Geraldine Peroni | |
|---|---|
 Geraldine Peroni and Robert Altman | |
| Born | (1953-07-05)July 5, 1953 |
| Died | August 3, 2004(2004-08-03) (aged 51) New York, New York |
| Occupation | film editor |
Geraldine "Geri" Peroni (July 5, 1953 – August 3, 2004) was an Americanfilm editor who was best known for working withRobert Altman. She received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Film Editing for her work on Altman's 1992 film,The Player.
Peroni was born inManhattan, New York City and grew up in theborough ofQueens.[1] Her collaboration with Altman extended over eight films.[2] Altman said of Peroni "I trusted her totally with everything, I was planning on using her in the next film. She and I saw very much the same way — we just read each other so well."[1]
She was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Film Editing, theBAFTA Award for Best Editing, and theAmerican Cinema Editors Eddie for her work onThe Player (1992). In his obituary,Tony Sloman discussed this film's editing:[3]
The Player is a marvellous example of collaborative editing, Peroni matching Altman's tone with exactitude. Early on, a cut from a zoom-in to the gun in Humphrey Bogart's hand on a postcard sent to Tim Robbins is perfectly successively matched with what appears to be a black frame, in which a reveal shows that it's an open drawer in which the postcard has been placed. Another felicitous sequence is the one in the Pasadena police station, where the Robbins character is arraigned as Lyle Lovett swats a fly and Whoopi Goldberg and her associates ridicule Robbins with laughter. This is beautifully edited; well-shot, too, but the rhythm is built in the cutting.
Peroni's work onShort Cuts (1993) has been discussed by Krin Gabbard, who wrote, "Altman has invited his audiences to provide connections among scenes that float loosely about each other at the same time that he has benefited from the intelligent choices made by the film's editor Geraldine Peroni."[4]
Peroni was found dead at her home in 2004.[2] Her death was ruled a suicide by the New York coroner, a fact reportedly disputed by her family.[5] She was in the midst of editingBrokeback Mountain.Dylan Tichenor completed Peroni's work; he later said, "I learned to edit from her, when she was Robert Altman's editor and I was her apprentice onThe Player, and I worked with her for five years. While she was cuttingBrokeback Mountain, she died rather suddenly, tragically. The first month was really difficult, seeing the work she'd done, all her selections and knowing her thinking behind it. Soon, it got to be cathartic and good to spend this time with her- I found myself thinking about her all the time through this process and it was a gift to me in that way."[6] Tichenor and Peroni were nominated for numerous editing awards forBrokeback Mountain, including the BAFTA Award and the American Cinema Editors Eddie.
The Wire episode "Back Burners" was dedicated to her memory. The credits ofBrokeback Mountain also read "In Loving Memory of Geraldine Peroni".
The director(s) of each film are listed in parentheses.
She was just smarter than I was ... she became my taste ... I'll try to remember what she taught me for the future ... she had an honest human attitude. I certainly have a lot of respect for her. An editor becomes a part of your brain.
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