Thelma Schoonmaker
Encyclopedia
Thelma Schoonmaker is an American film editor who has worked with director
Martin Scorsese
for over forty years. She has edited all of Scorsese's films since Raging Bull. Schoonmaker has received six Academy Award nominations for best editing, and has won three times (for Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed
).
Schoonmaker was married to director
Michael Powell
from 19 May 1984 until his death in 1990. Since his death Schoonmaker has been dedicated to preserving the films and honoring the legacy of her husband, who directed many classic films, including The Red Shoes. She was introduced to Michael Powell by Martin Scorsese and London based film producer Frixos Constantine.
, Algeria
to American expatriates and raised in various countries, including on the Dutch
-Caribbean
island of Aruba
.
Schoonmaker did not live in the United States
until she was a teenager in 1955, and was initially alienated and dumbfounded by American culture. Schoonmaker was interested in a career in international diplomacy and began attending Cornell University
in 1957, where she studied political science
and the Russian language
. (She attended classes taught by Vladimir Nabokov
.) When she graduated from Cornell in 1961, she began taking State Department tests in order to apply for positions in the U.S. government. Being politically inclined and opinionated, Schoonmaker expressed distaste for the South Africa
n policy of apartheid, a stance which did not sit well with those administering the State Department tests. In reaction to this experience, Schoonmaker switched gears and began taking a course in primitive art
.
At that point, she saw an employment advertisement in The New York Times
which sought an "assistant film editor" to which she responded and got the job. The job entailed assisting an "editor" who was randomly cutting frames from classic European films, (such as those by François Truffaut
, Jean Luc Godard and Federico Fellini
), so that their length would conform to the running times of U.S. television
broadcasts. Although she was revolted by the callousness of the editor's methods, Schoonmaker nonetheless picked up important technical skills, including negative cutting
.
Schoonmaker signed up for a brief six-week course in filmmaking
at New York University
(NYU), where she came into contact with budding young filmmaker Martin Scorsese
, who was struggling to complete his film What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
A negative cutter had butchered his film, not leaving enough negative frames to allow for hot splicing. One of her film professors asked Schoonmaker to help Scorsese; a close working relationship with him has unfolded over the past thirty-five years. Schoonmaker edited Scorsese's first feature film, Who's That Knocking at My Door
(1967).
At NYU Schoonmaker also met director
Michael Wadleigh
and later edited his influential music festival documentary
, Woodstock. Her first major film editing work on Woodstock gained Schoonmaker an Academy Award nomination for Best Editing
. Her careful use of superimposition
s and freeze frame
s brought the performances in the film to life, and added to the movie's wide appeal, thus helping to raise the artistry and visibility of documentary
filmmaking to a new level.
Despite her obvious skill and talent, the early period of Schoonmaker's career was difficult; joining the Motion Picture Editors Guild
has always been challenging, and the film industry generally has been a restrictive boys' club. Consequently, there was a twelve-year gap between her work on Scorsese's student films and her Oscar-winning work on his masterful Raging Bull.
Nonetheless Schoonmaker helped to shatter some film industry
glass ceiling
s, and has amassed an impressive list of film editing
credits. Varietys Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen
, Verna Fields
, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates
and Dorothy Spencer
." She appears in "The Aviator" as one of Howard Hughes' editors during the filming of Hell's Angels.
. Tied with Kahn, Daniel Mandell
, and Ralph Dawson
she also holds the record for the most wins in the category of Best Editing, with three.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
for over forty years. She has edited all of Scorsese's films since Raging Bull. Schoonmaker has received six Academy Award nominations for best editing, and has won three times (for Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
).
Schoonmaker was married to director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
from 19 May 1984 until his death in 1990. Since his death Schoonmaker has been dedicated to preserving the films and honoring the legacy of her husband, who directed many classic films, including The Red Shoes. She was introduced to Michael Powell by Martin Scorsese and London based film producer Frixos Constantine.
Life and career
Schoonmaker's father Bertram was employed as a clerical worker by the Standard Oil Company and worked abroad. She was born in AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
to American expatriates and raised in various countries, including on the Dutch
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
-Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
.
Schoonmaker did not live in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until she was a teenager in 1955, and was initially alienated and dumbfounded by American culture. Schoonmaker was interested in a career in international diplomacy and began attending Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1957, where she studied political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. (She attended classes taught by Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
.) When she graduated from Cornell in 1961, she began taking State Department tests in order to apply for positions in the U.S. government. Being politically inclined and opinionated, Schoonmaker expressed distaste for the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n policy of apartheid, a stance which did not sit well with those administering the State Department tests. In reaction to this experience, Schoonmaker switched gears and began taking a course in primitive art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.
At that point, she saw an employment advertisement in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
which sought an "assistant film editor" to which she responded and got the job. The job entailed assisting an "editor" who was randomly cutting frames from classic European films, (such as those by François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
, Jean Luc Godard and Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
), so that their length would conform to the running times of U.S. television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcasts. Although she was revolted by the callousness of the editor's methods, Schoonmaker nonetheless picked up important technical skills, including negative cutting
Negative cutting
Negative Cutting is the process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor. Original camera negative is cut with scissors and joined using a film splicer and film cement...
