Christopher Rouse (editor)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Russell Rouse (born November 28, 1958) is an American film and television editor who has about a dozen feature-film credits and numerous television credits. Rouse won the Academy Award for Film Editing, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing
, and the ACE Eddie Award for the film The Bourne Ultimatum
(2007).
Rouse was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, Russell Rouse
, was a writer, director and producer. His mother was actress Beverly Michaels. In the 1980s, Rouse worked as an assistant editor on numerous films, commencing with All Summer in a Day
(1982). His first editing credit was for Desperate Hours
(1992), which was directed by Michael Cimino
. Much of Rouse's work in the 1990s was for television. He edited the mini-series Anne Frank: The Whole Story
(2002) for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award
.
Rouse has worked on four films with director Paul Greengrass
. The Bourne Supremacy
(2004) was their first collaboration. Rouse had previously been an "additional editor" on the initial film in the Bourne series, The Bourne Identity
(2002), that had been directed by Doug Liman
. Frank Marshall, who co-produced the Bourne series, recommended Rouse to Greengrass. The editing of their second feature together, United 93
(2006), received the BAFTA Award as well as nominations for the Academy Award and the ACE Eddie Award. Rouse won the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the ACE Eddie for his third collaboration The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). He edited Greengrass' 2010 film Green Zone
.
Several interviews of Rouse have been published where he discusses the editing of Greengrass' films. Greengrass is noted for a "cinéma vérité
" style of filmmaking that uses several handheld cameras, and that creates opportunities for innovative editing. Ellen Feldman has written a detailed analysis of the editing of United 93. David Bordwell
has discussed this aspect of the films as a further extension of "intensified continuity", which is a perspective on filmmaking that Bordwell has been developing for some years.
Rouse has been elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors
.
BAFTA Award for Best Editing
The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
, and the ACE Eddie Award for the film The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (film)
The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
(2007).
Rouse was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, Russell Rouse
Russell Rouse
Russell Rouse was an American screenwriter, director, and producer who is noted for the "offbeat creativity and originality"of his screenplays and for film noir movies and television episodes produced in the 1950s....
, was a writer, director and producer. His mother was actress Beverly Michaels. In the 1980s, Rouse worked as an assistant editor on numerous films, commencing with All Summer in a Day
All Summer in a Day
"All Summer in a Day" is a "All Summer in a Day" is a "All Summer in a Day" is a [[short science fiction story ] by the author [[Ray Bradbury]]...
(1982). His first editing credit was for Desperate Hours
Desperate Hours
Desperate Hours is a 1990 remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this movie with Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal...
(1992), which was directed by Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
. Much of Rouse's work in the 1990s was for television. He edited the mini-series Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Anne Frank: The Whole Story is a mini-series based on the book Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller. The mini-series aired on ABC on May 20 and 21, 2001. The series starred :Ben Kingsley, :Brenda Blethyn, :Hannah Taylor-Gordon, and :Lili Taylor...
(2002) for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
.
Rouse has worked on four films with director Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
. The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Supremacy (film)
The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 American spy film very loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland, and produced by Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley. Universal Pictures released the film to theaters in...
(2004) was their first collaboration. Rouse had previously been an "additional editor" on the initial film in the Bourne series, The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...
(2002), that had been directed by Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
. Frank Marshall, who co-produced the Bourne series, recommended Rouse to Greengrass. The editing of their second feature together, United 93
United 93 (film)
United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
(2006), received the BAFTA Award as well as nominations for the Academy Award and the ACE Eddie Award. Rouse won the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the ACE Eddie for his third collaboration The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). He edited Greengrass' 2010 film Green Zone
Green Zone (film)
Green Zone is a 2010 American war thriller film written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film was inspired by the non-fiction 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran, which documented life in the Green Zone, Baghdad...
.
Several interviews of Rouse have been published where he discusses the editing of Greengrass' films. Greengrass is noted for a "cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
" style of filmmaking that uses several handheld cameras, and that creates opportunities for innovative editing. Ellen Feldman has written a detailed analysis of the editing of United 93. David Bordwell
David Bordwell
David Bordwell is an American film theorist and film historian. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1974, he has written more than fifteen volumes on the subject of cinema including Narration in the Fiction Film , Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema , Making Meaning , and On the...
has discussed this aspect of the films as a further extension of "intensified continuity", which is a perspective on filmmaking that Bordwell has been developing for some years.
Rouse has been elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors
American Cinema Editors
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing itself. The society is not to be confused with an industry union, such as the I.A.T.S.E...
.
Filmography as editor
- Green ZoneGreen Zone (film)Green Zone is a 2010 American war thriller film written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film was inspired by the non-fiction 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran, which documented life in the Green Zone, Baghdad...
(Paul GreengrassPaul GreengrassPaul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
– 2010). - The Bourne UltimatumThe Bourne Ultimatum (film)The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
(Greengrass – 2007). - United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
(Greengrass – 2006). With Clare DouglasClare DouglasClare Douglas is a British film editor who received a BAFTA Award for Best Editing for the 2006 film United 93. Douglas has worked extensively on British television, and she has been nominated four times for BAFTA Television Editing Awards.-Biography:...
and Rick PearsonRick PearsonRichard "Rick" Pearson is an American film editor, producer, and director, who is mainly associated with action films. Pearson, with Clare Douglas and Christopher Rouse, received the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for the film United 93 ....
