How ‘Stillwater’ Test Audiences Helped Shape the Editing of the Matt Damon Drama
Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorNot all films are tested with audiences, but when the process is effective, it can help filmmakers clarify and hone a movie’s message. That was the case with Tom McCarthy’s “Stillwater,” which utilized audience feedback to help editor Tom McArdle shape the opening moments of the drama, which opens July 30 in theaters.Matt Damon plays Bill Baker, a construction worker from Oklahoma, who is first shown, in quick succession, surveying a wrecked construction site post-hurricane, applying for a new job and eating dinner with his mother.