Lisa Fruchtman (born August 1948) is an American film and television editor, and documentary director with about 25 film credits. Fruchtman won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for The Right Stuff (1983). With her brother, Rob Fruchtman, she produced, directed, and edited the 2012 documentary Sweet Dreams.[citation needed]

Lisa Fruchtman
BornAugust 1948
OccupationFilm editor

Editing career

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After her high school years, Lisa Fruchtman enrolled at the University of Chicago and received an A.B. degree there in 1970.[1] She began her career as a film editor in Hollywood in 1973 with the documentary short Ten: The Magic Number. Fruchtman was an assistant to editors Barry Malkin, Richard Marks, and Peter Zinner on The Godfather Part II (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This film was edited to have a complex structure that weaves a contemporary story with a background story in Sicily at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries; the film was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Editing.[citation needed]

Fruchtman was one of several editors hired by Coppola in 1977 for the post-production of Apocalypse Now. Coppola had shot about 250 hours of film that needed to be cut down to 2.5 hours for its theatrical release. Evan Lottman and Barry Malkin had done preliminary editing, but then dropped out of the project. The very difficult editing required nearly two years. The film was released in August, 1979.[2][3] In 1980, she and her co-editors Richard Marks, Walter Murch, and Gerald B. Greenberg were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, the ACE Eddie Award, and the BAFTA Award for Best Editing.

In 1984, she won the Oscar for Best Film Editing for The Right Stuff (1983), along with her co-editors Glenn Farr, Stephen A. Rotter, Douglas Stewart and Tom Rolf. The film was directed by Philip Kaufman. The editors were also nominated for the ACE Eddie Award for the film.

Fruchtman's first solo credit as editor for a major studio film was for Children of a Lesser God (1986), which was director Randa Haines' first major film as well.[4] Fruchtman has cut two further films with Haines: The Doctor (1991), and Dance with Me (1998).[5]

In 1991, she was nominated for another Oscar for Coppola's The Godfather Part III, together with her co-editors Barry Malkin and Walter Murch. All three editors had long experience working with Coppola, on the earlier Godfather films and others.

In 1996, Fruchtman received an additional nomination for an Eddie for the television film Truman, which was directed by Frank Pierson. The movie recounts the role of US President Harry S. Truman during World War II. She was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award (Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production).

In 2010, she received the Professional Achievement Award for alumni of the University of Chicago.[1]

Filmography (selection)

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This filmography is based on the listing at the Internet Movie Database.[6]

Editor
Year Film Director Notes
1979 Apocalypse Now Francis Ford Coppola Second collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola
1980 Heaven's Gate Michael Cimino
1981 Street Music Jenny Bowen
1983 The Right Stuff Philip Kaufman
1986 Children of a Lesser God Randa Haines First collaboration with Randa Haines
1990 The Godfather Part III Francis Ford Coppola Third collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola
1991 The Doctor Randa Haines Second collaboration with Randa Haines
1993 Shimmer John Hanson
1997 My Best Friend's Wedding P. J. Hogan
1998 Dance with Me Randa Haines Fourth collaboration with Randa Haines
2002 Teknolust Lynn Hershman Leeson
2004 The Woodsman Nicole Kassell
A Love Song for Bobby Long Shainee Gabel
2006 Bonneville Christopher N. Rowley
2015 Love & Taxes Jacob Kornbluth
Editorial department
Year Film Director Role
1974 The Godfather Part II Francis Ford Coppola Assistant editor First collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola
2006 Christmas in Wonderland James Orr Editorial consultant
2010 Little Sister Richard Bowen Supervising editor
Additional crew
Year Film Director Role
2007 When a Man Falls in the Forest Ryan Eslinger Consultant
2022 What Comes Around Amy Redford Editorial consultant
Thanks
Year Film Director Role Notes
1985 On the Edge Rob Nilsson Special thanks to
1993 Wrestling Ernest Hemingway Randa Haines Thanks Third collaboration with Randa Haines
2006 Colma: The Musical Richard Wong
2013 Test Chris Mason Johnson Special thanks
Documentaries
Editor
Year Film Director
1973 Ten: The Magic Number Barrie Nelson
1977 The Grateful Dead Movie
2012 Sweet Dreams
  • Herself
  • Rob Fruchtman
2016 Vegas Baby Amanda Micheli
Editorial department
Year Film Director Role
2016 Crossing Bhutan Ben Henretig Story editor
Supervising editor
2017 Saving Capitalism
  • Jacob Kornbluth
  • Sari Gilman
Supervising editor
2018 The Providers
  • Laura Green
  • Anna Moot-Levin
Story consultant
Additional crew
Year Film Director Role
2016 Crossing Bhutan Ben Henretig Story editor
Director
Year Film
2012 Sweet Dreams
Producer
Year Film Director Credit
2012 Sweet Dreams
  • Herself
  • Rob Fruchtman
Producer
2024 Counted Out Vicki Abeles
Shorts
Editor
Year Film Director
1986 Captain EO Francis Ford Coppola
Editorial department
Year Film Director Role
2012 Witness 11 Sean Mitchell Consulting editor
TV movies
Editor
Year Film Director
1995 Truman Frank Pierson
1999 Witness Protection Richard Pearce
2003 Normal Jane Anderson
Editorial department
Year Film Director Role
2002 Point of Origin Newton Thomas Sigel Consulting editor

References

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  1. ^ a b "Alumni Award winners span varied careers and achievements, from economics to medicine to winemaking". University of Chicago. May 14, 2010.
  2. ^ Phillips, Gene D. (2004). Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola. University Press of Kentucky. p. 158. ISBN 9780813123042.
  3. ^ LoBrutto, Vincent (2013). "Apocalypse Now". The Art of Motion Picture Editing: An Essential Guide to Methods, Principles, Processes, and Terminology. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 9781621532514. LoBrutto's account is based on earlier interviews with Marks, Greenberg, and Murch.
  4. ^ Dannenbaum, Jed; Hodge, Carroll; Mayer, Doe (2010). Creative Filmmaking from the Inside Out: Five Keys to the Art of Making Inspired Movies and Television. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781451603606.
  5. ^ Klady, Leonard (June 4, 1998). "Review: 'Dance With Me'". Variety. It's all lovingly captured in the fluid sweep of Fred Murphy's camera and the borderline-garish production design of Waldemar Kalinowski. And despite pic's longish running time, there's a crispness to the pace in Lisa Fruchtman's editing.
  6. ^ Lisa Fruchtman at IMDb