Picture Editor Geraldine Peroni

Geraldine Peroni, a 19-year Guild member and Academy Award-nominated picture editor, passed away of undetermined causes August 3 at her home in New York City.

Peroni, 51, received her Oscar nomination in 1993 for “The Player,” directed by Robert Altman (shown), who developed a strong working relationship with Peroni over the years.

Contacted at his New York production office, Altman, who expressed sadness at Peroni’s loss, indicated that she started working with him as an apprentice in the early 1980s. “Then, she came over to France to work with me on ‘Vincent & Theo’ in 1990. She worked on a total of eight films with me; the most recent of which was my last film, ‘The Company,’ ” the director explained.

Altman said Peroni “was just smarter than I was…she became my taste…I’ll try to remember what she taught me for the future…she had an honest human attitude. I certainly have a lot of respect for her. An editor becomes a part of your brain. My
experiences with her are all individual and successful. We all did our parts, but she was in the main brain cells. She’ll be really missed.” Other Altman films Peroni edited were “Short Cuts,” “ Pret-a-Porter,” “Kansas City,” “The Gingerbread Man” and “Dr. T & the Women.”

Among other credits she held as picture editor were “Cradle Will Rock,” “Michael,” “Johnny Suede” and episodes of the HBO TV series, “The Wire.”

Peroni was born in Manhattan and grew up in Rockaway Beach, Queens. Before entering into a film career, she held a variety of jobs, including a waitress and taxicab driver. She learned of film editing from a fellow cab driver who worked part time in the industry. Soon after, Peroni applied to Hunter College and began taking film classes.

Her first picture job was as an editorial apprentice on the 1983 adaptation of “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute.”

In 1987, Peroni was an assistant editor on “Matewan” and she assisted Thelma Schoonmaker on Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988), as well as his segment of “New York Stories” (1990). She also served as a co-editor on “Iron & Silk” in 1990. Most recently, Peroni was serving as editor on Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” set to be released in 2005.
She leaves a sister, Pam O’Grady, and a brother, Peter Peroni.

– Sharon Benoit

Music Editor Paul Silver

Music editor Paul Joseph Silver, 38, died of lymphoma August 4th at UCLA Medical Center. His sudden illness came as a shock to his family and many friends in the film industry.

Originally from Holmdel, NJ, Silver was very active in sports until he experienced total kidney failure as a teenager. He underwent two transplants by the time he was 19, forcing him to gain the kind of maturity and perspective found in someone much older. He graduated from Penn State and got his first job in New York, running film clips for ABC.

Silver moved to Los Angeles in 1990 and joined the Editors Guild membership as a sound apprentice in 1992. His first credit was “Out on a Limb.” He met fellow assistant, Lisa Linder, while working on that picture. Linder later became his wife.

In 1992, he began a long association with music editor Will Kaplan on the picture, “The Gun in Betty Lou’s Handbag.” Some of Silver’s other credits as an assistant are “Corrina, Corrina,” “How to Make an American Quilt,” “Crimson Tide” and “Eraser.”

Silver began his solo career as a music editor in 1998, specializing in animation. His credits include “Looney Tunes,” “The Emperor’s New Groove,” “Cats and Dogs,” “Dr. Doolittle,” “Bartok The Magnificent” and “The Cheetah Girls.” During his career, he worked with several composers, including Thomas Newman, John Debney, Richard Gibbs and Trevor Rabin.

Silver is survived by his wife, Lisa, an animation editor, and their two young daughters, Izabella and Chloe. A fund has been created to offset some of Silver’s medical expenses and provide for his daughters’ college trusts. Donations can be sent to The Paul Silver Memorial Fund, 14234 Margate St., Sherman Oaks, CA 91401.