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Strong enough for a man, but cut by a woman A Québécoise heads the editing team on the next Bond film by MATTHEW HAYS
Upon signing the deal last year, Fortin became the first woman to hold the top editing position on any Bond film (Tomorrow is the 18th in the series, not including the spoof Casino Royale or Sean Connery's independently produced return as Bond, Never Say Never Again). The coup comes after 17 years of cutting celluloid. Fortin began in the late '70s as an assistant editor in Montreal, and for several years she lived in Edmonton, where she edited clips for the evening news. Fortin was soon working on documentaries and feature films and getting work across Canada. Eventually she decided it was time to move back to Montreal in 1990, since there were a number of offers calling her back. She then worked with such noted Quebec directors as Léa Pool and Jean-Claude Labrecque. In 1995 Fortin landed a top editing position on Roger Spottiswoode's film Hiroshima, a three-hour TV movie made for U.S. cable (for which she won an ACE Award). She and the director hit it off and have worked together on numerous projects since. When Spottiswoode was offered the latest Bond film, he brought Fortin and Arcand on board. Though Fortin says she thinks Tomorrow Never Dies will be a fantastic Bond entry, the studio has committed her to silence about what goes on in the story. But Fortin does divulge these amazing revelations--never before in print anywhere--about what lies ahead in the latest Bond film: "They go to many exotic locations." Are there explosions? "Yes." Are there beautiful women? "Oh, yes, that too." And does Bond drive a flashy car? "Yes." Jonathan Pryce is cast as the latest villain; Teri Hatcher (Lois Lane on TV's Lois & Clark) is a Bond love interest. Though being the first woman editor on a Bond picture may seem like a breakthrough, isn't the idea of feminism at odds with the Ian Fleming action hero? Haven't Bond films set the standard for onscreen sexism? Not at all, says Fortin. "Bond is a cartoon. Bond is this character, this big action hero figure, who's been a part of cinema history for 30 years. Bond is fantasy." And Fortin notes that Bond has always had female admirers as well. "There's something very seductive about this, too. A lot of women find him very attractive. And they're right, Pierce [Brosnan] is very good looking. I have no qualms about that. If the subject were serious, that would be different. Bond is not making a statement. When you hear that music, that's what you get: entertainment." Bond has also been through a bit of a feminist revamping himself. "Since GoldenEye, Bond's boss, M, is now played by a woman, Dame Judi Dench. "Throughout all my time as an editor, I think as a woman you're always aware that things don't come to you the same way, for various reasons," says Fortin. "Somehow I always decided that I wouldn't let that affect me, that I wouldn't let it become a problem. But when you get a bit older, you realize these things really do exist, this insidious discrimination. Which is not up front, not out there, but it is there. There aren't a lot of big action films that are cut by women. "I never thought I'd end up editing a Bond film though," says Fortin of the $50 million plus production, "but here I am." Tomorrow Never Dies is slated for a December release |
A James Bond movie may seem an unlikely place for women, but Montreal-based editor Dominique Fortin has managed to make one. Along with her boyfriend, Michel Arcand (who edited Léolo and Octobre, among others), Fortin has landed the job of editing the latest Bond feature, Tomorrow Never Dies. "I feel happy about it," says Fortin from her London, U.K. cutting room. "I think it's good because there's no reason why it can't be done. People tend to think that a big macho action movie should be cut by a man. I mean, it's a tradition. But that doesn't mean things can't change."