The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG) will honor veteran postproduction executive and producer Martin Cohen with its prestigious Fellowship and Service Award, recognizing an individual who embodies the values set forth by the Guild: professionalism, collaboration, mentorship, generosity of spirit and commitment to the labor movement. Cohen will receive the award at a gala in his honor on October 5 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.
One of the most beloved and respected members of the post community, Cohen served as head of postproduction for Amblin Entertainment beginning in 1987 and then for DreamWorks from 1994 to 2005, before moving to Paramount Pictures where he oversaw all aspects of feature postproduction including editorial, sound design, digital intermediates and piracy protection for all the studio’s releases through 2010. Cohen’s expertise and interest are not limited to editing or postproduction. He has also served as a producer or executive producer on countless films such films as “The Hunger Games,” “Mothman,” “The Seventh Son” and “Godzilla,” among many others, and directed the pilot for the web series “Action Figures.” A passionate cinephile, Cohen is a dedicated film preservationist and among his numerous projects and accomplishments, he supervised the restoration of several notable classics including Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” trilogy and “Jaws.”
“We are delighted to honor Marty with our Fellowship and Service award,” stated Alan Heim, ACE, president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild. “He perfectly exemplifies the values that the Guild holds most dear by forging a career in this industry that has served not only the films on which he has worked, but the many filmmakers and colleagues with whom he’s collaborated. He has consistently given back to our community and that makes him the ideal recipient for our highest honor.”
“I am honored and deeply moved that the Editors Guild is bestowing me with this prestigious award. I thank all my brothers and sisters for this honor!” stated Cohen.
The Fellowship and Service Award was established 12 years ago by the Guild’s board of directors. Previous recipients of this distinguished honor are Dede Allen, ACE; Joseph Aredas; Lillian Benson, ACE; Donn Cambern, ACE; Lee Dichter, CAS; Don Hall; Carol Littleton, ACE; Donald O. Mitchell and Thomas C. Short.
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More