.
Schoonmaker signed up for a brief six-week course in filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(NYU), where she came into contact with budding young filmmaker Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, who was struggling to complete his film What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? is a 1963 short film that Martin Scorsese created while a student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. It is a comedic piece about a writer who becomes obsessed with a picture he has on his wall.-External links:* on...
A negative cutter had butchered his film, not leaving enough negative frames to allow for hot splicing. One of her film professors asked Schoonmaker to help Scorsese; a close working relationship with him has unfolded over the past thirty-five years. Schoonmaker edited Scorsese's first feature film, Who's That Knocking at My Door
Who's That Knocking at My Door
Who's That Knocking at My Door, originally titled I Call First, is a 1967 drama film, which marks Martin Scorsese's debut as a director. Exploring themes of Catholic guilt similar to those in his later film Mean Streets, the story follows Italian-American J.R. as he struggles to accept the secret...
(1967).
At NYU Schoonmaker also met director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Michael Wadleigh
Michael Wadleigh
Michael Wadleigh is an American movie director and cinematographer renowned for his groundbreaking documentary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, Woodstock....
and later edited his influential music festival documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Woodstock. Her first major film editing work on Woodstock gained Schoonmaker an Academy Award nomination for Best Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
. Her careful use of superimposition
Superimposition
In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect, but also sometimes to conceal something .This technique is used in cartography to produce photomaps by superimposing grid lines, contour lines...
s and freeze frame
Freeze frame shot
A freeze frame shot is used when one shot is printed in a single frame several times, in order to make an interesting illusion of a still photograph....
s brought the performances in the film to life, and added to the movie's wide appeal, thus helping to raise the artistry and visibility of documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaking to a new level.
Despite her obvious skill and talent, the early period of Schoonmaker's career was difficult; joining the Motion Picture Editors Guild
Motion Picture Editors Guild
The Motion Picture Editors Guild is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States...
has always been challenging, and the film industry generally has been a restrictive boys' club. Consequently, there was a twelve-year gap between her work on Scorsese's student films and her Oscar-winning work on his masterful Raging Bull.
Nonetheless Schoonmaker helped to shatter some film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
glass ceiling
Glass ceiling
In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements." Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but...
s, and has amassed an impressive list of film editing
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
credits. Varietys Eileen Kowalski notes that, "Indeed, many of the editorial greats have been women: Dede Allen
Dede Allen
Dorothea Carothers "Dede" Allen was an American film editor, well-known "film editing doctor" to the major American movie studios, and one of cinema's all-time celebrated 'auteur' film editors....
, Verna Fields
Verna Fields
Verna Fields was an American film editor, film and television sound editor, educator, and entertainment industry executive. In the first phase of her career, from 1954 through to about 1970, Fields mostly worked on smaller projects that gained little recognition. She was the sound editor for...
, Thelma Schoonmaker, Anne V. Coates
Anne V. Coates
Anne Voase Coates is a British film editor with a more than 40-year long career in film editing. She is perhaps best known as the editor of director David Lean's epic film, Lawrence of Arabia in 1962...
and Dorothy Spencer
Dorothy Spencer
Dorothy Spencer was an American film editor. Nominated for an Academy Award on several occasions she is remembered for editing several of director John Ford's best known movies, including Stagecoach and what film critic Roger Ebert calls, "Ford's greatest Western," My Darling Clementine.She was...
." She appears in "The Aviator" as one of Howard Hughes' editors during the filming of Hell's Angels.
Quote(s)
- "You get to contribute so significantly in the editing room because you shape the movie and the performances," she says. "You help the director bring all the hard work of those who made the film to fruition. You give their work rhythm and pace and sometimes adjust the structure to make the film work ‑- to make it start to flow up there on the screen. And then it's very rewarding after a year's work to see people react to what you've done in the theater."
- "... Editing is a lot about patience and discipline and just banging away at something, turning off the machine and going home at night because you're frustrated and depressed, and then coming back in the morning to try again."
Selected filmography
- Raging Bull (1980)
- The King of ComedyThe King of Comedy (1983 film)The King of Comedy is a 1983 American dark comedy film starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, and directed by Martin Scorsese. The subject of the movie is celebrity stalking...
(1983) - After HoursAfter Hours (film)After Hours is a 1985 American black comedy film, written by Joseph Minion and directed by Martin Scorsese. Paul Hackett , a New Yorker, experiences a series of adventures and perils in trying to make his way home from SoHo.-Plot:...
(1985) - The Color of MoneyThe Color of MoneyThe Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
(1986) - The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ (film)The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
(1988) - New York StoriesNew York StoriesNew York Stories is a 1989 anthology film; it consists of three shorts with the central theme being New York City.The first is Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by...
(1989) segment "Life Lessons" - GoodfellasGoodfellasGoodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990) - Cape FearCape Fear (1991 film)Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...
(1991) - The Age of InnocenceThe Age of Innocence (film)The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder....
