Joel Cox
Joel Cox | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 2, 1942 |
| Occupation | Film editor |
| Known for | Extensive collaboration with Clint Eastwood, editing 33 of his films |
Joel Cox (born April 2, 1942) is a distinguished American film editor best known for his extensive collaboration with Clint Eastwood, having edited 33 of his films.
Life and career
Cox’s introduction to the film industry occurred as an infant in Random Harvest (1942). He started working at Warner Bros. in the mailroom in 1961. Approximately three years later, editor and executive Rudi Fehr appointed him as an apprentice editor. For several years, Cox contributed as an uncredited assistant editor; his first official assistant editor credit came with The Rain People, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and edited by Barry Malkin. His debut editing credit was on Farewell, My Lovely (1975), which he co-edited alongside veteran editor Walter A. Thompson. Cox also collaborated on other projects directed by Dick Richards, including March or Die (1977) and Death Valley (1982).
Cox’s significant association with Clint Eastwood commenced during the 1976 film The Outlaw Josey Wales, where he served as assistant to editor Ferris Webster. Cox and Webster jointly edited The Gauntlet (1977) along with several other Eastwood-directed films. Beginning with Sudden Impact (1983), Cox assumed the role of Eastwood’s primary editor. Throughout their three-decade partnership, Eastwood reportedly re-cut only one scene that Cox had edited. Starting with Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), assistant Gary D. Roach became Cox’s co-editor. Cox’s continuous streak concluded with Sully, which was edited by his former assistant Blu Murray.
Since the year 2000, Cox and his family have owned and operated a vineyard and winery located near Paso Robles, California.
Cox received the 1992 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on Unforgiven. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors. In 2008, Eastwood honored him with the first-ever Ignacy Paderewski Lifetime Achievement Award at the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival. Additionally, Cox earned a 2009 BAFTA nomination for Changeling and was nominated for an Academy Award again in 2015 for American Sniper.
Filmography
At the 2008 Paso Robles Digital Film Festival, Joel Cox’s extensive filmography was showcased in conjunction with presenting him the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Editor
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Juror No. 2 | Clint Eastwood | with David S. Cox |
| 2021 | Cry Macho | Clint Eastwood | with David S. Cox |
| 2019 | Richard Jewell | Clint Eastwood | |
| 2018 | The Mule | Clint Eastwood | |
| 2018 | Den of Thieves | Christian Gudegast | with David S. Cox, Nathan Godley |
| 2017 | All Eyez on Me | Benny Boom | |
| 2014 | American Sniper | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2014 | Jersey Boys | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2013 | Prisoners | Denis Villeneuve | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2012 | Trouble with the Curve | Robert Lorenz | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2011 | J. Edgar | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2010 | Hereafter | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2009 | Invictus | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2008 | Gran Torino | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2008 | Changeling | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2007 | American Masters Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends | Bruce Ricker | (TV) Producer Clint Eastwood |
| 2006 | Letters from Iwo Jima | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach |
| 2006 | Flags of Our Fathers | Clint Eastwood | with Gary D. Roach. |
| 2005 | Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | Bruce Ricker | (TV) |
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Frankie Dunn |
| 2003 | The Blues: Piano Blues | Clint Eastwood | |
| 2003 | Mystic River | Clint Eastwood | Original Music by Clint Eastwood |
| 2002 | Blood Work | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Terry McCaleb |
| 2000 | Space Cowboys | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Frank Corvin |
| 1999 | True Crime | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Steve Everett |
| 1997 | Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | Clint Eastwood | |
| 1997 | Absolute Power | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney |
| 1997 | Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall | Bruce Ricker | (TV) |
| 1995 | The Stars Fell on Henrietta | James Keach | |
| 1995 | The Bridges of Madison County | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid |
| 1993 | A Perfect World | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood as Chief Red Garnett |
| 1992 | Unforgiven | Clint Eastwood | Won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing; starred as William 'Bill' Munny |
| 1990 | The Rookie | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Nick Pulovski |
| 1990 | White Hunter Black Heart | Clint Eastwood | Starred as John Wilson |
| 1989 | Pink Cadillac | Buddy Van Horn | Starred as Tommy Nowak |
| 1988 | Bird | Clint Eastwood | |
| 1988 | The Dead Pool | Buddy Van Horn | Supervising editor; starred as Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan |
| 1986 | Heartbreak Ridge | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Gunnery Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway |
| 1986 | Ratboy | Sondra Locke | |
| 1985 | Pale Rider | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Preacher |
| 1984 | Tightrope | Richard Tuggle | Starred as Capt. Wes Block |
| 1983 | Sudden Impact | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Harry Callahan |
| 1982 | Honkytonk Man | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Red Stovall; with Ferris Webster and Michael Kelly. |
| 1982 | Death Valley | Dick Richards | |
| 1980 | Bronco Billy | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Bronco Billy McCoy; with Ferris Webster. |
| 1978 | Every Which Way but Loose | James Fargo | Starred as Philo Beddoe; with Ferris Webster. |
| 1977 | The Gauntlet | Clint Eastwood | Starred as Ben Shockley; with Ferris Webster. |
| 1976 | The Enforcer | James Fargo | Starred as Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan; with Ferris Webster. |
| 1975 | Farewell, My Lovely | Dick Richards | co-edited with Walter A. Thompson |
Assistant editor
| Year | Film | Director | Role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Escape from Alcatraz | Don Siegel | assistant editor | Edited by Ferris Webster; Eastwood stars as Frank Morris. |
| 1977 | March or Die | Dick Richards | assistant editor | |
| 1976 | The Outlaw Josey Wales | Clint Eastwood | assistant editor | Ferris Webster was the editor; Eastwood played Josey Wales. |
| 1975 | Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins | Dick Richards | assistant editor | Walter Thompson handled editing. |
| 1974 | The Terminal Man | Mike Hodges | assistant editor | Edited by Robert L. Wolfe. |
| 1973 | The All-American Boy | Charles Eastman | assistant editor | The only film directed by Eastman. |
| 1973 | Cleopatra Jones | Jack Starrett | assistant editor | |
| 1969 | The Rain People | Francis Ford Coppola | assistant editor | Barry Malkin was the primary editor. |
| 1969 | The Wild Bunch | Sam Peckinpah | assistant editor | Uncredited contribution. |
Sound department
| Year | Film | Director | Role | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Learning Tree | Gordon Parks | sound assistant |
Self
1999 1993 1993 1992| Year | Program | Episode/Title | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | HBO First Look | A Moment in Time... Flags of Our Fathers | |
| 2005 | Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema | Released on video. | |
| 2002 | All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger | ||
| 2000 | ' American Masters | ' Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows | |
| ' Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' | |||
| ' The 65th Annual Academy Awards | ' Awarded Best Film Editing' | ||
| ' Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso' | |||
| ' Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' |
Awards
| Year | Outcome | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Details |
|---|
See also
- List of film director and editor collaborations. The collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Cox ranks among the most enduring and productive in cinematic history.
Further reading
- Features an interview with Cox.