good editor must pull all the elements, visual and audio, into a totality, which serves the story being told.
Anne V. Coates, ACE
Los Angeles, CA
Partial Credits: Fifty Shades of Grey, The Golden Compass, Unfaithful, Erin Brockovich, Out of Sight, In the Line of Fire, Chaplin, Raw Deal, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, The Elephant Man, The Eagle Has Landed, Murder on the Orient Express, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Becket, Lawrence of Arabia, The Pickwick Papers.
What do you say about an editor who has been working in motion pictures for over 70 years? Who, in every decade of her work, has made significant contributions to cinema? Sitting in her home for our interview, there are two awards that sit high atop a wooden shelf. The Oscar and BAFTA awards for Lawrence of Arabia. Gracious, patient, and terrifically funny.
TO: Anne, you are an Academy Award Best Editing recipient for Lawrence of Arabia. You have been recognized with a BAFTA Academy Fellowship and an ACE Career Achievement Award. For your contributions to the industry, you received an honorary Oscar 53 years after winning for Lawrence of Arabia. You were awarded the Office of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and have been an inspiration to filmmakers and editors around the world.
AC: Thank You.
TO: And while so much has been written about Lawrence of Arabia—deservedly so—I think Beckett is just incredible.
AC: I think it’s such a beautiful film.
TO: How did you get started on this journey?
AC: To begin with, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a horse race trainer. (Laughs) I began to go to the cinema. The school started taking us to see the classics—Jane Eyre and, particularly, Wuthering Heights which changed my whole life. Apart from falling in love with Laurence Oliver, it opened up a whole new concept to me of storytelling. I think we were reading it in school and it’s quite heavy going. And to suddenly see it there in pictures alive with real people!
TO: This is the William Wyler directed film.
AC: Yes, and I knew very little about films. So I started to look into ways of getting into the film industry. Now you think it would have been easy for me because my Uncle was Lord Rank.
TO: He headed up the Rank Organization, which owned film studios and theatres.
AC: Yes. I was very fond of him but he didn’t really want me going into the film industry. I had to convince him that I was not going into it for the glamour or the actors and that I really wanted to make films and tell stories. But he put me into religious films, which is why he got started in the business in the first place. He was very religious and taught Sunday School and thought film was a good way to get through to people. And he probably thought ‘That’ll damper her ardor!’ (Both Laugh) But it didn’t! And that’s the first time I saw 35mm film.
TO: What did they have you do at that time?
AC: I did all sorts of jobs. I was a P.A. I made the tea and the coffee, looked after people. I became quite a good projectionist. I did sound, repairing films.
TO: That was a great way to learn all the basics.
AC: I loved it. I really did. I heard there was a job for a second assistant in the cutting rooms at Pinewood Studios. And they asked if I knew how to do opticals and I said yes and that I could splice. But most of the things they asked me about I had no idea what they were, let alone do them! (Both Laugh) But I said yes to all of them. And it’s a bit of advice that I give to students always. I say, ‘If you’ve got confidence in yourself, say yes, and then find out’. And hope for the best!
TO: Sure.
AC: I went to friends of mine who were in proper cutting rooms and spent two weeks with them, learning the routine and that sort of thing. And then I reported to work.
TO: That’s great.
AC: I had gotten the job and an amazing thing happened. It was a film called The End of the River, being produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. I was mostly splicing and hanging up trims. And apparently Michael and Emeric didn’t like the job the editor was doing, so they gave the film to their top editor, who was cutting The Red Shoes—Reggie Mills. Reggie didn’t want to use the first assistant. He said, ‘No, send Anne up with the film’. So, there I was on my very first picture, working with one of the very best editors.
TO: That’s amazing.
AC: Yes, it was amazingly interesting. I wish I were a little more experienced—I would have learned more than I did, but I learned a lot. And I also had the opportunity of helping out on The Red Shoes with some of the splicing and syncing of their dailies. And I got to spend time on the floor watching Mickey (Michael Powell) directing, which was very interesting. And I was very, very lucky because within about five years I was editing. I did a few jobs as a first assistant and then I got a break on a live action Robin Hood that Disney was making.
TO: Okay, so that was The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, directed by Ken Annakin.
AC: Yes. I was cutting the second unit because the editor couldn’t keep up with two units and they liked what I did. And I did some cutting and then went back and was an assistant again.
TO: So, constantly back and forth…
AC: Yes, exactly. I always thought that it was more important to keep working. And then I was working with my friend, Clive Donner, and he was offered Pickwick Papers, but he couldn’t do it. I knew the producer and said to him, ‘Why don’t you put me up for it?’
TO: This was going to be your first feature as a full editor…
AC: Right. So I went for an interview with Noel Langley, who was a first-time director. You know, there’s a lot of luck in not only getting your first feature but also beyond and being in the right place at the right time. It usually works out. Only once in my life have I been offered two really top pictures at the same time. And I think I made the right choice.
TO: I can’t wait for you to tell me.
AC: One was Lolita with Stanley Kubrick and the other was Lawrence of Arabia.
TO: I had no idea…
AC: Yeah. You know, it was funny at that time because Kubrick was a red-hot director. And I was quite tempted.
TO: How did you decide?
AC: My husband said, ‘You can’t even dream of not working with David Lean if he wants you!’ (Laughs) And you know, a funny thing happened. And I haven’t actually told this story before because it only just happened the other day. I was turning out some paperwork here, and I came across some old letters. And one started, “Dear Mr. Spiegel, I’m afraid that I can’t cut Lawrence of Arabia because you’re not offering enough money.” Now it wasn’t worded exactly like that, but I did explain at length that I wasn’t going to work for that kind of money on a film that was going to be working day and night, etc. “Thank
