We’ve taken to calling them the B movies, although they are antithetical to what are widely considered B-movies in the traditional sense, because “Birdman,” “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” are the top contenders this awards season.
Last weekend, it was “Birdman’s” time to soar with wins at the Producers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild.
But now the attention is back on early favorite “Boyhood,” and checking in at the “Budapest,” with coveted wins Friday night at the American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie Awards, the 65th edition of which was held at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom.
The awards honor the top editors in feature film, documentary film and television, with kudos for half-hour series, one hour series both for commercial and noncommercial TV, miniseries or television motion picture and non-scripted series.
The evening started off with a festive cocktail hour before nominees and guests made their way into the ballroom.
Fans of “24” will always know and love her as Chloe, but Mary Lynn Rajskub also has a background in standup comedy and was a great host for the event, setting the tone for the evening with this joke: “ACE Eddies sounds like some exotic strain of marijuana. Forgive me, I’m a middle-aged mother, so I think pot is funny. I mean, forgive me, I’m a middle-aged mother, so I actually smoke a lot of pot. Forgive me, I’m lying, I actually tend toward amphetamines.”
Referencing “Birdman,” which was edited to look as if it were shot in a single take but which was aced out by “Budapest” in the comedy feature category, she said, “Not editing is the new editing.”
The editors’ award show, like those of several other professional guilds, is not televised, meaning the comic bits from the host and presenters and the acceptance speeches can go on as long as they like– which in this case meant until after midnight.
Much of the time was taken lauding this year’s deserving honorees, who included Frank Marshall, Diane Adler, Jerry Greenberg and Carolyn Giardina, who was given the Robert Wise award for her work as a journalist in bringing attention to the craft of editing.
Marshall, producer of films including “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T. The Extraterrestrial,” “The Goonies,” “Gremlins,” “Empire of the Sun,” “Back to the Future,” “”the Sixth Sense,” “Seabiscuit” and the four “Bourne” movies,” was presented the Golden Eddie Award by actor Chris Pratt, who will appear in the upcoming “Jurassic World.”
Amidst a list of Marshall’s prolific credits, he singled out “Back to the Future” is particularly important to him, saying: “I was in a love triangle with my parents, so that movie meant a lot.”
Greenberg and Adler both received career achievement awards from ACE. The Oscar-winning Greenberg’s resume includes editing iconic films including “Apocalypse Now,” “The French Connection,” “Scarface” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”
Adler’s credits include memorable television shows from the 1970s and 80s including “Kojak,” “The Bill Cosby Show,” “The Rockford Files” and “Spencer: for Hire.”
Here is the complete list of winners:
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
Boyhood
Sandra Adair, ACE
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Barney Pilling
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
The Lego Movie
David Burrows & Chris McKay
Best Edited One-Hour Series For Non-Commercial Television
True Detective: “Who Goes There”
Affonso Goncalves
Best Edited One-Hour Series For Commercial Television
Sherlock: “His Last Vow”
Yan Miles
Best Edited Half-Hour Series For Television
Veep: “Special Relationship”
Anthony Boys
Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture For Television
The Normal Heart
Adam Penn
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: “Iran”
Hunter Gross
Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
Citizenfour
Mathilde Bonnefoy
Best Edited Documentary (Television)
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History: Episode 3 / The Fire of Life
Erik Ewers
Student Editing Award
Johnny Sepulveda
–Hillary Atkin
