Thirteen Lives

Editor - James D. Wilcox, ACE

THIRTEEN LIVES editor James D. Wilcox joins the Rough Cut to talk about cutting Ron Howard's latest film.  James first collaborated with Howard on the series, Genius, and received an ACE Eddie award for his work on the episode, "Einstein - Chapter 1".  From there, James would do another episode of Genius ("Aretha"), as well as cutting Howard's adaptation of the J.D. Vance book, HILBILLY ELEGY; which would be Wilcox's first feature editing job.  Unlike most feature editors who started their journey in post as an assistant, James actually started out as an editor, but working in news and sports.  This experience proved invaluable to him later in his career when he started cutting scripted shows and features.

THIRTEEN LIVES recounts the incredible true story of the tremendous global effort to rescue a Thai soccer team who become trapped in the Tham Luang cave during an unexpected rainstorm. Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world's most skilled and experienced divers -- uniquely able to navigate the maze of flooded, narrow cave tunnels -- join with Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers to attempt a harrowing rescue of the twelve boys and their coach. With impossibly high stakes and the entire world watching, the group embarks on their most challenging dive yet, showcasing the limitlessness of the human spirit in the process.

Editing THIRTEEN LIVES

In our discussion with THIRTEEN LIVES editor, James D. Wilcox we talk about:

• The evolution of his collaboration with director, Ron Howard
• Cutting in a language you don't speak
• Maintaining the scale and geography for the audience
• Creating tension with an underwater soundscape
• Winding an unseen clock

The Credits

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