Oscar nominee Pam Martin on editing ‘The Fighter’

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

When it comes to film editing, Oscar voters love boxing movies. The genre lends itself to showy lens work as cameras dart in, out, around, over and under the action of flying fists and dancing bodies in the ring. Two pugilist flicks have won the editing award: ‘Rocky’ (1976) and ‘Raging Bull’ (1980). However, another notable one -– a past best picture champ, ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004) -- lost to ‘The Aviator.’

‘The Fighter’ comes out swinging as a heavyweight contender this year, nominated against ‘Black Swan,’ ‘The King’s Speech,’ ‘127 Hours’ and ‘The Social Network.’ It’s no coincidence that it’s up against the most serious rivals for best picture. Oscarologists believe that there’s a mysterious connection between the categories. Since 1981, every best picture champ was also nominated for best editing. The overlap of winners in the two races is about two-thirds.

I asked the film’s Oscar-nominated editor what she thinks about all that. Pam Martin also edited ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ which was nominated for best picture of 2006, but not editing, which was odd because she was nominated for the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie award. I also asked her about shooting the intense boxing scenes in ‘The Fighter’ –- what kind of work was involved? How did she collaborate with director David O. Russell?

-- Tom O’Neil