. - Eight BelowEight BelowEight Below is a 2006 American adventure film directed by Frank Marshall and written by David DiGilio. It stars Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood and Moon Bloodgood...
(Frank Marshall – 2006). - The Bourne SupremacyThe Bourne Supremacy (film)The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 American spy film very loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland, and produced by Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley. Universal Pictures released the film to theaters in...
(Greengrass – 2004). With Rick Pearson. - PaycheckPaycheck (film)Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart...
(John WooJohn WooJohn Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
– 2003). - The Italian JobThe Italian Job (2003 film)The Italian Job is a 2003 heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland. It is an American remake of a 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal...
(F. Gary GrayF. Gary GrayFelix Gary Gray is an American music video and film director.-Life and career:Gray began his career in 1992 with his music video for Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day." The video, a literal adaptation of the lyrics, was critically well received. He would go on to direct subsequent videos for Ice Cube,...
– 2003). With Richard Francis-BruceRichard Francis-BruceRichard Francis-Bruce is an Australian film editor who has received several nominations for the Academy Award for Film Editing.- Career :...
. - The Pennsylvania Miners' Story (2002) (TV).
- Boomtown (2002) (TV series, 1 episode).
- Anne Frank: The Whole StoryAnne Frank: The Whole StoryAnne Frank: The Whole Story is a mini-series based on the book Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller. The mini-series aired on ABC on May 20 and 21, 2001. The series starred :Ben Kingsley, :Brenda Blethyn, :Hannah Taylor-Gordon, and :Lili Taylor...
(Robert DornhelmRobert DornhelmRobert Dornhelm is an Austrian film and television director of Romanian ancestry. He has worked on numerous television programmes and has also released such movies as Echo Park, The Venice Project, Der Unfisch, and A Further Gesture...
– 2001) (TV miniseries). - A Girl Thing (2001) (TV miniseries).
- Sole SurvivorSole Survivor (2000 film)Sole Survivor also known as Dean Koontz's Sole Survivor is a Canadian Thriller film/mini-series adaptation of Dean Koontz's novel of the same name, made and released in 2000 and directed by Mikael Salomon.-Plot:...
(2000) (TV). - Aftershock: Earthquake in New YorkAftershock: Earthquake in New YorkAftershock: Earthquake in New York is a 1999 four-hour disaster miniseries that was broadcast in the United States on CBS in two parts, with the first part aired on November 14 and the second on November 16. It was released to VHS in 2000, and on DVD in 2001. It is based on a book written by Chuck...
(1999) (TV). - Olympic Glory (1999).
- From the Earth to the Moon (1998) (miniseries; parts 5, 6, 8 and 10).
- Dead Men Can't Dance (1997).
- Tails You Live, Heads You're Dead (1995) (TV).
- Nothing Personal (1995).
- The Wharf Rat (1995) (TV).
- Breach of Conduct (1994) (TV).
- Dangerous Touch (1994).
- Teresa's Tattoo (1994).
- Past MidnightPast MidnightPast Midnight is a 1991 Neo-noir thriller film starring Paul Giamatti, Tom Wright and Clancy Brown alongside leads Rutger Hauer and Natasha Richardson.-Synopsis:...
(Jan Eliasberg – 1992). - Desperate HoursDesperate HoursDesperate Hours is a 1990 remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this movie with Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal...
(Michael CiminoMichael CiminoMichael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
– 1990).
Awards and nominations
- 2008
- Won: Academy Award for Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
- The Bourne UltimatumThe Bourne UltimatumThe Bourne Ultimatum is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to The Bourne Supremacy . First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.A film titled... - Won: BAFTA Film Awards Best Edited Feature FilmBAFTA Award for Best EditingThe BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
- The Bourne Ultimatum - Won: ACE Eddie Best Edited Film - DramaAmerican Cinema Editors Awards 2007The 58th ACE Eddie Awards were held on 17 February 2008 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA; the nominees and winners are listed below.-Film: Best Edited Film - Dramatic:...
- The Bourne Ultimatum
- Won: Academy Award for Film Editing
- 2007
- Nominated: Academy Award for Film Editing - United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
- Won: BAFTA Award for Best Editing - United 93
- Nominated: ACE Eddie Best Edited Film - DramaAmerican Cinema Editors Awards 2006The 56th ACE Eddie Awards of the American Cinema Editors were given on 18 February 2007 in the International Ballroom, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA.-Film:*Best Edited Feature Film - Drama :...
- United 93 - Won: Online Film Critics Society Award for Best EditingOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best EditingThe Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best editing of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-External links:*...
- United 93
- Nominated: Academy Award for Film Editing - United 93
- 2006
- Won: San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best EditingSan Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2006The 11th San Diego Film Critics Awards, honoring the best in film for 2006, were given in 2006 by the San Diego Film Critics Society.Clint Eastwood's war drama Letters from Iwo Jima won the awards for Best Film and Best Director. Japanese actor Ken Takakura won the award for Best Actor for his role...
- United 93
- Won: San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing
- 2001
- Nominated: Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy AwardThe Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
- Anne Frank: The Whole StoryAnne Frank: The Whole StoryAnne Frank: The Whole Story is a mini-series based on the book Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller. The mini-series aired on ABC on May 20 and 21, 2001. The series starred :Ben Kingsley, :Brenda Blethyn, :Hannah Taylor-Gordon, and :Lili Taylor...
- Nominated: Emmy Award