The nominees for the 62nd Annual ACE Eddie Awards have been revealed, and I’m delighted to report that Christopher Tellefsen edged his way into the field for his rich cutting of Bennett Miller’s Moneyball. His decisions not only accurately reflect the concerns of the Aaron Sorkin-Steven Zaillian screenplay, but also — with particular notice to his time-spanning transitions — enliven them with a nimble dexterity. Kevin Tent’s nomination for The Descendants is another mild surprise, though repeat viewings of Alexander Payne’s film has made clear that, even if Tent’s work isn’t exactly worthy of a top-five slotting, it’s nevertheless the most distinguished craft element of the surefire Best Picture nominee.
Michael Kahn, Steven Spielberg’s faithful collaborator, earned citations for both The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse. His contribution to both films is solid, though the Tintin editing is filled with more obvious gumption. Also nice to see: a shout-out for Dana E. Glauberman (Young Adult), who has edited all four of Jason Reitman’s feature films. I was particularly taken with her work on Up in the Air, which, alas, fell short of an Oscar nomination.
It’s certainly worth noting, too, that the ACE, much like the Art Directors Guild, branches their nominees into four separate fields: Drama, Comedy/Musical, Animation, and Documentary. So with The Artist — a not-to-be-doubted eventual Oscar nominee for Best Editing — shelved over in the Comedy department, it’d be unwise to assume that these will line up five-for-five with the Academy. My hunch is that the fifth spot will be a battle between The Descendants and the ever-falling War Horse. The latter is undeniably more accomplished in terms of craft-related output, but it doesn’t nearly have the overall adoration that Payne’s film has garnered.
Full list of nominees below.
Best Edited Feature Film — Drama
Best Edited Feature Film — Comedy/Musical
Best Edited Feature Film — Animation
Best Edited Feature Film — Documentary