‘American Fiction’: Cord Jefferson and Editor Hilda Rasula Explain Deleted Scenes and Tease Alternate Ending
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” has won rave reviews and is tipped to be an Oscars favorite with its satirical portrayal of the exploitation of Black people in media, balanced with sharp comedy and a punch of emotional family drama.
Jefferson credits his editor, Hilda Rasula, with striking the right tone for the film. “The thing I appreciate about Hilda is that she never lies, she’s very honest, and she tells me when she doesn’t like something,” Jefferson tells Variety. “We ended up cutting out 11 scenes, which is a lot for a story like this,” Rasula adds. “The pace ended up being a key ingredient to finding the tonal balance.
We had to experiment by pulling back on scenes, cutting them down or omitting them entirely.” As a veteran film editor, Rasula helped guide Jefferson through his directorial debut.
In a conversation with Variety, the duobreak down their process and discuss how the film’s opening and ending shifted in the edit bay. Hilda, what was it like getting the script from Cord, and what made you say yes? Rasula: Straight out of the gate, I read it and it was brilliant, and I knew I had to do it.
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