Michael McCusker
Encyclopedia
Michael McCusker is an American
film editor. He edited the Johnny Cash
biopic, Walk the Line
. McCusker was mentored by film editor, David Brenner
.
McCusker is married to film producer Deirdre Morrison, whom he met while he was additional editor on the film, The Day After Tomorrow
.
For McCusker editing is, "a dance of the eyes. It's not just splicing two pieces of film together but compressing time, leading the audience, telling the story through images and dialogue.”
in New Canaan
, Connecticut
where he first began writing and making films. After graduation, he attended Emerson College
, obtaining a bachelor of fine arts degree in film theory
and production.
After graduating from Emerson, McCusker drove across country to West Hollywood, California
where he obtained work as a production assistant. Mike McCusker later worked on the television series, The Simpsons
. He became interested in film editing and became an assistant editor on a Showtime anthology
called Fallen Angels
.
After joining the Motion Picture Editors Guild
, McCusker teamed up as an assistant film editor to one of Oliver Stone
's bevy of hot shot film editors, Academy Award-winning film editor David Brenner
. Mike McCusker quickly became David Brenner's first assistant film editor, running the cutting room for five years on films such as The Patriot
and Kate and Leopold. Eventually David Brenner promoted McCusker to the position of associate editor.
When film director James Mangold
asked editor David Brenner to cut Walk the Line
, Brenner was unavailable. Mangold, in need of an editor with whom he was familiar, propositioned Mike McCusker, offering him the prestigious promotion to film editor. McCusker was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
for this, his first big feature film as film editor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film editor. He edited the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
biopic, Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
. McCusker was mentored by film editor, David Brenner
David Brenner (editor)
David Brenner is an American film editor best known for having been one of director Oliver Stone's 'hot shot' group of up-and-coming film editors....
.
McCusker is married to film producer Deirdre Morrison, whom he met while he was additional editor on the film, The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
.
For McCusker editing is, "a dance of the eyes. It's not just splicing two pieces of film together but compressing time, leading the audience, telling the story through images and dialogue.”
Background
Michael McCusker attended New Canaan High SchoolNew Canaan High School
New Canaan High School is a public high school in New Canaan, Connecticut.- History :Construction on the school was finalized in 1971. The school is located on grounds donated by the Lapham family, carving off approximiately 46 acres of Waveny Park....
in New Canaan
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
where he first began writing and making films. After graduation, he attended Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
, obtaining a bachelor of fine arts degree in film theory
Film theory
Film theory is an academic discipline that aims to explore the essence of the cinema and provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large...
and production.
After graduating from Emerson, McCusker drove across country to West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
where he obtained work as a production assistant. Mike McCusker later worked on the television series, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. He became interested in film editing and became an assistant editor on a Showtime anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
called Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels (TV series)
Fallen Angels was an American neo-noir anthology television series that ran from 1993 to 1995 on the Showtime pay cable station and was produced by Propaganda Films. No first-run episodes were shown in 1994....
.
After 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...
, McCusker teamed up as an assistant film editor to one of Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's bevy of hot shot film editors, Academy Award-winning film editor David Brenner
David Brenner (editor)
David Brenner is an American film editor best known for having been one of director Oliver Stone's 'hot shot' group of up-and-coming film editors....
. Mike McCusker quickly became David Brenner's first assistant film editor, running the cutting room for five years on films such as The Patriot
The Patriot (2000 film)
The Patriot is a 2000 historical war film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Robert Rodat, and starring Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, and Heath Ledger. It was produced by the Mutual Film Company and Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
and Kate and Leopold. Eventually David Brenner promoted McCusker to the position of associate editor.
When film director James Mangold
James Mangold
James Allen Mangold is an American film director and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for Walk the Line which he co-wrote and directed.-Life and career:...
asked editor David Brenner to cut Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
, Brenner was unavailable. Mangold, in need of an editor with whom he was familiar, propositioned Mike McCusker, offering him the prestigious promotion to film editor. McCusker was nominated for the Academy Award for Film 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...
for this, his first big feature film as film editor.
As Film Editor
- Sax's Final Orbit (1997)
- Kings (1998)
- Walk the LineWalk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
(2005) - Men in TreesMen in TreesMen in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships...
(TV pilot) (2006) - WalkoutWalkout (film)Walkout is a 2006 HBO film based on a true story of the 1968 East L.A. walkouts. It premiered March 18, 2006 on HBO. Starring Alexa Vega, Efren Ramirez and Michael Peña, the film was directed by Edward James Olmos...
(2006) - 3:10 to Yuma3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)3:10 to Yuma is the 2007 remake of the 1957 film of the same name, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard's short story Three-Ten to Yuma. It is directed by James Mangold and produced by Cathy Konrad, and stars Academy Award winners Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the lead roles. ...
(2007)
As Assistant Film Editor
- Independence DayIndependence Day (film)Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
(1996) (Assistant Editor) - Speed 2: Cruise ControlSpeed 2: Cruise ControlSpeed 2: Cruise Control is a 1997 action–thriller film, and a sequel to Speed . The film was produced and directed by Jan de Bont, and written by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by de Bont and McCormick. Sandra Bullock stars in the film, reprising her role from Speed,...
(1997) (Assistant Editor) - What Dreams May ComeWhat Dreams May Come (film)What Dreams May Come is a 1998 American supernatural drama film, starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Annabella Sciorra. The film is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson, and was directed by Vincent Ward. The title is taken from a line in Hamlet's To be, or not to...
(1998) (Assistant Editor) - The PatriotThe Patriot (2000 film)The Patriot is a 2000 historical war film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Robert Rodat, and starring Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, and Heath Ledger. It was produced by the Mutual Film Company and Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
(2000) (First Assistant Editor) - Kate & LeopoldKate & LeopoldKate & Leopold is a 2001 romantic-comedy fantasy that tells a story of a duke who travels through time from New York in 1876 to the present and falls in love with a career woman in the modern New York...
(2001) (First Assistant Editor) - IdentityIdentity (film)Identity is a 2003 American thriller-mystery film, directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. The film stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John C. McGinley and Amanda Peet. The plot was inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None.-Plot:Malcolm Rivers is awaiting...
(2003) (Associate Editor) - The Day After TomorrowThe Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
(2004) (Associate Editor) - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
(2007) (additional editor)
Academy Award nominations
- 2006 – Walk the LineWalk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
(nominated) Best Achievement in Film Editing
Other awards and nominations
- 2006 – Walk the LineWalk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
(won) ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film, Comedy or Musical