Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545099
52 M PS E . O R G U-571 (2000). His work spanned decades, genres, and evolving technologies, yet it always retained a clear sense of purpose. The goal was never to draw attention—it was to serve the film. I had the good fortune to cross paths with Steve more than once over the years. My colleagues at Weddington were part of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Raiders, and I was on the editorial crew for Speed. Over the course of his career, Steve worked on more than 200 films. The Black Stallion (1979), Poltergeist (1982), The Thing (1982), Gremlins (1984), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Ghost (1990), Twister (1996), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), The Time Machine (2002), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) … just to name a handful. I was fortunate to be part of Richard Anderson's editorial crew on several projects that Steve and his team mixed, including Edward Scissorhands (1990), Batman Returns (1992), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), and an early mix of The Majestic (2001). Once, after a run- through of a reel of effects I had cut, just before we broke for lunch, Steve turned to me and said he liked and appreciated how I had laid the effects out. It was a simple thing to say, but for me—early in my career, having built those tracks largely on instinct— it was an incredibly gracious and encouraging moment. Working in that same orbit was both an education and a thrill—close enough to see the work, to hear it, and to understand the level of craft it required. Steve Maslow was a craftsman—someone who showed up, did the work at the highest level, and helped shape the sound of films that audiences would carry with them for a lifetime. For all the accolades—and there were many—his work did what the best film sound always does. It disappeared into the experience. It became part of the story. But those of us who were there remember the man behind it. We remember the presence. We remember the work. And yes—we remember the hair. Steve Maslow leaves behind a body of work that helped define an era, and a legacy that continues to resonate in every mix that strives to serve the story first. He will be deeply missed. Steve Maslow and Steve Lee, 2019. Courtesy of Tom Meloeny