Bob Odenkirk Salutes Editors At ACE Eddie Awards

BY: Marjorie Galas, Editor

You better call....Bob Odenkirk!  The star of "Breaking Bad" and the upcoming spin-off "Better Call Saul" made his award show hosting debut at the 64th Annual ACE Editing Awards.  Celebrating the acheivement of editing for film and television, Odenkirk skirted the usual "you better not cut me out" jokes by referencing his abilities as both a director and an actor.    He read the "confidential letter" sent to him by the "Directors Guild of America" that requested he not inform the editors of their importance on set and ensured he keep them humble and with minimal power.   The "not confidential, share with everyone letter" he received from the "Screen Actors Guild" encouraged Odenkirk to praise the editors excessivly and all night long, to ensure actor's scenes never be minimized again.

Odenkirk wasn't the only A-lister dishing out laughs at this year's Eddies.  Prior to announcing the nominees for Best Edited Documentary - Television, presenter Jonah Hill, a 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor in "The Wolf of Wall Street",  joked that he had nothing prepared in regards to what he wanted to say.

"I thought I would just improvise a bunch of lines, and let you editors piece the best lines together."  In discovering winner Chris A. Peterson's seat at the back of the theater, Hill joked "They put you guys in the back.  They didn't think you were going to win, but you showed them!"

Tom Hanks also brought a dose of levity to the tale end of the show upon presenting the Filmmaker of the Year Award to Paul Greengrass.   Hanks informed the attendees that, as a young film maker, Greengrass wasn't able to afford a tripod.  This lack of equipment led to a lifetime of movies filled with shakey, hand-held camera movements.  Not to be outdone, Lifetime Career Achievement Award honoree Robert C. Jones began his speach by stating:

"For so many years, up to and including this day, I've battled the idea that I don't know what I'm doing creatively."

While the evening held much levity, a sobering moment arrived when the Best Edited Mini-Series or Motion Picture for Television award was presented to Steven Sodenberg.  Sodenberg used his alias - Mary Ann Bernard - in the credits.  It was revealed that Mary Ann Bernard is Sodenberg's mother's name, and his mother had passed that morning.   Sodenberg sent a message thanking the Association for providing an honor that he would hold forever as a tribute to the creativity and inspiration that he consistantly received from his mother.

The 2014 ACE Eddie Award Winners Include:

Best Edited Non-Scripted Series:  Nick Brigden - "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknon - Tokyo"

Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television: Mary Ann Bernard - "Behind the Candelabra"

Best Edited On Hour Series for Non Commercial Television: Terry Kelley, ACE - "Homeland - Big Man in Tehran"

Best Edited One-Hour Sereis for Commercial Television: Skip MacDonald, ACD - "Breaking Bad - Felina"

Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television:  David Rogers & Claire Scanlon - "The Office - Finale"

Best Edited Documentary - Television: Chris A. Peterson; "The Assassination of President Kennedy"

Best Edited Documentary - Feature: Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber & Jason Zeldes - "20 Feet From Stardom"

Best Edited Animated Feature Film:  Jeff Draheim - "Frozen"

Best  Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical: Jay Cassidy, ACE, Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, ACE - "American Hustle"

Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic: Christopher Rouse, ACE - "Captain Phillips"