Sally Menke
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Sally JoAnne Menke (December 17, 1953 – September 27, 2010) was an American
film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...
, who worked in cinema and television. Over the span of her 30-year career in film, she accumulated more than 20 feature film credits. She had a long-time collaboration with director
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
, and edited all of his films until her death in 2010. Menke was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Film Editing The Academy Award for Best Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, ...
for ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
'' and ''
Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an altern ...
''. She also received three British Academy Film Award nominations for her work on Tarantino's ''Kill Bill'', ''Pulp Fiction'' and ''Inglourious Basterds''. She was nominated 25 times for several different awards, and won 12 in her thirty-year career.


Early life

Menke was born in
Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...
to Charlotte Menke, a teacher, and Dr. Warren Wells Menke, a management professor at Clemson University. She attended the PK Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Florida and graduated in 1972. She would then move back to New York and study at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
's
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
Film Program in 1977, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film.


Career

Menke edited documentaries for CBS in her early career. The first feature she edited after graduating was Cold Feet, a 1983 comedy. She received more film work in the 1990s, working on films such as ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'', '' Heaven & Earth'' and '' Mulholland Falls''. In 1992, Menke met
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
when he was holding interviews for an editor. “A cheap one,” she once recalled, as this would be his first feature-length debut film. Tarantino sent her the script for ''
Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward B ...
'' and she said that she thought it was "amazing". Menke was hiking in Canada when she learned she got the job. After Tarantino and Menke collaborated for ''Reservoir Dogs'', she edited every single one of his films after that up until her death: a total of eight films. Tarantino summarized their working relationship in 2007, saying that "The best collaborations are the director–editor teams, where they can finish each other's sentences", and that Menke was his "only, truly genuine collaborator". Together, they developed the infamous style of dialogue-driven, slow-cut scenes composed with fast-cut action scenes. She was selected as a member of the
American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
. On the Motion Picture Editors Guild 2012 listing of the 75 best-edited films of all time, ''Pulp Fiction'' was listed 18th. Menke's final editing credit was on the film ''
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
'', a thriller released in 2010, directed by Michael Lander.


Personal life

Menke married film and television director
Dean Parisot Aldo Luis "Dean" Parisot (born July 6, 1952) is an American film and television director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for ''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'', which was co-written by and starred comedian Ste ...
in 1986. Like Menke, he also graduated from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
's
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
. The couple had two children, Lucas and Isabella.


Death

Menke had gone hiking the morning of September 27, 2010, with a friend and her dog. Menke's friend left her after an hour when she started to feel unwell in the heat. When Menke failed to come home, her friends alerted the police. Search dogs, a
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
helicopter, and officers from patrol units spent hours in
Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...
searching for her. Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot. Menke's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near 5600 block of Green Oak Drive on September 28, 2010. Her dog was found alive, sitting next to her body. The coroner's office later determined that Menke's death was heat-related. It was in downtown Los Angeles the day she died.


Legacy

The
Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...
created a memorial fellowship in film editing to honor Menke. Tarantino's film ''
Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis Chri ...
'' (2012) is believed to be dedicated in her memory. It is the first film of Tarantino's that Menke has not edited. Fred Raskin, who had been Menke's editing assistant, has since taken over editing duties for Tarantino's films.


Filmography

Menke's feature film credits as editor are tabulated below. She has two additional credits for editing television documentaries: ''Hans Bethe: Prophet of Energy'' (1980) and '' The Congress'' (1988).


Awards and nominations

*1995 – ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
'' (nominated) –
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
– "Best Film Editing" *1995 – ''Pulp Fiction'' (nominated) –
American Cinema Editors Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
ACE Eddie Award – "Best Edited Feature Film" *1995 – ''Pulp Fiction'' (nominated) – BAFTA Film Award – "Best Editing" *2003 – '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (won) – San Diego Film Critics Society Awards – "Best Editing" *2004 – ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (nominated) – BAFTA Film Award – "Best Editing" *2004 – '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (won) – Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards – Sierra Award for "Best Editing" *2005 – ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (nominated) – American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie Award – "Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)" *2005 – ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (nominated) – Online Film Critics Society OFCS Award – "Best Editing" *2010 – ''
Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an altern ...
'' (nominated) –
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
– "Best Film Editing"


References


External links

*
Sally Menke tribute
by the
New Beverly Cinema The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California. Housed in a building that dates back to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region. Since 2007, it has been owned by filmmaker Quentin Tara ...
(at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menke, Sally 1953 births 2010 deaths American Cinema Editors American film editors American women film editors People from Mineola, New York American people of German descent Tisch School of the Arts alumni