Ep. 38 – How To Make a Good First Impression and Transitioning to Feature Films with James Wilcox, ACE

March 14, 2023

I’m talking to award-winning editor James Wilcox, ACE on episode 38 and he talks about his career journey from starting in news in Atlanta to now being Ron Howard’s editor, having cut Hillbilly Elegy  for the Oscar-winning director and most recently Thirteen Lives which we are gonna hear all about the editing of that film today.  He’ll also share advice for anyone that is looking to make their way to cutting feature films.

James and I also discuss how to make a good first impression with potential employers, clients, or directors, and the importance of offering up our best self all the time. It’s a fun conversation full of excellent advice from James and we definitely have a great time and share lots of laughs along the way.

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Some other great takeaways from this episode include:

  • Why aspiring editors should take acting classes
  • Why assistants need to be cutting something every day
  • What James learned from working with Oscar-winning director James Cameron
  • The value of assistant editors
  • How personality plays a part in the success of an editor
  • Why it’s not about being the smartest person in the cutting room
  • How James mentors his assistants and helps them get bumped up to editor
  • How James paced the long panic-inducing underwater sequences in Thirteen Lives
  • The biggest pressure he faced while working on Thirteen Lives

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