2011 - Best Editing

POTENTIAL FRONTRUNNERS

1. Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
   The Academy Award-winning Fincher-regulars (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac) could easily pull off another win this year since their film definitely needs some remarkably flashy editing and based on the short trailer, they pulled that off.
2. Michael Kahn (War Horse)
   The three-time Academy Award-winning Spielberg regular (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones, Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich etc.) is always a safe bet and if the film becomes the frontrunner, he will be definitely top2.
3. Hank Corwin, Jay Robinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa (The Tree of Life)
   Talk about an impressive collaboration...IF the Academy gets the film, they will definitely nominate the editing team.
4. Claire Simpson (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)
   The Academy Award-winning Simpson (Platoon) previously worked with Daldry on The Reader so if she can bring the same quality here, she'll probably get in. A lot will depend on how 'big' the film will be...if it becomes THE frontrunner, Simpson will get in without a hitch.
5. Thelma Shoonmaker (Hugo Cabret)
   Scorsese's three-time Academy Award-winning editing lady (The Departed, The Aviator, Goodfellas etc.) is always an instant contender.
6. Mark Day (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II)
   He has been editing Harry Potter since the fifth film, so he might get his very first nomination for the final part. Even though the main categories are big question marks in this case, the technical ones should be an easy ride...although the 5 editing-nominees will be most certainly best picture nominees, as well...
7. Christopher Tellefsen (Moneyball)
   He had done some great work in the past (Capote, Man on the Moon) and this film definitely sounds like an editor's dream job...so I guess it will come down to whether it could pull off a best picture nomination or not.
8. Joel Cox and Gary Roach (J. Edgar)
   The Eastwood-regulars are definitely contenders, the question is how strong contenders ?
9. Alisa Lepselter (Midnight in Paris)
   She has some impressive credits on her CV (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Match Point, Sweet and Lowdown), so who knows, this could be the year of her first nomination.
10. Stephen Mirrione (The Ides of March)
    The Traffic's Oscar-winning editor might just find himself back in the game this year if Clooney's film really delivers.

STRONG CONTENDERS

11. Ronald Sanders (A Dangerous Method)
    Cronenberg's regular editor has done some excellent work recently (A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, Spider), so if the film will be the director's first Oscar-movie, it will be probably Sanders's first nomination, as well.
12. Hervé de Luze (Carnage)
    If the film becomes a player, this could be exactly the kind of low-key, understated editing that could get in without a hitch.
13. Dino Jonsater (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
    He did a great job on Let the right one in, so he definitely has a shot at becoming the „newcomer” in the category.
14. ??? (The Iron Lady)
    I didn't find the editor on this one, but if the film will be well-received enough, who knows, it could end up here, as well.
15. Nicholas Chaudeurge (Wuthering Heights)
    Venice will tell us how seriously we should consider this one.
16. Kevin Tent (The Descendants)
    Could this be the year of this Payne regular's first Oscar-nomination ?
17. Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey (Super 8)
    The film is liked but not loved and since it won't be a top player, it will not get a crucial editing nomination, either.
18. Nicolas Gaster (Coriolanus)
    I really like his work, especially Moon...but the film seems to fade quickly.
19. Matthew Newman (Drive)
    The outstanding early word suggests that even this could happen in the end.
20. Hughes Winborne (The Help)
    Academy Award-winning Winborne (Crash) probably won't be true to his name this year, but that doesn't mean the film couldn't surprise us all and become a solid contender in the long run.
21. Francois Gedigier (On the Road)
    The source material is baity enough, so if everything works out, he might have a shot at this after all...although a release date would definitely help.
22. Joe Hutsing and Mark Livolsi (We bought a Zoo)
    Two-time Academy Award-winner Hutsing has had her fair share of Cameron Crowe's glory days (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) BUT he was also there when he started slipping (Vanilla Sky). Hopefully they are back to their A-game now.
23. Zach Staenberg (In Time)
    Matrix's Oscar-winning editor ? Sounds excellent considering this is a sci-fi from the mastermind behind Gattaca.
24. Anne-Sophie Bion (The Artist)
    The film HAS TO become a top (=top5) player in order to pull off an editing nomination...it probably has a better shot at other technical categories (costume design, art direction).
25. Barney Pilling (One Day)
    He has been doing solid work (An Education, Never let me go, Miss Pettigrew lives for a day) so if he keeps it up, he will be bound to get a nomination/win one day.
26. Carol Littleton (The Rum Diary)
    She was nominated for this tiny little film called E.T....so, yes, she COULD pull it off without a hitch but I'm just gonna ask what I ALWAYS want to ask when it comes to the awards potential of this film : can FilmDistrict provide the campaign that could make this a player or not ?
27. Adam Recht (My Week with Marilyn)
    He hasn't done anything outstanding yet, so it's doubtful this will be it...although the Weinsteins in his corner, definitely help his case.
28. Joe Bini (We need to talk about Kevin)
    If US-critics will love it as much as Cannes-critics did, it has a decent shot at becoming a strong contender, and if that happens, Bini will suddenly be much higher on this list.
29. José Salcedo (The Skin I live in)
    Will this be the year of this Almodóvar-regular's first Oscar nomination ? Considering his body of work (Talk to her, All about my mother, Volver, Bad Education etc), it wouldn't be surprising at all.
30. Stephen Mirrione (Contagion)
    So here's the question : could the Oscar-winning duo (Mirrione and Soderbergh) of Traffic pull off another glorious Awards Season ?

