One thing was pretty certain going into Friday night's ACE Eddie Awards ceremony honoring the best in editing: “Boyhood” was an odds-on lock to win the drama prize, and is, as ever, the frontrunner to win the Oscar in the category. So that happened. With “Birdman” tearing up the guild circuit, though, certainly plenty of us had an eye on it coming out on top in the comedy field, despite a lacking Oscar nod. Alas, that didn't happen.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which was nominated for a film editing Oscar, came out on top. Cue more “what does it all mean” dialogue. It doesn't mean that much, though. There used to be a stat some folks would cling to re: ACE's place in the Best Picture build, but “12 Years a Slave” (nor “Gravity,” for that matter) didn't win there. “The King's Speech” didn't win there. “No Country for Old Men,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “American Beauty,” “Shakespeare in Love,” etc. Let's not put too much on it.
And I'm not saying “Birdman” is sitting pretty, either. No, this race is super close, with at least five films right in the thick of the Best Picture hunt. That's a good thing! But answers aren't readily available, either. And I don't even think the DGA can clear things up if they go with anyone other than Alejandro G. Iñárritu. So all eyes turn to them next weekend. For now…
Check out the full list of ACE winners below, nominees here and the rest of the fun at The Circuit.
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“Boyhood” (Sandra Adair, ACE)
Best Editing Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Barney Pilling)
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
“The LEGO Movie” (David Burrow & Chris McKay)
Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
“CITIZENFOUR” (Mathilde Bonnefoy)
Best Edited Documentary (Television)
“The Roosevelts: An Intimate History” – “Episode 3: The Fire of Life” (Eric Ewers)
Best Editing Half-Hour Series for Television
“Veep” – “Special Relationship” (Anthony Boys)
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television
“Sherlock” – “His Last Vow” (Yan Miles)
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
“True Detective” – “Who Goes There” (Affonso Gonçalves)
Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
“The Normal Heart” (Adam Penn)
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” – “Iran” (Hunter Gross)
Best Student Editing
Johnny Sepulveda (Video Symphony)
Lifetime Career Achievement
Diane Adler
Lifetime Career Achievement
Jerry Greenberg
Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
Frank Marshall