Sally Menke
Encyclopedia
Sally JoAnne Menke was an American film editor with more than 20 film credits since 1984. She had a long-time collaboration with director
Quentin Tarantino
, having edited all of his films. Menke was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
for Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Pulp Fiction
, of which Variety's
Todd McCarthy
wrote, "Sally Menke's editing reps the definition of precision."
, the daughter of Charlotte, a teacher, and Dr. Warren Wells Menke, a professor of management at Clemson University
. Menke graduated from
New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts
Film Program. She earned a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1977. Menke was married to director Aldo L. "Dean" Parisot
in 1986 and the couple had two children, Lucas and Isabella.
, Heaven & Earth and Mulholland Falls
.
Menke met Quentin Tarantino
when he held interviews for an editor. Tarantino sent her the script for Reservoir Dogs
and she said that she thought it was "amazing". Menke was hiking in Canada when she decided to call and see if she got the job and was told that she had been successful. Menke went on to work with Tarantino on everything that he has done.
Tarantino was quoted as saying, "The best collaborations are the director-editor teams, where they can finish each other's sentences" and that Menke was his "only, truly genuine collaborator." Menke was later elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors
.
Menke's final editing credit was on the 2010 thriller Peacock, directed by Michael Lander.
helicopter, and officers from patrol units spent hours in Griffith Park
searching for her. Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot. Menke's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near 5600 block of Green Oak Drive on September 28, 2010. Her dog was found alive, sitting next to her body. No cause of death was immediately reported and it was unclear whether the extreme heat, 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) in downtown Los Angeles, was a factor.
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:...
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
, having edited all of his films. Menke 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 Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Pulp Fiction
Pulp fiction
Pulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...
, of which Variety's
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy is an American film critic. He wrote for Variety for 31 years as its chief film critic before being fired in 2010. He is currently a critic for The Hollywood Reporter....
wrote, "Sally Menke's editing reps the definition of precision."
Early and personal life
Menke was born in Mineola, New YorkMineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
, the daughter of Charlotte, a teacher, and Dr. Warren Wells Menke, a professor of management at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
. Menke graduated from
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...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
Film Program. She earned a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1977. Menke was married to director Aldo L. "Dean" Parisot
Dean Parisot
Aldo L. "Dean" Parisot is an American film and television director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, which starred comedian Steven Wright...
in 1986 and the couple had two children, Lucas and Isabella.
Career
Menke's early career saw her edit documentaries for CBS. She worked on many films in the 1990s, including Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
, Heaven & Earth and Mulholland Falls
Mulholland Falls
Mulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Pete Dexter. The drama features Andrew McCarthy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.Nolte plays the...
.
Menke met Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
when he held interviews for an editor. Tarantino sent her the script for Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
and she said that she thought it was "amazing". Menke was hiking in Canada when she decided to call and see if she got the job and was told that she had been successful. Menke went on to work with Tarantino on everything that he has done.
Tarantino was quoted as saying, "The best collaborations are the director-editor teams, where they can finish each other's sentences" and that Menke was his "only, truly genuine collaborator." Menke was later elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded 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...
.
Menke's final editing credit was on the 2010 thriller Peacock, directed by Michael Lander.
Death
Menke had gone hiking the morning of September 27, 2010 with a friend and her dog. Menke's friend left her after an hour. When Menke failed to come home, her friends alerted the police. Search dogs, a Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
helicopter, and officers from patrol units spent hours in Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
searching for her. Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot. Menke's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near 5600 block of Green Oak Drive on September 28, 2010. Her dog was found alive, sitting next to her body. No cause of death was immediately reported and it was unclear whether the extreme heat, 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) in downtown Los Angeles, was a factor.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and... |
Steve Barron Steve Barron Steven "Steve" Barron is a director and producer, best known for directing the films Coneheads , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the innovative music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".... |
|
| 1991 | The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (film) The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is the filmed version of the one-woman stage show written by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin, which won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience... |
John Bailey John Bailey (cinematographer) John Bailey, A.S.C. is an American Cinematographer and Film Director.Born in Moberly, Missouri, Bailey attended Santa Clara University and Loyola University Chicago. During his junior year he studied German language and culture at the University of Vienna, where he developed an appreciation for... |
|
| 1992 | Reservoir Dogs Reservoir Dogs Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and... |
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence... |
|
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth | 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... |
|
| 1994 | Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction (film) Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references... |
Quentin Tarantino | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing Nominated – American Cinema Editors American Cinema Editors Founded 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... Eddie Award – "Best Edited Feature Film" Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing BAFTA Award for Best Editing The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional... |
| 1995 | Four Rooms Four Rooms Four Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories.... |
Segment: "The Man from Hollywood" | |
| 1996 | Mulholland Falls Mulholland Falls Mulholland Falls is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Pete Dexter. The drama features Andrew McCarthy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Melanie Griffith, Treat Williams, and John Malkovich.Nolte plays the... |
Lee Tamahori Lee Tamahori Lee Tamahori is a New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.-Upbringing and early career:... |
|
| 1997 | Nightwatch Nightwatch (1997 film) Nightwatch is a 1997 American horror-thriller film directed by Ole Bornedal, and starring Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte. It is a remake of the Danish film Nattevagten , which was also directed by Bornedal.-Plot:... |
Ole Bornedal Ole Bornedal Ole Bornedal is a Danish film director, actor and producer.He wrote and directed Nattevagten , a thriller about a law student who works in a morgue as a night-watchman, and becomes implicated in a series of murders of prostitutes... |
|
| Jackie Brown Jackie Brown (film) Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard and pays homage to 1970s blaxploitation films.... |
Quentin Tarantino | ||
| 2000 | All the Pretty Horses All the Pretty Horses (film) All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance western film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz... |
Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone... |
|
| Daddy and Them Daddy and Them Daddy and Them is a 2001 American film written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.Jim Varney died before the movie's release. It was the last movie he appeared in.-Plot:... |
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| 2003–2004 | Kill Bill Kill Bill Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2.... |
Quentin Tarantino | Won- Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing The Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards given by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society.-1990s:-2000s: -2010s:... Won – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing The San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing is an award given by the San Diego Film Critics Society to honor the finest directing achievements in filmmaking.-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing BAFTA Award for Best Editing The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional... Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Editing is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:-2010s:... Nominated – American Cinema Editors American Cinema Editors Founded 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... Eddie Award – "Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)" Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best editing of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-External links:*... |
| 2007 | Grindhouse | Segment: "Death Proof Death Proof Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car... " |
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| 2009 | Inglourious Basterds | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing BAFTA Award for Best Editing The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional... Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Editing Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best editing of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-External links:*... |
|
| 2010 | Peacock | Michael Lander |
Awards and nominations
- 1995 – Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(nominated) – Academy Award – "Best Film Editing" - 1995 – Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(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 Award – "Best Edited Feature Film" - 1995 – Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(nominated) – BAFTA Film Award – "Best Editing" - 2003 – Kill Bill: Vol 1 (won) – San Diego Film Critics Society Awards – "Best Editing"
- 2004 – Kill Bill: Vol 1 (nominated) – BAFTA Film Award – "Best Editing"
- 2004 – Kill Bill: Vol 1 (won) – Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards – Sierra Award for "Best Editing"
- 2005 – Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (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 Award – "Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)" - 2005 – Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (nominated) – Online Film Critics Society OFCS Award – "Best Editing"
- 2010 – Inglourious Basterds (nominated) – Academy Award – "Best Film Editing"
External links
- Sally Menke at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Sally Menke: A Tribute at New Beverly Cinema. Retrieved on 11 October 2010.