The Closest Thing to Alchemy
Academy-Award winning editor Claire Simpson talks about her process and the myths of women in the cutting room
By Jennifer M. Wood
URL: http://www.moviemaker.com/editing/article/the_closest_thing_to_alchemy_2731/
Attribute her success to tenacity and talent all you
want-but Claire Simpson will tell you it's
really all about luck! Just five years after getting her start
assisting legendary editor Dede Allen on 1981's Reds Simpson
was reciting her own Oscar acceptance speech for her work
on Oliver Stone's Platoon. With a filmography consisting
of more than a dozen films, including two further projects
with Stone (Salvador and Wall Street) and collaborations
with directors Robert Towne, Neil LaBute, Ridley Scott and
Tony Scott, Simpson has carved out a career that would make
most editors envious.