Joel Cox

Last updated
Joel Cox
Born (1942-04-02) April 2, 1942 (age 81)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation Film editor
Years active1969–present

Joel Cox (born April 2, 1942) is an American film editor. He is best known for collaborating with Clint Eastwood in over 30 films.

Contents

Life and career

Cox has been working in film since appearing as a baby in Random Harvest (1942). [1] He started in the mailroom at Warner Bros. in 1961. Rudi Fehr, a well-known editor and executive at Warner Bros., made Cox an apprentice editor about 3 years later. As was common in the era, Cox worked as an uncredited assistant for several years. His first credit as an assistant editor was for The Rain People , which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and edited by Barry Malkin. [2] [3] [4] His first credit as the editor was for Farewell, My Lovely (1975), which was directed by Dick Richards and co-edited by the veteran editor Walter A. Thompson. Cox had just finished working as Thompson's assistant on Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975), which was also directed by Richards. Cox worked on two more of Richards' films, March or Die (1977 - as assistant editor) and Death Valley (1982).

Cox has had a notable collaboration with Clint Eastwood that commenced with the 1976 film The Outlaw Josey Wales , for which Cox was Ferris Webster's assistant. Cox and Webster were co-editors on The Gauntlet (1977) and on several more of Eastwood's subsequent films. Starting with Sudden Impact (1983), Cox became Eastwood's principal editor. Cox has been quoted as saying that, over their 30-year partnership, Eastwood has re-cut only a single scene that Cox put together. [1] Gary D. Roach, who worked as Cox's assistant from the mid-1990s, became Cox's co-editor on Eastwood's films with Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). Cox's long streak editing each of Eastwood's films ended with Sully , which was edited by another of his former assistants, Blu Murray. [5]

In addition to his career in the film industry, since 2000 Cox and his family have owned and managed a vineyard and winery near Paso Robles, California. [6]

Cox won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Unforgiven . [1] He has been elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors. [7] On November 25, 2008, Clint Eastwood presented Cox the first Ignacy Paderewski Lifetime Achievement Award, which is named in honor of the piano virtuoso who called Paso Robles home, at the first Paso Robles Digital Film Festival. [8] [9] [10] He received a nomination for the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Editing for Changeling [11] and for the 2015 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for American Sniper .

Filmography

The 2008 Paso Robles Digital Film Festival provides a full filmography of Joel Cox as part of his Lifetime Achievement Award. [12]

Editor

YearFilmDirectorNotes
2021 Cry Macho Clint Eastwood with David S. Cox
2019 Richard Jewell Clint Eastwood
2018 The Mule Clint Eastwood
2018 Den of Thieves Christian Gudegast with David S. Cox, Nathan Godley
2017 All Eyez on Me Benny Boom
2014 American Sniper Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2014 Jersey Boys Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2013 Prisoners Denis Villeneuve with Gary D. Roach
2012 Trouble with the Curve Robert Lorenz with Gary D. Roach
2011 J. Edgar Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2010 Hereafter Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2009 Invictus [13] Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2008 Gran Torino [14] Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2008 Changeling [15] Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2007American Masters Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends [16] Bruce Ricker (TV)
Clint Eastwood Producer
2006 Letters from Iwo Jima [17] Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach
2006 Flags of Our Fathers [18] Clint Eastwoodwith Gary D. Roach.
2005Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That [19] Bruce Ricker (TV)
2004 Million Dollar Baby [20] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Frankie Dunn
2003 The Blues: Piano Blues Clint Eastwood
2003 Mystic River [21] Clint EastwoodOriginal Music by Clint Eastwood
2002 Blood Work [22] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Terry McCaleb
2000 Space Cowboys [23] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Frank Corvin
1999 True Crime [24] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Steve Everett
1997 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [25] Clint Eastwood
1997 Absolute Power [26] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Luther Whitney
1997Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall Bruce Ricker (TV)
1995 The Stars Fell on Henrietta [27] James Keach
1995 The Bridges of Madison County [28] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid
1993 A Perfect World [29] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Chief Red Garnett
1992 Unforgiven [30] Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as William 'Bill' Munny
Won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Film Editing
1990 The Rookie Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Nick Pulovski
1990 White Hunter Black Heart Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as John Wilson
1989 Pink Cadillac Buddy Van Horn Clint Eastwood as Tommy Nowak
1988 Bird Clint Eastwood
1988 The Dead Pool Buddy Van Horn Supervising editor; Eastwood as Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan
1986 Heartbreak Ridge Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Gunnery Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway
1986 Ratboy Sondra Locke
1985 Pale Rider Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Preacher
1984 Tightrope Richard Tuggle Clint Eastwood as Capt. Wes Block
1983 Sudden Impact Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Harry Callahan
1982 Honkytonk Man Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Red Stovall; with Ferris Webster and Michael Kelly.
1982 Death Valley Dick Richards
1980 Bronco Billy Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Bronco Billy McCoy; with Ferris Webster.
1978 Every Which Way but Loose James Fargo Clint Eastwood as Philo Beddoe; with Ferris Webster.
1977 The Gauntlet Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood as Ben Shockley; with Ferris Webster.
1976 The Enforcer James Fargo Clint Eastwood as Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan; with Ferris Webster.
1975 Farewell, My Lovely Dick Richards co-edited with Walter Thompson

Assistant editor

YearFilmDirectorJobNotes
1979 Escape from Alcatraz Don Siegel assistant editorEastwood as Frank Morris; edited by Ferris Webster.
1977 March or Die Dick Richards assistant editor
1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales Clint Eastwoodassistant editorEastwood as Josey Wales; edited by Ferris Webster
1975 Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins Dick Richardsassistant editorEdited by Walter Thompson
1974 The Terminal Man Mike Hodges assistant editorEdited by Robert L. Wolfe
1973 The All-American Boy Charles Eastman assistant editorEastman's only film as director.
1973 Cleopatra Jones Jack Starrett assistant editor
1969 The Rain People Francis Ford Coppola assistant editorEdited by Barry Malkin
1969 The Wild Bunch Sam Peckinpah assistant editoruncredited

Sound department

YearFilmDirectorJobNotes
1969 The Learning Tree Gordon Parks sound assistant

Self

YearShowEpisodeNotes
2006HBO First LookA Moment in Time... Flags of Our Fathers
2005Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed CinemaVideo
2002All on Accounta Pullin' a TriggerVideo
2000American MastersClint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
1999Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of 'The Outlaw Josey Wales'Video
1993The 65th Annual Academy AwardsWinner: Best Film Editing
1993Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
1992Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'

Awards

YearResultAwardCategoryRecipient(s)Notes
2015Nominated Oscar Best Film Editing American Sniper Shared with Gary D. Roach
2005Nominated Oscar Best Film Editing Million Dollar Baby
1993Won Oscar Best Film Editing Unforgiven
2005Nominated Eddie Edited Feature Film - Dramatic Million Dollar Baby
2004Nominated Eddie Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic Mystic River
1993Won Eddie Best Edited Feature Film Unforgiven
2006WonHollywood Film AwardEditor of the Year
2006Nominated Satellite Award Best Film Editing Flags of Our Fathers
2004Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Film Editing Mystic River
2009Nominated British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA Award for Best Editing [11] Changeling Shared with Gary D. Roach

See also

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References

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Further reading