Defying Gravity and Genres: Oscar-Nominated Editors Reflect on Their Creative Journeys

variety.com:

Carolyn Giardina Before the first frame of a movie has been lensed, editor Myron Kerstein forms an impression from the words on the pages. “I’m really trying to understand the emotion when I’m reading a script,” says Kerstein, who earned his second Oscar nomination in film editing for his longtime collaborator Jon.

M. Chu’s “Wicked” adaptation. “If something starts to give me goosebumps, or I start to feel something in my heart while I’m reading a script, that’s always key for me.

I’m really trying to listen to my heart.” Remembering the first time he read the “Wicked” script, Kerstein says, “I cried at the end, which was a very similar emotion that I wanted to capture when we were making the movie.” Central to the stage musical adaptation was the friendship that develops between Elphaba (Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo), who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Oscar-nominated Ariana Grande), the Good Witch.

The defining moment that begins this friendship takes place in the Ozdust Ballroom. Although described in the script, Kerstein says, “When you’re actually getting the footage of something like the Ozdust Ballroom and connecting to it emotionally, you’re like, ‘This is a whole other kettle of fish.’” “Jon and I spoke at length about that scene at script stage and when they were doing rehearsals,” he relates. “We both knew that that scene was going to be the centerpiece of the movie.