LONG SHOTS

31. ??? (In the Land of Blood and Honey)
    The film could go either way, the genre and Jolie's star power could boost its Oscar-chances but critics have to seriously fall in love with it.
32. Melanie Oliver (Jane Eyre)
    On paper, the film has everything a serious Oscar-contender could ask for : rave reviews, Academy-friendly genre and source material, acclaimed rising stars, top-notch production values...if it weren't for that damn early release date, it could be considered a top player...
33. Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff)
    Ditto...although the fact that the film's director could get the editing nomination in this case, definitely gives it the edge.
34. Molly Marlene Stensgaard and Morten Højbjerg (Melancholia)
    Even if it weren't for the scandal, the Academy just doesn't GET Lars von Trier so this probably wouldn't have happened anyway.
35. Parke Gregg (Take Shelter)
    In my opinion, the film could be THE dark horse of the season in a lot of categories...editing is one of those.
36. Elena Ruiz (The Impossible)
    ONLY if it becomes a top5 player.
37. Glenn Scantlebury and Barbara Tulliver (Dream House)
    Mystery thrillers are not the Academy's thing...and if this one doesn't receive some SERIOUS Academy love (bp-bd), it will not stand a chance in this category.
38. Paul Tothill (Hanna)
    I found the editing – and the film – extraordinary but unfortunately it divided critics and it needed universal acclaim even to have a tiny shot at surviving the murderous release date. What frustrates me even more, that Tothill's remarkable work on Atonement AND Pride and Prejudice, were also ignored by the Academy. Hopefully he'll be back with Joe Wright on Anna Karenine and the Academy will FINALLY welcome this duo with open arms...something they should have done years ago.
39. Lee Smith and Eddie Hamilton (X-Men : First Class)
    Not Academy-friendly enough...although Smith DID receive a nomination for a comic book film (The Dark Knight).
40. Peter R. Adam (Anonymous)
    I am so incredibly skeptical AND fascinated at the same time when it comes to this film, that I just simply can't say a thing about it until the reviews come out.
41. Mike Cahill (Another Earth)
    Hah, what gives : Mike Cahill also edited the film...he also served as the producer, director, writer, cinematographer...so if the film is a hit with the Academy, they just have to pick one to acknowledge Cahill's work.
42. Dana E. Glauberman (Young Adult)
    I only list this film here, because Jason Reitman's excellent track record with the Academy, suggests that Young Adult MIGHT emerge as a top player...MIGHT. And if that happens, an editing nomination should be close enough.
43. ??? (Albert Nobbs)
    Another one with a mysterious editor...when I find out who is it, I'll update.
44. Joe Walker (Shame)
    He did a great job with Hunger and the more I think about Shame the more I can see it emerge as a MUCH stronger-than-expected contender.
45. Kate Williams (The Eye of the Storm)
    I really like her work (Frozen River, Interview) and I can actually see this film turning out to be truly excellent...it just needs some hype already!
46. Joe Klotz (Violet and Daisy)
    Again, I REALLY like his work (Precious, Rabbit Hole, Junebug), I'm just skeptical about the directorial debut of ANOTHER Oscar-winning screenwriter. Hopefully Fletcher will fare better than Dustin Lance Black and William Monahan.
47. Peter Lambert (A Better Life)
    Great early word put this film on the map...but the early release date could easily make it disappear.
48. Zachary Stuart-Pontier (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
    Ditto.
49. Réka Lemhényi (The Door)
    Oh, just give me some decent early word already ! I mean the last related piece of news on IMDB was posted in March...2010 !!!
50. Danny Tull (W.E.)
    Look up his resume....two words : NOT GOOD. Frankly, I would rather see the remarkable Source Code or the expertly edited Limitless on the list, but both were released too early and neither is exactly Academy-friendly...not that „written and directed by Madonna” will get the voters excited, but it's only fair to give her the benefit of the doubt...on paper, she COULD surprise.

OUT (for now)

Limitless

Source Code

Salmon Fishin in the Yemen

Machine Gun Preacher

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