March 2014 Spotlight: Thelma Schoonmaker, Film Editor, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
This month, AWFJ’s Spotlight is focused on Thelma Schoonmaker, film editor extraordinaire.
With her sharp eye for the best take and a talent for making any scene look really bad-ass, Schoonmaker brilliantly showcased her skills in The Wolf of Wall Street. Read on…
As the long time friend and collaborator of Martin Scorsese, this cutting edge lady honed the film from its original four-hour version to the sharp 179-minute work of art that is arguably the most controversial film of 2013.

Schoonmaker deftly delivered unforgettable scenes loaded with outrageous sex, and drug escapades with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey.
Obviously this is not the first time Schoonmaker has dazzled audiences. Since she met Scorsese in 1963 at NYU and edited his first feature, Who’s That Knocking At My Door?, she’s worked with the master filmmaker on all of the 18 feature films he’s directed since Raging Bull — which, coincidentally, brought her the first of her three Oscars, while he has thus far received just one.
Why we chose her:
Thelma Schoonmaker deserved the Academy’s nod this year for the Best Editing Oscar for The Wolf of Wall Street. We’re giving it to her here. After all, what would this Best Picture nominee be without Thelma’s finishing touch – a sheep in wolf’s clothing?
— by Julide Tanriverdi