Two films and three editors took the top honors at last night’s American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Awards, arguably making them the front runners going into next Sunday’s Academy Awards. Kevin Tent, ACE, won the Eddie Award for best editing of a dramatic feature on the strength of his work on The Descendants. And editor Anne-Sophie Bion and director/editor Michel Hazanavicius took the feature-comedy or musical category for The Artist.
Craig Wood, ACE, won for best editing of an animated feature for Rango. And rounding out the feature category winners for the documentary Freedom Riders were editors Lewis Erskine and Aljernon Tunsil.
Also notable on the feature front, Tent and actress Reese Witherspoon presented the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award to Alexander Payne, director of The Descendants.
TV winners
Steven Rasch, ACE, earned the Eddie in the half-hour TV series category for the “Palestinian Chicken” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Editor Skip MacDonald topped the one-hour series for commercial television on the basis of the “Face Off” episode of Breaking Bad.
Winning the Eddie for best editing of an hourlong series for non-commercial television were Jordan Goldman and David Latham for the “Pilot” episode of Homeland.
Sarah Frank, ACE, and Robert Pulcini earned the top honor in the miniseries or motion picture for TV category for Cinema Verite.
And editor Eric Lasby won the reality series category for the “Haiti” episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Rounding out the evening’s honorees was Eric Kench for Video Symphony, which won the student competition.
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More