Academy Award-nominated editor Evan Lottman's body of work is as impressive as it is diverse.

Lottman's resume ranges from Puzzle of a Downfall Child, his feature film editing debut in 1970, which dealt with a model discovering her past to his most recent film dealing with murderous vampires, The Night Flier, on which he helped oversee the editing process.

Lottman didn't start out with his sights set on the film business, however. "I was interested in photography," Lottman said.

Upon completing high school, Lottman attended Kenyon College as an English major, graduated and became a cinematographer in the U.S. Army.

"From there, I went to USC (University of Southern California) film school," said Lottman.

After his stint at the Graduate School of Cinema at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Lottman returned to New York and began editing numerous documentary and public affairs films.

His entry into the film industry came via a neighbor living in New York.The neighbor inquired as to whether Lottman would be interested in working as anapprentice editor on a feature film, and he said yes, beginning his career as a feature film editor, Lottman said.

Lottman soon teamed up with director Jerry Schatzberg to edit five films, including The Panic in Needle Park, (Al Pacino's first feature film) and Sweet Revenge, a 1977 picture which found Lottman in the film as well as editing it.Lottman was given the small role of a bailiff by Schatzberg as a kind of gag, Lottman said.

However, a cameo role didn't create the desire within Lottman to concentrate on acting. "I just couldn't take it seriously, pretending to be someone I'm not," Lottman said.

From his early films with Schatzberg, Lottman became one of several editors who worked on the modern horror classic The Exorcist in 1973.While working on the film, Lottman didn't feel that they had a classic on their hands.

"I thought it was a very well-made horror film.I don't think anybody but Billy (William Freidkin, the director) thought it would do anything," Lottman said.

Lottman wasn't alone on his views of the now classic film.

"The studio seemed to think of it as an art film, not a blockbuster," Lottman said.

Once the film was released, however, the public rendered a much different verdict.In New York, lines soon formed around the theaters where The Exorcist was showing and the controversies over the graphic content of the film began.

The whole experience culminated with Lottman being nominated for an Oscar that year.

"It was fun," said Lottman of the Oscar experience. "It's the highlight of my career, a marvelous watershed experience."

Although he didn't win the Oscar in 1973,Lottman went on to help edit another major motion picture of the '70s, Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic, Apocalypse Now.

"I spent about six to seven months in the Philippines, editing footage," said Lottman.

Calling Sophie's Choice, a 1982 film on the Holocaust,his "proudest effort," Lottman continued his association with now-deceased director Alan J. Pakula.Lottman edited four of Pakula's films, including the 1990 film Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford.

Lottman has also worked with celebrated author Stephen King, editing King's 1986 directorial debut, Maximum Overdrive.Lottman has maintained a relationship with King over the years, often consulting with the editing teams on two subsequent films, Stephen King's Thinner and The Night Flier.

"He's a gas, a lovely guy," said Lottman.

From the editing bays in Hollywood, Lottman returned to the classrooms of America's colleges, giving numerous lectures and seminars all over the country, and is presently conducting a graduate workshop at the Columbia University School of Fine Arts, and a course in The Art of Film Editing at the New School, with several of Lottman's students going on to win Oscars.

"I do a lot of one-on-one with the students," Lottman said. "I enjoy it a lot; wonderful students."

At 7 tonight in Oklahoma Memorial Union in Meacham Auditorium, Lottman will be discussing The Muppets Take Manhattan, a 1984 film he edited.

"You don't get too many opportunities to work on a musical in New York," said Lottman.

The level of preparation for the film was daunting because it deals with large puppets that perform on a set that sits four feet above the floor, Lottman said.

"There's more technological preparations and no room for improv," Lottman said.

"The film is a delightful choice," said Andrew Horton, director of film and video studies. "On the one hand, it's unexpected, but on the other hand, it's indicative of Evan's craft.I mean, how do you edit Miss Piggy?"

So after spending nearly 15 years editing films, is there any chance we'll ever see Evan Lottman's name above the title as a director?

"Nah, I like editing and I'm comfortable doing it."said Lottman."I've had a good career. You have to consider the percentage of good films along with the percentage of bad films. "

For more information on tonight's presentation, call the film and video studies department at 325-3020.


For learn more about the Muppets visit www.muppets.com.
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