Editor Sally Menke, long-time collaborator with Quentin Tarantino, was found dead in Beachwood Canyon, LA this morning. She was reportedly out hiking with her dog and sources suspect she got disoriented and collapsed due to the extreme heat experienced on Monday in the region, sending her off the edge of the ravine where her body was found. She was only 56.
She had edited all of Tarantino’s films since Reservoir Dogs and had earned two Oscar nominations through the collaboration. She avoided the limelight, but was well loved for her work with the director. She said of her profession, “editors are the quiet heroes of movies and I like it that way. We have a very private relationship with our directors, mostly conducted in very dark rooms.”
An editor myself and great admirer of her work, my condolences go out to her friends and family.
The Hi Sally tradition of Quentin Tarantino, wherein the actors and/or director himself give a temporal-separated greeting to the lonely editor. This must have been pretty damn heart-warming at the time, and has an interesting resonance now.
Inglourious Basterds Hi Sally Gag Reel:
Deathproof “Hi Sally” Gag Reel: (after a bit of waxing philosophically about writing/editing by QT)
Nice find Kurt, I never knew about the ‘Hi Sally’s. Call me soppy, but I was getting pretty dewy eyed watching them.
You can imagine how the rest of the crew, and Q.T. must have been and probably still are. Sad.