The Making of a Motion Picture Editor. Thomas A. Ohanian
TO: I didn’t know that.
JB: And it really did work like a charm. In fact, the producers tried to obtain the rights only to find that the price would be larger than the budget for the film. (Laughs) So they were forced to drop the idea and began a search for another song. Eventually I left the film for another project and they came up with the song people know and love. But the truth is that when I first heard it I really hated it. (Laughs) Funny Girl was such a sophisticated number and “Hey There Georgy Girl” was…
TO: More Pop?
JB: Yes. (Laughs) There you go. But the song went on to probably make more than the film itself! I was delighted in the end. The film was such a success.
TO: Georgy Girl, Funeral In Berlin, The Last Safari, and The Lion In Winter. You were doing a couple of movies a year.
JB: When I look back on my career, the truth is that there’s an extraordinary mix of things. Very, very good films or films in which one feels one has made tremendous input to make something that was poor into something that was presentable. I think there are films for which I was highly credited, and which were not very complicated or difficult in terms of editing.
TO: Are there films that you think should be revisited?
JB: Who’ll Stop The Rain in the late 1970’s for director Karel Reisz and a young Nick Nolte. He’s amazingly wonderful in that film. The subject matter was how the aftermath of the Vietnam War affected peoples’ judgment and it was extremely black. But it was a marvelous film. It was a remarkable and tough film, but it was lost without a trace.
TO: You worked with Richard Attenborough on three very different films—Magic, Gandhi, and A Chorus Line.
JB: With Richard, I felt such a true kindred spirit because here was a man of the theatre and an actor. And he had such a wonderful feeling for actors and performances. And I expect what I’ve prided myself on over the years, if I have anything to offer, is my judgment and feeling for performance. There is a consistency with Richard in that sense—of attention to everything that goes into the making of a performance. We just saw eye to eye in what we did. Chorus Line was a marvelous experience for me. I never dreamt that I would work on what would be termed a Hollywood musical.
TO: With Gandhi, did you feel the pressure of the public figure?
JB: No, I don’t think one thinks of that. We just think of it as a film. The other thing about Gandhi is that I actually tried to talk my way out of doing it! (Laughs)
TO: You’re kidding.
JB: No. I was already doing The French Lieutenant’s Woman at the time and the two films were going to overlap and I just didn’t see how it was going to be possible. At the time, Richard was having to make the film under studio-type conditions. By that I mean he was feeling he had to get a big Hollywood star to play Gandhi. I remember that when we finished Magic, Tony Hopkins was asked to play Gandhi.
TO: Was there a lot of material?
JB: Yes, there was a lot of footage, but you have to remember that we shot for almost six months. There was a lot, but it was spread out. It wasn’t like getting 15,000 feet a day with ten cameras. It was much more controlled.
TO: Did you have any idea the film was going to be so well received and so well awarded?
JB: No. Absolutely not. I did think we had a very, very good film. I suppose at that time I wondered if anyone was going to be interested in it. Would the western world in the mid-80’s be interested in it? I was absolutely amazed at the attention that it started to get. I think it was the first time that the studio publicity machine used words like “A World Event” and it really did get people going.
TO: Where were you when you heard you received your nomination?
JB: I was in Los Angeles working on the film Under Fire.
TO: Did you feel like you had a good chance?
JB: I did win the ACE award that year and it seemed that if you won the ACE you were the favorite. In some sense, though, you could say I had everything to lose rather than everything to gain!
TO: It’s Gandhi, Das Boot, E.T., An Officer And A Gentlemen, and Tootsie. Very big films.
JB: Yes, they were, actually.
TO: And when they announced your name?
JB: (Laughs) Oh my God, I don’t know! I think I was in a trance, actually! You know, I forgot to kiss my wife and I don’t think I ever recovered from that! I sort of wandered onto that stage. And I’m a pretty shy person. But I memorized my speech and got through it. And then they take you into a pressroom for interviews and I was with Tom Selleck and Raquel Welch.
TO: What do you think you’ve learned along the way?
JB: When I started I knew absolutely nothing about editing or how films were put together and every moment was learning along the way. I think in truth, every film I do comes to me as fresh and as a surprise. I find every film just as difficult as the previous one. I don’t think they’ve gotten easier over the years.
TO: How do you mean?
JB: I don’t mean in the technical sense. I just don’t feel that one gets to the stage where one knows it all.
TO: You’re evolving as the films change as well?
JB: Yes. Put it this way—however many films I’ve done, every film is fresh because it is new and the relationships one has to make are new. Don’t forget that the biggest thing on a film is how one relates to the director. And every time you work with a new director it really is a different kettle of fish.
TO: What stands out from dailies that you’ve received over the years?
JB: Oh, my. Ben Kingsley. We saw the test of him playing Gandhi and I was absolutely knocked back by it. I thought, ‘Wow, this could be a really interesting film!’ Another example was working with Meryl Streep on The French Lieutenant’s Woman who completely bowled me over.
TO: Are there films that you admire as well as other editors whose work you admire?
JB: I think anything that Dede Allen edited. I find her work breathtaking. Thelma Schoonmaker. Claire Simpson. I think they’re all wonderful editors.
TO: What films are among your favorites?
JB: The films of Dede Allen, like Dog Day Afternoon. That’s a perfect example of a film that I will watch at any time. The editing is superb but I watch films that I happen to love.
TO: Guy Hamilton.
JB: Solid. Professional. I enjoyed working with Guy very much. He was technically masterful.
TO: Karel Reisz.
JB: He was a most wonderful director. We had such a wonderful rapport and understanding. I loved what he did and admired him immensely.
TO: Mike Nichols.
JB: Working with Mike Nichols was a most wonderful time for me. We seemed to have a true rapport, especially on the first three films. Wit, Angels In America, and Closer are among the most satisfying and enjoyable of my career.
TO: You also received an Eddie award for Angels In America and an Emmy for Wit.
JB: Yes, well, it’s nice when they come to you, either early or late in one’s career! Very nice indeed. I was very nervous when I started editing Wit. Showing your first cut of a scene is always a nerve-racking experience if you haven't worked with that director previously. Fortunately, Mike was thrilled with what I showed him and thus began a wonderful period in my professional life.
TO: Any advice to budding editors?
JB: Go to the theatre as much as possible because that is where you are going to see what performances are really about.
TO: What keeps you editing?
JB: (Laughs) I