ACE Eddie Awards: "Captain Phillips" Surprises
Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 12:15PM The Ace Eddie Award is given by Hollywood's film editor's guild. It was a very good year for music, since three of the big winners (20 Feet From Stardom, Frozen, and Behind the Candelabra) are musicals or in bed with the genre somehow. But that's not the big story.
The big surprise has to be the win for Captain Phillips which was up against both Gravity and 12 Years A Slave, the two presumed frontrunners for the Best Picture Oscar. What a tight race this year is bringing us and BEST EDITING, when it's announced on Oscar night, will not tell us who's winning Best Picture. It's oft repeated that it's nearly impossible to win Best Picture without an Editing nomination. But it's VERY possible to lose Editing and still win Best Picture. In fact, nearly half of modern Best Pictures do lose that statue...
The Past Twenty Years - Editing/Picture Disagreements
1995 Apollo 13/Braveheart
1998 Saving Private Ryan/Shakespeare in Love
1999 The Matrix/American Beauty
2000 Traffic/Gladiator
2001 Black Hawk Down/A Beautiful Mind
2004 The Aviator / Million Dollar Baby
2007 The Bourne Ultimatum/No Country For Old Men
2010 The Social Network / The King's Speech
2011 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo / The Artist
It's worth noting that when the Oscar for editing does not match Best Picture it nearly always goes to a film that depends heavily and obviously on its editing: films that lean toward suspense, war, sci-fi or genre thrills of some type. I am beginning to wonder if Captain Phillips and Gravity might split this natural appeal, leaving 12 Years a Slave a path to the win for its precise drama.
EDDIE WINNERS, FEATURE FILMS
Jay Cassidy. Three time winner
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC)
Captain Phillips Christopher Rouse, A.C.E.
Rouse previously won both the Eddie and the Oscar for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
American Hustle Jay Cassidy, A.C.E., Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, A.C.E.
This is Cassidy's third Eddie win (they really really like him) following Silver Linings Playbook, and An Inconvenient Truth. He has yet to win an Oscar. Baumgarten previously won the Eddie for television's Recount.
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Frozen Jeff Draheim
This is Draheim's second lead job on a feature following The Princess and the Frog
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
20 Feet from Stardom Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber & Jason Zeldes
They hand out television prizes too...
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION)
The Assassination of President Kennedy Chris A. Peterson
BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION
The Office: “Finale” David Rogers & Claire Scanlon
BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Breaking Bad: “Felina” Skip MacDonald A.C.E.
BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Homeland: “Big Man in Tehran” Terry Kelley, A.C.E.
BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:
Behind the Candelabra Mary Ann Bernard
BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Tokyo Nick Brigden
BEST STUDENT EDITING
Ambar Salinas, Video Symphony
Reader Comments (23)
As soon as I saw this, I remembered that Kris Tapley called it. Another one for American Hustle - this race is hilarious.
This prize must go to 12 Years a Slave. Steve McQueen's pics have wondrous editing. So discreet and so powerful!
I've seen all the best pic choices, and Captain Phillips is the one that I find myself most thinking I want to view again. Its such a tight picture in all ways and I'm not surprised it won here. I think Hanks would be in the running for best actor if he hadn't had Mr. Banks on the cards as well (split votes).
I will be happy to see either Gravity or 12YaS win as I think they are both worthy, but I wouldn't be disappointed to see this win either, editing or Best Picture.
Editing is really something of a 4-way race, even if Gravity remains the putative frontrunner. You can make a compelling case for Captain Phillips, 12YAS, American Hustle, AND Gravity. The latter 3 have Best Picture heat. Phillips/Gravity have the action/suspense that often rules the category. Hustle has gotten a lot of publicity mileage out of highlighting David O. Russell's unique and improvisatory process -- foregrounding the mammoth task of the editors in whittling all that footage down into a coherent (though some might disagree) final product.
On Oscar night, a Hustle or 12YAS victory would probably be the bellwether of which way Best Picture is headed. There's still room for ambiguity in that final race should Phillips or Gravity win, simply because those 2 line up better with past Editing victors that did not also take Picture.
I just saw Dallas Buyer's Club in London. When it was nominated for editing, I was a bit surprised, but after watching 10 minutes of it, I understood the nomination.
RJ -- i would say that is correct. I think only a win by 12 Years a Slave would guarantee a follow up Best Picture prize.
I saw "Gravity" this afternoon & that's it: the most overrated movie of the year (there's always one)...
stjeans: You are right, there's always one overrated film every year. But this year it definitely and absolutely is American Hustle, not Gravity.
PJ- Oh! PJ Darling sorry but you are wrong 'cause " yes "American Hustler" is a bit over rated but at least they have Jlaw & Amy Adams when all "Gravity" as is an hyperventilating Bullock & a very pathetic Clooney....
What PJ said.
What PJ and brookesboy said.
stjeans -- i'm gonna have to go with stejans here. I almost find it hilarious how much people hate American Hustle because it was so much fun. the cast is clearly having a ball
If we're going by 'overrated', then from the slate of Best Pic nominees, the only ones I feel live to their hype are Her, Captain Philips and Philomena (but this one is a case of minimal buzz).
American Hustle, Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraska, Wolf of Wall Street, even 12 Years a Slave, all, in one way or another, are overrated. Some more than others (Hustle > 12YAS for example but then again people don't stop labelling 12YAS "masterpiece" which it clearly isn't, sorry).
Nathan, i think that's part of the prob with AH--the cast is having too much fun. And the effect is a seeming unprofessionalism (though I did think Adams was good). But I blame Russell for letting the misguided improvising push the movie off the rails.
Sorry all you American Hustle lovers. This was THE most overrated film of 2013. And the session I saw - NOT ONE PERSON laughed. Not even a chuckle.
As for Gravity - unless you saw it on the big screen and preferably 3D - then you can't dismiss it as a dud.
All I hope on Oscar night is American Huste DOES NOT win Best PIcture. We've seen enough unworthy pics receiving the Best Pic Oscar in recent years and don't need another one thanks.
Nathaniel and all AH lovers, don't get me wrong, I like AH just fine, and totally agree it is fun. Nut tell me 10 nominations with all 4 acting nods including Christian Bale edging out Tom Hanks and Redford, tell me that is not overrated.
Good for Captain Phillips. Saw it months ago before many of the big titles opened (Wolf, August, Hustle) and I believe is superior to all of them. Plus, I don't think AH is well edited at all.
Wait, American Hustle was edited?
ZV - LOL
ZV-that's awesome.
bette streep -- i would hate to have been with that group. we laughed pretty frequently. but dead audiences can really hurt comic movies
I like Tom Hanks in this film. "When i have nothing else to say I say about my job or the job says about me ? "No country for old men"
People were ready to hate American Hustle before it was released (in fact, people are already preparing to hate Russell's next film). Mission accomplished.