Last Wednesday, the creative mind behind such films The Departed, Goodfellas and Raging Bull came to the Coolidge Corner Theater to become the fourth-ever recipient of The Coolidge Award. No, not Martin Scorsese, although he was there, too. The award went to a little old lady you probably wouldn’t recognize, named Thelma Schoonmaker. As Scorsese’s long-time editor, she won her third Oscar this year for The Departed. On Thursday, she gave a press conference in which The Muse took part.
The Muse: You’ve been editing films for over 40 years now. How have the new technologies affected the way you work?
Thelma Schoonmaker: Digital editing has been amazing for me. Before, if I wanted to show Marty [Scorsese] a couple ways of editing a scene, I’d have to cut up all the film again and just remember the way I had it the first time. Now I can just copy and paste and it’s all still there — it’s wonderful. But I think for new filmmakers, it makes things a little too easy; you end up with this MTV-style editing. Digital editing is an amazing tool but it’s something you have to be careful with.
The Muse: With all the films you’ve worked on, has anyone been your favorite?
T.S.: Oh, I hate that question. They were all special in their own way. Raging Bull is like my firstborn. The footage Marty gave me was just stunning in every way. It was an indelible experience for me.
The Muse: What’s it like working with Martin Scorsese?
T.S. : I knew Scorsese before he was Scorsese, and it’s been great working with him since the beginning. We have a very good marriage of personalities, similar passions for film. I’m not as moody as he is, but he’s moody because he’s an artist.
The Muse: What advice do you have for college students trying to break in to the business?
T.S. : Study older films. Scorsese became a great filmmaker from watching and learning. Students groan when professors put on black and white films, but there’s 85 years of great work there — that’s where Marty learned it. Study, study, study. From there, do anything to get your foot in the door. Once people see you’re good, they’ll start giving you work. Work for free if you have to. You’ve just got to get yourself out there.