Ep. 26 – Deconstructing Mentorship and Promoting Diversity with editor Troy Takaki, ACE

January 26, 2022

Troy Takaki, ACE is a top film editor (and bass player for the punk band The Boneless Ones), who has cut such box office hits as SWEET HOME ALABAMA starring Reese Witherspoon and HITCH starring Will Smith.  He is one of the few picture editors that splits his time between features and television.  He recently edited shows such as YOU  for Netflix and MR. MERCEDES for Direct TV, and is currently editing CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN  for Disney Plus. 

Aside from working on great projects, Troy has been very active in Hollywood mentoring those in the post production industry. He started the American Cinema Editors’ Diversity Mentorship Program after editor Lilian Benson did an informal count several years ago and found that there were fewer than 25 people of color in the organization.

In episode 26 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor Podcast, Troy will dive deep into mentoring – what it means to be mentored, how you can mentor other people, and why it’s so important in the post production industry. He’ll also break down his mentoring process and give advice on how you can find your own mentors.

Troy will also tell us about his book “Don’t Miss Out On Any Avocado Milkshakes: The Art and Joy of Being a Film Editor” and explain what American Cinema Editors and the ACE Diversity Mentorship Program are all about, as well as how you can become a member of both of these groups.

Other topics Troy and I discuss are the importance of cutting projects on the side, how you can break in to Hollywood, why it’s best to be in LA in you want to work in film or scripted television, and how you can get bumped up from assistant to editor.

Tons of great advice in this one!


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Featured Music: “Crossing Over” and “Back To The Grind” by The Boneless Ones

Original Music: “Apollo’s Haze” and “Do You Want” by Jesusdapnk
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