(1993) - CasinoCasino (film)Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995) - Grace of My HeartGrace of My HeartGrace of My Heart is a 1996 film written and directed by Allison Anders, set in the pop music world, starting off in New York's Brill Building early 1960s era, weaving through the California Sound of the mid '60s and culminating with the adult-contemporary scene of the early 1970s.The plot follows...
(1996) - Kundun (1997)
- Bringing out the DeadBringing Out the DeadBringing Out the Dead is a 1999 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, and based on the novel by Joe Connelly with the screenplay by Paul Schrader...
(1999) - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
(2002) - The Aviator (2004)
- The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
(2006) - Shutter Island (2010)
- Hugo (2011)
Other credits
- The Kids Are AlrightThe Kids Are AlrightThe Kids Are Alright can refer to:*"The Kids Are Alright" , a 1965 song by The Who*The Kids Are Alright , 1979 documentary film about the English rock band The Who...
(1979) (special consultant) - Woodstock (1970) (assistant director & editor)
- Boardwalk Empire (episode: "Boardwalk EmpireBoardwalk Empire (episode)"Boardwalk Empire" is the first episode and the series premiere of the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire. Based upon Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson, the episode was written by creator Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese, both of...
", 2010) (consultant)
Awards
Schoonmaker is the second most-nominated editor in Academy Awards history, behind Michael KahnMichael Kahn (film editor)
Michael Kahn is an American film editor. His credits range from TV's Hogan's Heroes to feature films directed by George C. Scott and Steven Spielberg, with whom he has had an extended, notable collaboration over more than thirty years.Kahn is a member of the American Cinema Editors...
. Tied with Kahn, Daniel Mandell
Daniel Mandell
Daniel Mandell was an American film editor with more than 70 film credits. His career spanned films from The Turmoil in 1924 to The Fortune Cookie in 1966...
, and Ralph Dawson
Ralph Dawson
Ralph Dawson was a film editor who also did some acting, directing, and screenwriting...
she also holds the record for the most wins in the category of Best Editing, with three.
Academy Awards and nominations
- 1971 - Woodstock (nominated) Academy Award - Best Film Editing
- 1981 - Raging Bull (won) Academy Award - Best Film Editing
- 1991 - GoodfellasGoodfellasGoodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(nominated) Academy Award - Best Film Editing - 2003 - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
(nominated) Academy Award - Best Film Editing - 2005 - The Aviator (won) Academy Award - Best Film Editing
- 2007 - The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
(won) Academy Award - Best Film Editing
Other awards and nominations
- 1981 - Raging Bull (1980) (won) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - 1982 - Raging Bull (1980) (won) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing
- 1984 - The King of ComedyThe King of Comedy (1983 film)The King of Comedy is a 1983 American dark comedy film starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, and directed by Martin Scorsese. The subject of the movie is celebrity stalking...
(1982) (nominated) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing - 1991 - GoodfellasGoodfellasGoodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990) (nominated) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - 1991 - GoodfellasGoodfellasGoodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990) (won) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing - 1993 - Cape FearCape Fear (1991 film)Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...
(nominated) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing - 1992 - Gotham Below the Line Award (won)
- 1996 - CasinoCasino (film)Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995) (nominated) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - 2000 - Hollywood Film Festival - Hollywood Film Award (won)
- 2003 - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
(2002) (won) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic - 2003 - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
(2002) (nominated) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing - 2003 - Gangs of New YorkGangs of New YorkGangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
(2002) (won) Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
Golden Satellite Award Best Film Editing - 2004 - AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert De Niro (2003) (TV) (2004) (nominated) Emmy Award - Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
- 2005 - The Aviator (won) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic - 2005 - The Aviator (nominated) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing
- 2005 - The Aviator (won) Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Sierra Award - Best Editing
- 2005 - The Aviator (nominated) Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
Golden Satellite Award Best Film Editing - 2005 - The Aviator (nominated) OFCS Award - Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Editing
- 2007 - The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
(nominated) American Cinema EditorsAmerican Cinema EditorsFounded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic - 2007 - The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
(nominated) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing - 2007 - The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
(nominated) OFCS Award - Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Editing - 2007 - Made an honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church UniversityCanterbury Christ Church UniversityCanterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
External links
- New York Times - "Thelma Schoonmaker" credits / brief bio
- Fresh Air interview with Thelma Schoonmaker
- "Thelma Schoonmaker: A Personal Journey with Scorsese and Powell" By Jonathan Marlow, GreenCine.com, October 6, 2006
- Time Out interview
- Wide Angle/Closeup - Interview on set of "Cape Fear"
- "American Cinema Editors - "2004 Oscar Nominees Discuss their Craft" By William Kallay
- 2007 Coolidge Award Thelma Schoonmaker - The Coolidge Corner Theatre
- iVillage Entertainment "The Last Temptation of Thelma" by Lan N. Nguyen
- "Hollywood Outstanding Achievement in Editing Award Honoree - THELMA SCHOONMAKER" August 2000
- Cornell University (news) "Thelma Schoonmaker '61 to talk movies Nov. 19 at Cornell" By Daniel Aloi
- "Scorsese's film editor, Thelma Schoonmaker '61, talks of 'Raging Bull' and Michael Powell" By Daniel Aloi - Cornell University