Mo'Nique stars in 'Precious.'
Klotz
"Precious" helmer Lee Daniels can't be easy to work for.
"I had to fire an editor and a cinematographer," he wrote in a January article in "Moviemaker" magazine. "I went through three continuity people, three locations managers, two producers, two assistant directors, two sound people, two video playback people, two caterers and I'm too embarrassed to think of any other replacements."
But what emerged from all this on-set tumult is a film that's been met with standing ovations at screenings and festivals.
And a key to producing such a work is finding collaborators with the right chemistry -- preferably of the noncombustible sort. At least that's the experience of Joe Klotz, editor of record for "Precious."
"Lee asked me to not hold back," Klotz said. "He had tons of ideas, and he knew what he liked. It wasn't wishy washy. He told me to be as bold as I could because it was bold material. Sometimes he told me I wasn't bold enough, but sometimes he said, 'You're crazier than me.' "
When Klotz joined the crew, his first assignment was to cut the film's most revelatory, gut-wrenching scene -- a three-way, highly emotional exchange among Precious (the lead, played by Gabourey Sidibe), her mother (Mo'Nique) and a social worker (Mariah Carey) -- which takes place near the end of the film.
The scene lasts about eight minutes. "(Daniels) kept pushing me to cut it in different ways," said Klotz. "It was a tough nut to crack, and I threw everything I had at it. It took three or four days just to rough it out."
During his first meeting with Daniels, Klotz stressed that the film's lighter moments would keep audiences in their seats as they recovered from its more painful segments. "We agreed that this film will succeed if the comedy works," said Klotz. "It's so deep and dark, and you can't do a whole film like that. It will sink under its own weight."
Working on an Avid system in Manhattan's Brill Building, Klotz ended up cutting a film that met even Daniels' demanding expectations. "As an editor you have to be a chameleon and work in ways other people like to work," he said. "You develop a trust, then you can input onto that (person's) style."
Bookings & signings
Mirisch Agency signings: d.p.'s
Andrew Shulkind and
Billy Dickson; producers
Anthony Santa Croce,
Buzz Koenig and
Doug Curtis; vfx supervisors
Bill Taylor and
Richard Edlund; and editor
Mark Goldblatt. Mirisch bookings: editors
Alec Smight on CBS' "CSI,"
Lisa Zeno Churgin on Scott Charles Stewart's "Priest,"
Lisa Bromwell on ABC's "Defying Gravity,"
Roger Barton on Joe Carnahan's "A-Team,"
Tim Streeto on Noah Baumbach's "Greenburg,"
Virginia Katz on Steven Antin's "Burlesque,"
Wendy Bricmont on Thor Freudenthal's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and
Stuart Baird on Phillip Noyce's "Salt"; producer
Don Carmody and vfx supervisor
Eric J. Robertson on Paul W.S. Anderson's "Resident Evil: Extinction"; d.p.
Lukas Ettlin on Jonathan Liebesman's "Battle: Los Angeles"; and production designers
Stephen Hendrickson on CBS' "The Good Wife" and
Stuart Wurtzel on Nicole Kassell's "Earthbound." Mirisch also booked editors
Mark Goldblatt and
Walter Murch to recut Joe Johnston's "The Wolfman."
* * *
Paradigm signings: D.p.
Cynthia Pusheck ("Brothers and Sisters"), costume designer
Wendy Chuck ("Twilight") and 2nd unit director/stunts
Andy Cheng ("Twilight"). Paradigm bookings: d.p.
Rob Sweeney and production designer
Richard Toyon on TNT's "Rizzoli" pilot, production designer
Charlie Lagola on FX's "Lawman," d.p.
Russell Carpenter on Nicole Kassell's "Earthbound," costume designer
Gersha Phillips and editor
Julian Clarke on Larissa Kondracki's "The Whistleblower," and editor
David Rosenbloom on Jonathan Liebesman's "Battle: Los Angeles."
* * *
Signings at Innovative Artists: costume designer
Deena Appel ("Extraordinary Measures") and line producers
Peter Burrell (CW's "Privileged"),
Peter Mcintosh ("Wonderland" TV series),
Brian Campbell ("Factory Girl") and
Connie Dolphin ("Flicka 2"). IA has booked editor
Tatiana Riegel on HBO's "Game of Thrones" pilot and Editor
Tony Solomons on Dario Piana's "Lost Boys 3."
* * *
Montana Artists bookings: production designers
Gae Buckley on Antoine Fuqua's "Prisoners,"
Ken Hardy on A&E's "The Quickening" pilot and
Shane Valentino on Mike Mills' "Beginners"; producer
Carol Trussell, production designer
Brent Thomas and UPM
Warren Carr on ABC Family's pilot "Pretty Little Liars"; d.p.'s
Lorenzo Senatore on Victor Garcia's "Mirrors 2" and
Robert LaBonge on Lifetime's "Army Wives"; 1st a.d.
Chad Rosen on Chris Eyre's "A Year in Mooring"; editor
Kathryn Himoff on Dustin Lance Black's "What's Wrong With Virginia?"; and vfx supervisor
Ron Simonson on John Stockwell's "Road Kill."
* * *
Marsh, Best has signed d.p.
Florian Hoffmeister (AMC's "The Prisoner"), costume designer
Catherine Thomas ("Whip It"), production designer
James Merifield (BBC's "Little Dorrit") and editor
Joel Plotch ("Lakeview Terrace"). Marsh, Best bookings: producers
Rudd Simmons on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" and
Ed Cathell on David Schwimmer's "Trust"; production designers
Rick Heinrichs on Joe Johnston's "Captain America,"
John Myhre on Rob Marshall's "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" and
Carol Spier on Jim Sheridan's "Dream House"; d.p.
Peter Deming on Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 4"; costume designer
Hope Hanafin on Miguel Arteta's "Cedar Rapids"; and editor Greg Hayden on Paul Weitz's "Meet the Fockers" sequel.
* * *
Dattner Dispoto has signed production designer
Deborah Evans ("G-Force") and booked d.p.
Sam Levy on Galt Niederhoffer's "The Romantics." The Skouras Agency has booked d.p.
Philippe Le Sourd on Wong Kar Wai's "The Grand Master"; and production designers
Allan Cameron on Rob Cohen's "Medieval" and
Neil Spisak on Peter Berg's "Battleship"; and production designer
Anne Ross and d.p.
Harris Savides on Gus Van Sant's "Restless."
Contact Peter Caranicas at
peter.caranicas@variety.com