The Comeback Editing Team -- HANLEY And HILL Cut CINDERELLA MAN

(From Avid.com)

DAN HANLEY and MIKE HILL are one of HOLLYWOOD's most enduring and successful editing teams. Longtime collaborators with director RON HOWARD on films such as APOLLO 13 and A BEAUTIFUL MIND, they have become used to Howard's penchant for shooting lots of film. Howard's latest project, CINDERELLA MAN, was no exception. Set in THE GREAT DEPRESSION, the film stars RUSSELL CROWE as JAMES BRADDOCK, the comeback boxer who "brought America back to its feet" by taking the heavyweight championship title from the odds-on favorite MAX BAER on June 13th, 1935.

With up to seven cameras shooting some of the boxing sequences alone, 1.5 million feet of material was photographed, with more than half of that printed. Not only were Hanley and Hill faced with selecting the best shots from this extensive material, they knew it was essential that the boxing sequences be exciting enough to grab audiences. While the on-screen fighting was accomplished and the film exquisitely shot by cinematographer SAL TOTINO, the cutting was critical  especially in the opening fight scene in which Braddock breaks his hand and shows little talent as a boxer. "If these boxing scenes didn't work, we had problems," says Hill.

The Comeback Editing Team -- Hanley And Hill Cut Cinderella Man