Guillermo del Toro receives the top honor at the ACE Eddie Awards
It’s a little known fact that after the Academy Awards, the Directors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes, the American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie Awards are the longest-running awards show in showbiz. So the spirits, as always at these ceremonies, were ebullient for the 69th edition held Friday night at the Beverly Hilton’s International Ballroom when that was pointed out to the more than 1,000 attendees at the black tie gala.
Continuing their winning streaks during this awards season, the editors of “The Favourite” (Yorgos Mavropsaridis, ACE) and “Bohemian Rhapsody” (John Ottman, ACE) took the top motion picture prizes.
The ACE Eddies honor the best editors in feature film, documentary film and television, with trophies for half-hour series, one hour series both for commercial and noncommercial TV, miniseries or television motion picture and non-scripted series, a total of 11 categories.
The evening started off with a celebratory cocktail hour before nominees and guests made their way into the ballroom for the festivities hosted by comedian Tom Kenny, with opening remarks from ACE president Stephen Rivkin.
The editors’ awards 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—with no editing.
Much of the time was taken lauding this year’s deserving honorees, who included Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, recipient of the organization’s prestigious ACE Golden Eddie honor.
It was presented to him by Octavia Spencer, who starred in last year’s Academy Award-winning best picture, del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” She quickly decided not to read the Teleprompter and to speak from the heart.
“More than being a marvelous filmmaker, he’s a wonderful person,” Spencer said. “When I met him– one of my icons – he changed my life forever. We had a 3 ½ hour meeting, talking about everything from politics, food and antiques, that culminated in him telling me he wrote the part of Zelda for me. It was beautifully executed.”
Del Toro gratefully accepted the honor, whose past recipients include J.J. Abrams, Norman Jewison, Nancy Meyers, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Robert Zemeckis, Alexander Payne, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, and lauded the importance of editors. “It’s not the craft and the technique but the partnership we have, which is intimate and vulnerable,” he said. “When two people agree in a room, one of them is not needed– so that is the true mark of their importance. An editor recognizes the movie when it goes by, stops it and talks to it.”
Other honorees were Jerrold Ludwig, ACE (“An Early Frost,” “Rich Man, Poor Man”) and Craig McKay, ACE (“Reds,” “The Silence of the Lambs”) –both of whom received Career Achievement awards. Their work was highlighted with clip reels exhibiting their tremendous contributions to film and television throughout their careers.
“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” (edited by Robert Fisher, Jr.) won Best Edited Animated Feature Film and “Free Solo” (edited by Bob Eisenhardt, ACE) won Best Edited Documentary (Feature).
On the television side, winners were “Atlanta — Teddy Perkins” (edited by Kyle Reiter) for Best Edited Comedy Series for Commercial Television, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — Simone” (edited by Kate Sanford, ACE) for Best Edited Comedy Series for Non-Commercial Television, “Killing Eve — Nice Face” (edited by Gary Dollner, ACE) for Best Edited Drama Series for Commercial Television, “Bodyguard — Episode 1” (edited by Steve Singleton) for Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television, “Escape at Dannemora — Episode Seven” (edited by Malcolm Jamieson & Geoffrey Richman ACE) for Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television, “Anthony Bourdain — Parts Unknown: West Virginia” (edited by Hunter Gross, ACE) for Best Edited Non-Scripted Series and “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind” (edited by Greg Finton, ACE & Poppy Das, ACE) won Best Edited Documentary (Non-Theatrical).
Emma Hickox, ACE presented the Anne V. Coates Student Editing Award to Marco Gonzalez of Boston University. Gonzalez took the prize over hundreds of competitors from film schools and universities around the country. The award was re-named this year in honor of legendary editor Coates, who was Hickox’s mother. She passed away this past year.
Presenters at the ACE Eddie Awards included Oscar® nominated director Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”), Oscar® nominated director and ACE Eddie Award nominee tonight for “Roma” Alfonso Cuarón, director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”), director Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”), D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”), Jennifer Lewis (“Black-ish”) Angela Sarafyan (“Westworld”), Harry Shum, Jr. (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Paul Walter Hauser (“BlacKkKlansman”) and film editor Carol Littleton, ACE.
Guests included Bradley Cooper (“A Star is Born”), producer of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Phil Lord, National Executive Director of the Motion Picture Editors Guild Cathy Repola and director of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Peter Ramsey, among many others.
Here is the complete list of winners:
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):
Bohemian Rhapsody
John Ottman, ACE
BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY):
The Favourite
Yorgos Mavropsaridis, ACE
BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Robert Fisher, Jr.
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Free Solo
Bob Eisenhardt, ACE
BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (NON-THEATRICAL):
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
Greg Finton, ACE & Poppy Das, ACE
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Atlanta: “Teddy Perkins”
Kyle Reiter
BEST EDITED COMEDY SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: “Simone”
Kate Sanford, ACE
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Killing Eve: “Nice Face”
Gary Dollner, ACE
BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:
Bodyguard: “Episode 1”
Steve Singleton
BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:
Escape at Dannemora: “Episode Seven”
Malcolm Jamieson & Geoffrey Richman ACE
BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:
Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown: “West Virginia”
Hunter Gross, ACE
STUDENT WINNER
Marco Gonzalez – Boston University
