Michael "Mike" McCusker (born June 23, 1966) is 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 edi ...

. He has been nominated twice 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 the

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' Ma ...

'' (2005) and ''

Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christia ...

'' (2019), winning the latter. McCusker frequently collaborates with director

James Mangold James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films '' Cop Land'' (1997), ''Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), '' Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan' ...

. McCusker stated that editing is "a dance of the eyes. It's not just splicing two pieces of film together but compressing time, leading the audience, telling the story through images and dialogue."

Early life and education

Michael McCusker attended

New Canaan High School New Canaan High School is the only public high school in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 2017, it was ranked the best public high school in Connecticut, and one of the top 200 in the nation. New Canaan High School was ranked the 74th best STEM high s ...

New Canaan New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, where he first began writing and making films. After graduation, he attended

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

, obtaining a bachelor of fine arts degree in

film theory Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for unde ...

and production in 1988.

Career

McCusker was mentored by

David Brenner. After graduating from Emerson, McCusker drove across country to

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in ...

, where he obtained work as a production assistant. Mike McCusker later worked on the television series, ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

''. He became interested in film editing and became an assistant editor on a

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

anthology called '' Fallen Angels''. After joining the Motion Picture Editors Guild, McCusker teamed up as an assistant

to one of

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sca ...

's bevy of hot shot

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 in ...

-winning

David Brenner. Mike McCusker quickly became David Brenner's first assistant film editor, running the cutting room for five years on films such as '' The Patriot'' (2000) and ''

Kate & Leopold ''Kate & Leopold'' is a 2001 American romantic-comedy fantasy film that tells a story of a physicist by the name of Stuart ( Liev Schreiber), who accidentally pulls his great‑great‑grandfather, Leopold ( Hugh Jackman), through a time portal ...

'' (2001). Eventually David Brenner promoted McCusker to the position of associate editor. When film director

asked editor David Brenner to cut ''

'', Brenner was unavailable. Mangold, in need of an editor with whom he was familiar, propositioned Mike McCusker, offering him the prestigious promotion to

. McCusker won the

for ''

'' with

Andrew Buckland Andrew Frederick Buckland (born 4 February 1954 in Zimbabwe) is a South African award-winning playwright, performer, film director, mime, and academic. Biography Born and schooled in Zimbabwe. He is married to actress Janet Buckland. Their s ...

Personal life

McCusker is married to film producer Deirdre Morrison, whom he met while he was additional editor on the film ''

The Day After Tomorrow ''The Day After Tomorrow'' is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Based on the 1999 book '' The Coming Global Superstorm'' by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, the film stars ...

''.

Filmography

As Film Editor

* '' Sax's Final Orbit'' (1997) * ''

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh' ...

'' (1998) * ''

'' (Mangold-2005) * '' Men in Trees'' (

TV pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

) (2006) * ''

Walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

'' ( Olmos-2006) * '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (Mangold-2007) * '' Australia'' ( Luhrmann-2008; with Dody Dorn) * '' Hesher'' ( Susser-2010) * ''

Knight and Day ''Knight and Day'' is a 2010 American satirical action comedy film directed by James Mangold and starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The film was the second on-screen collaboration of Cruise and Diaz, following the 2001 film '' Vanilla Sk ...

'' (Mangold-2010) * ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' ( Webb-2012) * '' The Wolverine'' (Mangold-2013) * '' Get on Up'' (

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

-2014) * '' 13 Hours'' (

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of wat