The Great Leap Forward

An Interview with Editor Alan Cody

by Linda Dove

Alan Cody is currently editing 'Meet the Deedles', a Disney comedy. Until last year he was an assistant. Then he cut 'Speed 2: Cruise Control.' How did he make that leap?

Alan: I remember when I was told I was going to be cutting 'Speed 2' I was very excited and nervous, and then I read the script - it was such a page turner, something

Alan Cody is currently in Utah cutting 'Meet the Deedles'

was always happening-- and I thought, how am I going to cut this movie? This is huge! I thought, how else do people grow? You just kind of bite off more than you can chew-that's the only way-and hopefully you don't choke on it. Fortunately it was a great experience.

Q: How did you get your start?

Alan: While going to film school I did many internships and, prior to graduating, I was offered my first job in the editing room. Towards the end of that film I hung out at the 'Punchline' cutting-room at night and met Bruce Green and Billy Goldenberg. Billy went on to cut a small film and I assisted him. Then he was offered a job assisting Michael Kahn and brought me over there. I started working with Michael on 'Arachnophobia', in about '89.

"I started as the third assistant and during about six years worked my way up and became the first-when Billy left I came on as the first on 'Jurassic Park' I was associate editor, which is more or less a glorified first assistant, on 'Twister.' After that Jan de Bont gave me an opportunity to cut. Michael is very willing to give his assistants the opportunity to move up, and to help them. And of course Jan had to give me the opportunity, which was an incredible break for me. But it was with Michael's blessing, which means a lot.

Immersion Learning

Q: And you'd been cutting scenes, presumably?

Alan: With Michael you don't cut a lot, you cut a little bit. You make changes with Michael there and the director, but he doesn't give you a lot of scenes to cut, rather he brings you in and immerses you in the process of editing. I was talking to another editor who came from working with Michael about this-and he told me that once you get the opportunity to start editing on your own you'll be amazed how much you actually learn from Michael. It's knowing how to approach the material, it's knowing how to be an editor rather than just edit. He teaches you how not to be intimidated if there's 100,000 feet sitting in front of you, which can be very intimidating. I presume there might be other editors that give the same kind of training to their assistants also, I know there aren't many. I don't believe that, without that training, I would have been able to tackle such a huge job as 'Speed 2.'

Q: Explain what you mean about being an editor.

Alan: It has to do with not just cutting the film, it's knowing how to deal with the politics as well. On movies that are being made for tens of millions or a 100 million dollars plus, the politics get a little crazy.

It's knowing how to approach the material, how to be an editor rather than just edit.

Q: The politics of the editing room seems to be almost as important as your actual craft skill.

Alan: Almost. You definitely have to be able to deliver and have to know how to work with the film and how to present a focused viewpoint. There's kind of a duality here-keep the politics away, just stay in there and do your work, just edit the film. At the same time know what's going on and know what's happening outside. Within your editing room all information has to come through you and go out through you. It's important so that you don't get caught in a situation where something's going on that you don't know about. As much as you try to keep the politics out of the editing room they always seem to find their way in. One thing I've learned is that your loyalty has to be with the director.

Q: You cut on an Avid?

Alan: Lightworks. This was my second film doing non-linear, I loved it. As easy as it is to bring someone through a doorway, or do a chase scene and have the continuity of someone running around the corner, sometimes I'll admit I've got to maybe trim frames to make a better cut. Maybe trim two frames. But you may take a focus on a scene and then look at it and say, it's just not right. Non-linear definitely makes it easier to make those changes. I've had the opportunity to be around great filmmakers who never stop striving to make their films the best they can be. I think if you've grown up in films that weren't as good, maybe you'll never really know when the scene is right. If you've worked with an editor that
wasn't as good as Michael Kahn and directors that weren't as good as the directors he worked with and they just accepted scenes while not striving for the best-This is the shot, it's the best it's going to be and that's it, let's move on -you'll never know, you may accept that, when really it could be better. Having the opportunity to work on great films, I know how good a scene can be and that's one thing I keep striving for when cutting a scene.

Q: So was the experience of cutting 'Cruise Control' the way you expected? Was it harder or easier?

Alan: It was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better situation. It was a lot of film but you just do one cut at a time. I get in early and I work as late as I have to - I'd get in between 6:30 and 7 during dailies. After that the schedule is based on how the director wants to work.

Q: And previews, presumably?

Alan: We really only had one preview. We didn't have time to have any more than that. That had to do with this crazy summer with a new blockbuster coming out every weekend. The studio felt that it was better to get the film out earlier.

Q: How many weeks shooting were there?

Alan: They started shooting in the middle of September and went to the very end of February, a week in L.A. then a couple of weeks in Florida. Then they took the ship across to the Caribbean, to St. Martin and St. Bart's. I was here, flying out there every three weeks showing Jan cut scenes.

A Week In The Bahamas

Q: So you didn't watch dailies together?

