in "The White Lotus."