Millie Moore

Editor


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In her one-and-a-half-hour interview, Millie Moore (1928-2015) talks about her background in still photography and her introduction to documentary filmmaking, on a profile of England's Teddy Boy subculture in the 1950s. She describes her first work in television - working on the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas. She explains how her duties screening footage and evaluating it for both its content and technical quality led to her interest in working in the editorial department. She speaks about her difficulties in being accepted as a woman editor and in joining the editors union. Moore then discusses her first two jobs as a full editor on the feature films Johnny Got His Gun (on which she worked with Dalton Trumbo), and the Oscar-winning feature documentary The Man Who Skied Down Everest (on which she crafted the story by creating an antagonist in the mountain itself). She comments on many of her subsequent television projects including: Hey, I'm Alive! (discussing the challenges of the two-character piece), Cagney & Lacey (and how she came to edit the last episode of season three), The Rape of Richard Beck (detailing its subject matter), Geronimo (which marked her transition to editing on the Avid), and Collected Stories (working with Gil Cates). Throughout the interview, she comments on her editing technique in relation to her fidelity to the writer's intent, the importance of music, and cutting to highlight the believability in the actors' performances. Finally, she talks about receiving the 2008 A.C.E. Lifetime Achievement Award. Karen Herman conducted the interview in a joint venture with American Cinema Editors (ACE) on July 15, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"No matter what I did to manipulate scenes, I was always conscious of trying to be true to the writer's intent."

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Millie Moore on editing an episode of Cagney & Lacey
02:17
Millie Moore on editing The Rape of Richard Beck
04:50
Millie Moore on her first film as a full editor, working for Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
06:11
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50
Millie Moore on having no career regrets and loving her job
03:54
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On her childhood and early influences; on hobbies when she was a kid; on moving from Ohio to California
On becoming a photographer and stage manager; on living in Europe and her first involvement with documentary filmmaking; on working on the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas; on moving into editing and being one of the sole female editors in the union
On working as an Assistant Editor for eight years; on working at Paramount for Sid Levin; on becoming a full editor and working with Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
On the second film she edited - "The Man Who Skied Down Everest" - which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
On editing films and TV shows for Michael Pressman, Larry Schiller, and Gilbert Cates; on the relationship between a director and an editor
On editing films for television and dealing with producers and Executives; on editing an episode of Cagney & Lacey; on editing the TV movies The Rape of Richard Be ck, To Heal A Nation, and The Tenth Man

Chapter 2

On what she looks for in an actor's performance; on working with special effects and music
On editing Delbert Mann's Ironclads; on editing on Avid for the first time on Geronimo; on working with Linda Lavin and Gil Cates on the TV movie Collected Stories
On receiving the A.C.E. Lifetime Achievement Award; on what A.C.E. means to her; on her greatest achievement; on having no career regrets and loving her job
On advice to an aspiring editor; on how women editors have progressed through the years; on how she'd like to be remembered
Shows

Cagney & Lacey

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Millie Moore on editing an episode of Cagney & Lacey
02:17

Geronimo

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Millie Moore on editing on Avid for the first time on Geronimo
03:38

Ironclads

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Millie Moore on editing Delbert Mann's Ironclads
01:12

Rape of Richard Beck, The

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Millie Moore on editing The Rape of Richard Beck
04:50

Tenth Man, The

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Millie Moore on editing The Tenth Man
03:43

To Heal A Nation

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Millie Moore on editing To Heal A Nation
02:01
Topics

Advertising and Sponsorship

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Millie Moore on advice to an aspiring editor
02:58

Advice

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Millie Moore on advice to an aspiring editor
02:58

Creative Influences and Inspiration

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Millie Moore on serving as Assistant Editor to Sid Levin
00:47

First Big Break

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Millie Moore on her first big break - working on the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas
01:15

Historic Events and Social Change

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Millie Moore on being one of the sole women in the A.C.E. when she joined
03:03
Millie Moore on women being more welcomed into the A.C.E. as editors, not just librarians, after the studio system began to crumble
00:45
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50

Hollywood Blacklist

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Millie Moore on her first film as a full editor, working for Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
02:47

Industry Crossroads

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Millie Moore on her first film as a full editor, working for Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
02:47

Pivotal Career Moments

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Millie Moore on her first big break - working on the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas
01:15
Millie Moore on serving as Assistant Editor to Sid Levin
00:47

Representation on Television

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Millie Moore on being one of the sole women in the A.C.E. when she joined
03:03
Millie Moore on women being more welcomed into the A.C.E. as editors, not just librarians, after the studio system began to crumble
00:45
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50

Technological Innovation

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Millie Moore on working with Avid
02:15

Television Industry

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Millie Moore on her first film as a full editor, working for Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
02:47

Women

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Millie Moore on being one of the sole women in the A.C.E. when she joined
03:03
Millie Moore on women being more welcomed into the A.C.E. as editors, not just librarians, after the studio system began to crumble
00:45
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50
Professions

Editor

View Profession
Millie Moore on what attracted her to editing and joining the A.C.E.
03:59
Millie Moore on editing films for Michael Pressman and the relationship between a director and an editor
09:33
Millie Moore on editing films for television and dealing with producers and Executives
03:45
Millie Moore on what she looks for in an actor's performance
01:21
Millie Moore on editing what seems like unusable footage (on "Starship Invasions")
03:22
Millie Moore on working with special effects and music
04:29
Millie Moore on advice to an aspiring editor
02:58
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50

Post-Production Professionals

View Profession
Millie Moore on what attracted her to editing and joining the A.C.E.
03:59
Millie Moore on editing films for Michael Pressman and the relationship between a director and an editor
09:33
Millie Moore on editing films for television and dealing with producers and Executives
03:45
Millie Moore on what she looks for in an actor's performance
01:21
Millie Moore on editing what seems like unusable footage (on "Starship Invasions")
03:22
Millie Moore on working with special effects and music
04:29
Millie Moore on advice to an aspiring editor
02:58
Millie Moore on how women editors have progressed through the years
01:50
Genres

TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials

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Millie Moore on editing the TV movies The Rape of Richard Be ck, To Heal A Nation, and The Tenth Man
10:38
People

Karen Arthur

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Millie Moore on editing The Rape of Richard Beck, directed by Karen Arthur
04:50

Gilbert Cates

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Millie Moore on working with director Gilbert Cates
00:38
Millie Moore on working with Linda Lavin and Gil Cates on the TV movie Collected Stories
02:25
Millie Moore on receiving the A.C.E. Lifetime Achievement Award
02:13

Jack Douglas

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Millie Moore on her first big break - working on the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas
01:15
Millie Moore on evaluating the footage from the travelogue documentaries of Jack Douglas and moving into editing
01:48

Linda Lavin

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Millie Moore on working with Linda Lavin and Gil Cates on the TV movie Collected Stories
02:18

Sidney Levin

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Millie Moore on serving as Assistant Editor to Sid Levin
01:01

Michael Pressman

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Millie Moore on editing films for Michael Pressman and the relationship between a director and an editor
03:45

Larry Schiller

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Millie Moore on editing a film with Larry Schiller and script and visual elements to be aware of
01:41

Dalton Trumbo

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Millie Moore on her first film as a full editor, working for Dalton Trumbo on "Johnny Got His Gun"
06:11

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