Alan: No, we had a wonderful script supervisor. She'd go to dailies, take notes with Jan and send them over. It really worked well, but towards the end, since we knew the schedule was being pushed up and it was very busy, Jan wanted me with them. I took a Lightworks and worked a week in the Bahamas and on St. Martin for a month.

Q: It's not easy to get to these islands.

Alan: You have to go to Miami and then to San Juan and then to St. Martin. Whatever you imagine about the Caribbean, that was it. Good restaurants and big boats. It really was a beautiful location.

Starting Off Fast

Q: It' a fun movie...

Alan: People really have a good time with it. We hoped it would make more money. With a summer like this if you don't get in there and make it your first weekend it's really difficult because there's always a big movie coming out every weekend after. Fortunately, it's doing very well abroad [approaching $133 million by mid-September]. The people who see 'Speed 2' like it and have a good time. You go in thinking that Jan's going to send you on a ride, and that's what he does, he sends his audience on a ride.

Q: You start off fast and then keep going. It's not like old movies where they'd slowly build.

Alan: It did initially start off with a slightly slower pace actually, but in the editing room we just felt with 'Speed' we would like to get into it a little quicker.

Q: So did you have an agent to get this film?

Alan: To be honest with you I was thinking I don't really need an agent for 'Speed 2', they take 10% of your salary, what do I need one for, I already got the job. I met with Jan and he said, Have you made your deal yet? and I said I hadn't. He goes, Well just have your agent call so-and-so at Fox. I said, OK. I didn't want to do anything to make anybody question what they were doing hiring me so I went to the Gersh agency, signed all the papers and that was it. I said, Here's the person you're supposed to talk to, call them and make the deal. And that was all I cared about because I'm sure studios aren't giving opportunities like this out all the time.

Alan barely had time to draw breath before he was off to Utah on 'Meet the Deedles.' What was the secret of his success?

Alan: My résumé alone makes a good impression. It's even surprising to me but working on top quality films means a lot, even as an assistant. I worked on 'Schindler's List', 'Twister', 'Jurassic Park', 'Casper', these are big visual

Part of it is just attitude.

effects movies and they did very well. People are impressed by that, even though I was only an assistant or an associate editor on them. And then I cut 'Speed 2' and I did that on my own. But part of it is just an attitude - how I worked; it just clicked with the director. You make it clear that as an editor you're there to support the director, and whatever he needs you will fulfill those needs. Maybe the way I work wouldn't work for some directors, I don't know. I get in there, I get it done, I work really hard, and I like to keep the director involved in the editing process.

Q: Do you make suggestions to him?

Alan: Of course. As the scene is completed I like to show the director right away, get his input, make the changes as I'm working on the next scene so I can go back and show him the scene with the changes. By the time the movie's all done he's seen every scene at least twice. By the end you're so in tune with what he likes-you learn a lot about him by his changes on the scenes and where he's going with it-it's invaluable, I think. I hear of directors that don't like to see a frame of film until they're done. I wouldn't really like to work that way, though of course I'm flexible enough so that if that's what the director wanted I would do it.

Coping With The Pressure

Q: And how do you cope with the pressure? Are you a Zen Buddhist or a Zoroastrian?

Alan: No. I was raised with a very strong work ethic so I get very focused and I just want to do the best I can. The pressure is more the pressure that I put upon myself because I've always strived to be better. Once you're the editor though, it's so much more fun, there is pressure but, wow, you're the editor!

Five Assistants

Q: Is there something that you learned that you could pass on to other aspiring assistants? Maybe about being a good assistant?

Alan: It's hard for me to say, different rooms work differently. My experience isn't that vast within multiple editing rooms. With Michael you learn how to be disciplined. There are no excuses. I think because of that, my standards are very high. I'm not saying that other people can't meet them or aren't at that level, but some people just aren't used to working like that. As far as assisting, you just have to actually listen to the editor and see what he wants.

I like to have an assistant in the room when I'm working with the director. I think it speeds the process up, if we're looking for other takes or shots or he's coming up with notes or ideas for other people, I have my assistant there taking notes as I'm making changes on the scene. But when I'm first cutting I don't have an assistant in the room with me.

[On 'Speed 2'] I had five assistants and an editorial P.A. With features, when you're doing non-linear, you almost have two crews. It's best if those crews kind of mesh but quite often there's a separation and you have a non-linear crew and a film crew. You can get away with fewer assistants if you don't ever want to look at film. But when you're working on a bigger budget film and you have a DP and a director that want to look at the film it's always better. You know what material you're getting, looking at it on film.

Q: I'll finish where we began. Which school did you go to that set you on this road?

Alan: I went to Cal State Northridge, to their Film School. A college education is invaluable but as far as film school goes, I don't think that's invaluable. People who went to UCLA or USC make better connections but I think doing the internships and working with the right people, that was the invaluable experience.