Ben Affleck says the first cut of a movie is usually so bad it makes him question everything.
“When I see the first cut of my own movie, I want to kill myself.”
“90% of the time, you watch it and think, ‘Okay, we’ve got a long way to go.��”
“Making a movie is a very iterative process. A lot of the work happens after filming ends.”
“Sometimes you have to sit with the editor and explain exactly why a scene is supposed to be funny.”
“What’s obvious to you isn’t always obvious to someone else.”
“You have to explain the joke, the callback, the surprise, and why a certain take works.”
“People think there’s some magic to editing, but a lot of the time editors just need feedback.”
“Film isn’t like writing a novel. It’s collaborative.”