Michael McCusker
Born (1966-06-23) June 23, 1966 (age 59)
Occupation Film editor

Michael "Mike" McCusker (born June 23, 1966) is an American film editor. He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, for the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line (2005) and Ford v Ferrari (2019), winning the latter. McCusker frequently collaborates with director James Mangold.[1]

McCusker stated that editing is "a dance of the eyes. It's not just splicing two pieces of film together but compressing time, leading the audience, telling the story through images and dialogue."[2]

Early life and education

Michael McCusker attended New Canaan High School in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he first began writing and making films. After graduation, he attended Emerson College, obtaining a bachelor of fine arts degree in film theory and production in 1988.[3]

Career

McCusker was mentored by film editor David Brenner.[4]

After graduating from Emerson, McCusker drove across country to West Hollywood, California, where he obtained work as a production assistant. Mike McCusker later worked on the television series, The Simpsons. He became interested in film editing and became an assistant editor on a Showtime anthology called Fallen Angels.

After joining the Motion Picture Editors Guild, McCusker teamed up as an assistant film editor to one of Oliver Stone's bevy of hot shot film editors, Academy Award-winning film editor David Brenner. Mike McCusker quickly became David Brenner's first assistant film editor, running the cutting room for five years on films such as The Patriot (2000) and Kate & Leopold (2001). Eventually David Brenner promoted McCusker to the position of associate editor.

When film director James Mangold asked editor David Brenner to cut Walk the Line, Brenner was unavailable. Mangold, in need of an editor with whom he was familiar, propositioned Mike McCusker, offering him the prestigious promotion to film editor. McCusker won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Ford v Ferrari with Andrew Buckland.[5]

Personal life

McCusker is married to film producer Deirdre Morrison, whom he met while he was additional editor on the film The Day After Tomorrow.

Filmography

As Film Editor

  • Sax's Final Orbit (1997)
  • Kings (1998)
  • Walk the Line (Mangold-2005)
  • Men in Trees (TV pilot) (2006)
  • Walkout (Olmos-2006)
  • 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold-2007)
  • Australia (Luhrmann-2008; with Dody Dorn)
  • Hesher (Susser-2010)
  • Knight and Day (Mangold-2010)
  • The Wolverine (Mangold-2013)
  • Get On Up (Taylor-2014)
  • 13 Hours (Bay-2016)
  • The Girl on the Train (Taylor-2016)
  • Logan (Mangold-2017; Dirk Westervelt)
  • Deadpool 2 (Leitch-2018)
  • Ford v. Ferrari (Mangold-2019; with Andrew Buckland )
  • Unhinged (Borte - 2020)
  • Sweet Girl (Mendoza - 2021; with Matt Chessé)
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Mangold - 2023; with Andrew Buckland and Dirk Westervelt)
  • The Wrecking Crew (Credited as "Mike McCusker" Manuel Soto-2026)

As Assistant Film Editor

  • Independence Day (1996) (Assistant Editor)
  • Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) (Assistant Editor)
  • What Dreams May Come (1998) (Assistant Editor)
  • The Patriot (2000) (First Assistant Editor)
  • Kate & Leopold (2001) (First Assistant Editor)
  • Identity (2003) (Associate Editor)
  • The Day After Tomorrow (2004) (Associate Editor)
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) (additional editor)
  • Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) (additional editor)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) (additional editor)
  • The Dark Tower (2017) (additional editor)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominated work Category Result
2006 Academy Awards Walk the Line Best Film Editing Nominated
2006 ACE Eddie Awards Walk the Line Best Edited Feature Film, Comedy or Musical Won
2009 Satellite Awards Australia Best Film Editing Nominated
2019 Satellite Awards Ford v Ferrari Best Film Editing Won
2020 ACE Eddie Awards Ford v Ferrari Best Edited Feature Film, Dramatic Nominated
2020 British Academy Film Awards Ford v Ferrari Best Editing Won
2020 Academy Awards Ford v Ferrari Best Film Editing Won

See also

  • List of film director and editor collaborations

References

  1. ^ Katz, S. D. (December 13, 2019). "'Ford v. Ferrari': How Editors Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland Create Thrilling Action in Cutting Room". Variety. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, David (December 2006). "Walkin' His Own Line". New Canaan - Darien Magazine.
  3. ^ "Alumnus McCusker Nominated for Editing Oscar". Emerson College Today. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Avid: Sweet Redemption: Walk the Line Unveils Ties that Bind". Archived from the original on 2006-03-14.
  5. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (9 February 2020). "Oscars: 'Ford v Ferrari's Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland Win Film Editing". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 February 2020.