The 1999 Award Season Brings Honors to Members by Keith Lissak A.C.E. President Mark Goldblatt kicks off the A.C.E. Eddie Awards ceremony. Saving Private Ryan' may not have earned top honors at the Oscars (that distinction went to 'Shakespeare in Love'), but many of those who worked on Steven Spielberg's World War II tale of tragedy and triumph were recognized for their outstanding work at this year's award ceremonies. The film was a big winner at the 49th Annual A.C.E. Eddie Awards, the 46th Annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards and the 35th Annual Cinema Audio Society Awards. Leading the way among Local 700 members was editor Michael Kahn, A.C.E., who received both Oscar and Eddie awards for cutting 'Saving Private Ryan'. In addition, re-recording mixer Andy Nelson was part of the film's Oscar-winning sound team, and also took home a Cinema Audio Society Award for Sound Mixing. At the MPSE Golden Reel Awards, 'Saving Private Ryan' earned supervising ADR editor Larry Singer, MPSE, and ADR editors Denise Whiting, MPSE, and Thomas Whiting the award for Best Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement Editing in a feature film, and sound effects editor Karen Wilson and Foley editor Bruce Lacey the award for Best Sound Effects and Foley Editing in a feature film. Larry Singer and Thomas Whiting accept their MPSE Golden Reel Awards for Dialogue and ADR on 'Saving Private Ryan'. Presenter James Coburn shares a laugh with Michael Kahn, winner of the A.C.E. Eddie Award for his work on 'Saving Private Ryan'.   The Golden Reel-winning team of 'A Soldier's Sweetheart' The Cinema Audio Society kicked off the award season on Saturday, March 6, with its annual awards banquet, held this year at the Sheraton Universal hotel. The evening was emceed by actor Corbin Bernsen and attended by over 400 members of the Hollywood sound community. In addition to handing out the C.A.S. Sound Mixing Awards and honoring the 1998 Emmy winners and Oscar nominees, a Career Achievement Award was bestowed upon Oscar-winning sound mixer Gene Cantamessa, C.A.S. With a career spanning five decades, Gene's credits include 'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial', 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', 'Blazing Saddles', 'Young Frankenstein', '2010', 'The Big Chill' and 'Six Days', 'Seven Nights'. On Saturday, March 13, the American Cinema Editors gathered at the Beverly Hilton hotel. The evening was hosted by French Stuart, co-star of 'Third Rock from the Sun', who kept the festivities rolling with his witty repartée. At one point he quipped: "The editor represents different things to different people. To the director, he is a co-pilot. To the audience, he is a sleight-of-hand artist. To the actor, he is the devil." Judee and Stephen Flick accept their Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing of a Special Venue Film for 'T-Rex - Back to the Cretaceous. The annual A.C.E. Awards honor editing in a range of film and television categories. The evening also saw veteran editors John Bloom, A.C.E., and Arthur Schneider, A.C.E., receive Career Achievement Awards. John Bloom was cited for his distinguished list of feature film credits, including 'Georgy Girl', 'The Lion in Winter', 'Magic', 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', 'A Chorus Line', 'Who'll Stop the Rain', 'Under Fire' and 'Gandhi', for which he received Oscar and Eddie awards. Getting his start in 1942, Arthur "Jump Cut" Schneider was recognized for his pioneering work in television, most notably on the Bob Hope specials and 'Laugh In'. A highlight of the evening was Steven Spielberg's presentation of the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award to producer-director Stanley Donen, who charmed the more than 800 in attendance with his grace, wit and style. The night before the Oscars, Saturday, March 20, saw the sound editing community gather for the MPSE Golden Reel Awards at the Century Plaza Hotel. "The Exodus" episode of ER was a multiple winner in the television categories, as was 'Saving Private Ryan' in the feature categories. Always a good time, this year's event was lively as ever. The Editors Guild congratulates all those members who were honored this year with nominations, and salutes all of you who took home our industry's highest awards. The complete list of Local 700's winners and nominees.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 20, No. 2 - March/April 1999   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700