Veteran post-production executive and editor Martin “Marty” Cohen passed on May 17 of natural causes after a battle with heart disease. He was 67.
A beloved and respected member of the post-production community, Marty served as head of post-production for Amblin Entertainment beginning in 1987 and then for DreamWorks from 1994 to 2005, before moving to Paramount Pictures where he oversaw all aspects of feature post including editorial, sound design, DI and piracy protection for the studio’s releases through 2010.
Born and raised in Bayside, Queens, Marty received a bach- elor’s degree from Queens College in Communications Arts & Sciences before pursuing a career in movies. He got his first break working as a production assistant for Ralph Bakshi Productions, joining the animation team for The Lord of the Rings.
As an apprentice film editor he worked on 1981’s Pennies from Heaven edited by Richard Marks, ACE, and with first assistant Sidney Wolinsky, ACE, before transitioning to an assistant editor role in 1982 on films like Meatballs Part II, The Goonies and The Color Purple. He edited the miniseries Amerika and served as an associate editor, working with Michael Kahn, ACE, on Empire of the Sun before joining Amblin Entertainment.
When Amblin transitioned into DreamWorks in 1994, Marty maintained that position overseeing the studio’s entire film slate including such notable projects as Munich, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, American Beauty and Collateral. When DreamWorks sold to Paramount in 2006, Marty became executive vice president of post-production, and two years later, president of post-production.
He left Paramount in 2010 to return to filmmaking and served on the production teams for several films including The Hunger Games, Seventh Son and Godzilla, and directed the pilot for the web series Action Figures.
A passionate cinephile, Marty was a dedicated film preser- vationist and among his numerous projects and accomplishments, he supervised the restoration of several notable classics including Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy, Schindler’s List and Jaws.
In 2019 he was honored by the Motion Picture Editors Guild with its Fellowship and Service Award. At that time, Guild President Alan Heim, ACE, said Marty “perfectly exemplifies the values that the Guild holds most dear by forging a career in this industry that has served not only the films on which he has worked, but the many filmmakers and colleagues
with whom he’s collaborated. He has consistently given back to our community and that makes him the ideal recipient for
our highest honor.”
He is survived by his wife, Kathy; his daughter, Maggie; sons Gabriel, Hershel and Elijah; daughters-in-law Zynette, Marysa and Brianne; and granddaughters, Alexis and Maya. The family has chosen to honor Marty by establishing the Martin Cohen Memorial Scholarship Fund at Queens College. They ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Fund, which was created to support a new generation of artists, filmmakers and students who fulfill the one request he had of the people in his cutting rooms, and the people in his life – that you, “Dare to dream. And dream big.”
Mort Fallick, ACE – an entrepreneur, teacher, mentor, producer, director and editor whose credits included 1979’s Love at First Bite – passed away on April 22 as a result of kidney problems. He was 86.
A New York native, Fallick grew up in the Bronx and began his career path when his father, Robert Fallick, a film projectionist and sound engineer at RKO-Pathe, led him to its editorial department. He started in animation, but his future really took off in 1952 when he went to work at Wondsel, Carlisle and Dunphy, a firm specializing in commercials. There he met co-owner Robert Carlisle, a film editor with credits back to the silent days. Carlisle became his mentor and his teacher for the next four years.
In 1959 Fallick edited the railroad safety film Last Clear Chance which was directed by Carlisle. Through his mentor, Fallick was able to secure the editing of Dore Schary’s Act One, while he sometimes filled in for Ralph Rosenblum on The Patty Duke Show.
Fallick went on to found production and post-services company CineMetric. There he produced and directed documentaries, government and corporate films and edited trailers, television pilots and series. He also created commercial campaigns. When it was Fallick’s turn to mentor, he gave a start to the careers of such noted editors as Richard Marks, ACE; Craig Mckay, ACE;
and Barry Malkin, ACE.
In 1979 Fallick edited Stan Dragoti’s camp, comic send-up of Dracula, Love at First Bite, and while continuing to produce and direct commercials, he relocated to Southern California to pursue motion picture marketing where he created trailers and early electronic press kits for such directors as Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand. He also teamed with Saul Bass to create title sequences for Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear, Goodfellas and The Age of Innocence. After retiring, Fallick took up teaching at UCLA Extension.
He is survived by his son, Lawrence Jordan, ACE; daughters Randi Denbesten and Allison Milpas; and seven grand- children. His family also included his late wife, Marilyn, and eldest son, Jeffrey.
He will be greatly missed among our membership for his kindness, humor and wisdom. Donations in his memory may be made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund. – JACK TUCKER, ACE
Edward “Ned” Bastille, ACE, was diagnosed in February 2019 with brain cancer. He passed away at home on December 21, 2019, aged 66.
He grew up in Wellesley, Mass., and graduated in 1977 from the Rhode Island School of Design with an MFA in Film. He then spent 17 years as a documentary and news editor on staff for Blackwood Productions, CBS news show West 57th, and ABC news, editing Peabody- and Emmy Award®-winning documentaries with Bill Moyers for CBS Reports and for PBS Frontline.
Following a move to Los Angeles in 1994, Bastille worked on Al Pacino-directed documentary Looking for Richard, for which he won an Eddie in 1996.
In 1998 he started a 10-year collaboration with director/ producer Brian Robbins, working on movies such as Varsity Blues, Hardball, The Shaggy Dog and Norbit. During the editing of Varsity Blues he met his wife, Helena Lea, who was the film’s music editor.
His TV series credits include: editor and co-producer of Reign for CBS/CW, and editor of Designated Survivor for Mark Gordon Productions.
Remembered for bringing compassion and humor to his editing room, Bastille saw the editing team as a collaborative, creative entity. Editor Evan Henke said that he designed his editing room on what he learned assisting Ned. He explained that working for Ned was being part of a family. “I looked forward to going to work to enjoy the sweetness and kindness Ned brought to our cutting room. He was my North Star.”
Bastille is remembered for hobbies and loves, including Nantucket, movies, communing with nature, biking, music,
the Esalen Institute, astronomy, travel, helping others and choco- late ice cream.
He’s survived by his wife; his mother Ruth; his brothers Bob and David; his nieces Sarah Bastille, Anne Bastille and Katie De Frank; and nephews Peter and James
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