Sally Menke

Sally JoAnne Menke (December 17, 1953 – September 27, 2010) was an American television and film editor.[1][2]

Sally Menke
Born	Sally JoAnne Menke December 17, 1953 Mineola, New York, U.S.
Died	September 27, 2010 (aged 56) Bronson Canyon, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1980–2010
Spouse(s)	Dean Parisot ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	2

She had a long-time collaboration with director Quentin Tarantino, editing all of his films until her death. Menke was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds, of which Variety's Todd McCarthy wrote, "Sally Menke's editing reps the definition of precision."[3]

Early life

Menke was born in Mineola, New York, the daughter of Charlotte, a teacher, and Dr. Warren Wells Menke, a professor of management at Clemson University.[1] Menke graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Film Program. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film in 1977.[4]

Career

Menke edited documentaries for CBS in her early career.[4] She received more film work in the 1990s, working on such films as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heaven & Earth and Mulholland Falls.[5][6]

Menke met Quentin Tarantino when he held interviews for an editor.[7] Tarantino sent her the script for Reservoir Dogs and she said that she thought it was "amazing".[7] Menke was hiking in Canada when she learned she got the job.[7] Menke continued working with Tarantino, editing eight films altogether.[7] 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".[8]

Menke's final editing credit was on the thriller Peacock (2010), directed by Michael Lander.[6]

She was selected as a member of the American Cinema Editors.[9] On the Motion Picture Editors Guild 2012 listing of the 75 best-edited films of all time, Pulp Fiction was listed 18th.[10]

Personal life

Menke married director Dean Parisot in 1986 and the couple had two children, Lucas and Isabella.[1][4]

Death

Menke had gone hiking the morning of September 27, 2010, with a friend and her dog.[2] 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.[11] Search dogs, a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter, and officers from patrol units spent hours in Griffith Park searching for her.[12] Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot.[11] Menke's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near 5600 block of Green Oak Drive on September 28, 2010.[11] Her dog was found alive, sitting next to her body.[2][11][12][13] The coroner's office later determined that Menke's death was heat-related. It was 113 °F (45 °C) in downtown Los Angeles the day she died.[14]

Legacy

The Sundance Institute created a memorial fellowship in film editing to honor Menke.[15] Tarantino's film Django Unchained (2012) was dedicated to her memory due to their long partnership.[16]

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).

Year	Film	Director	Other notes
1983	Cold Feet	Bruce van Dusen
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Steve Barron
1991	The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe	John Bailey
1992	Reservoir Dogs	Quentin Tarantino	20/20 Awards for Best Film Editing Nominated – Awards Circuit Community Awards for Best Film Editing
1993	Heaven & Earth	Oliver Stone
1994	Pulp Fiction	Quentin Tarantino	Awards Circuit Community Awards for Best Editing Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing Nominated – ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing
1995	Four Rooms		Segment: "The Man from Hollywood"
1996	Mulholland Falls	Lee Tamahori
1997	Nightwatch	Ole Bornedal
	Jackie Brown	Quentin Tarantino
2000	All the Pretty Horses	Billy Bob Thornton
2001	Daddy and Them
2003–2004	Kill Bill	Quentin Tarantino	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Nominated – ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing Nominated – American Cinema Editors for Best Editing Nominated – Awards Circuit Community Awards
2004	The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing	Wendy Apple	Self appearance
2007	Death Proof	Quentin Tarantino	Nominated – Italian Online Movie Awards for Best Film Editing
2009	Inglourious Basterds		Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Editing Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing
2010	Peacock	Michael Lander

Awards and nominations

• 1995 – Pulp Fiction (nominated) – Academy Award – "Best Film Editing"[17]
• 1995 – Pulp Fiction (nominated) – American Cinema Editors ACE Eddie Award – "Best Edited Feature Film"
• 1995 – Pulp Fiction (nominated) – BAFTA Film Award – "Best Editing"[18]
• 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"[19]
• 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 (nominated) – Academy Award – "Best Film Editing"[20]

References

1. "Sally Menke, Editor, Weds Aldo L. Parisot". The New York Times. August 10, 1986. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
2. "Sally Menke, longtime film editor for Quentin Tarantino, found dead near Griffith Park". Los Angeles Times. September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
3. McCarty, Todd (May 23, 1994). "Pulp Fiction". Variety.
4. Fox, Margalit (September 28, 2010). "Sally Menke, Film Editor for Tarantino, Dies at 56". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
5. Campbell, Christopher (September 28, 2010). "Sally Menke and Quentin Tarantino. A Short Tribute to an Editor - Filmmaker Relationship". IndieWire. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
6. Pulver, Andrew (September 28, 2010). "Sally Menke, Quentin Tarantino's long-time editor, found dead in LA". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
7. Menke, Sally (December 6, 2009). "'Quentin Tarantino and I clicked'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
8. Seif, Dena (February 19, 2007). "Editors pick 'Babel,' 'Departed': 'Office,' 'Wire' win at ACE Eddie Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
9. "American Cinema Editors Roster". American Cinema Editors. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
10. "The 75 Best Edited Films". Editors Guild Magazine. 1 (3). May 2012. Archived from the original on 2015-03-17.
11. Itzkoff, Dave (September 28, 2010). "Sally Menke, Film Editor for Tarantino and Other Directors, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
12. "Quentin Tarantino's film editor found dead after hiking in scorching LA heat". Herald Sun. September 29, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
13. Chris, Meteorologist (2009-06-17). "Los Angeles' Hottest Day On Record". weather.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
14. McLellan, Dennis; Blankstein, Andrew (2010-09-29). "Sally Menke dies at 56; editor on Quentin Tarantino's movies". latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
15. Parker, Kris (May 19, 2011). "Sundance Institute Names Julia Bloch Sally Menke Editing Fellow". The Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
16. "How Quentin Tarantino Wants To Be Remembered". The Huffington Post. 2012-12-18. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
17. "Academy Awards – Pulp Fiction". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
18. "BAFTA Winners 1994". British Academy Film Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
19. "BAFTA Winners 2003". British Academy Film Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
20. "Nominees & Winners for the 82nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 14, 2010.

External links

• Sally Menke at IMDb
• Sally Menke: A Tribute at New Beverly Cinema. Retrieved on 11 October 2010.