Pietro Scalia (born March 17, 1960) is an Italian-American film editor and producer, best known for his work with directors Ridley Scott, Gus Van Sant and Oliver Stone. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, for Stone's JFK (1991) and Black Hawk Down (2001), out of four total nominations. His other accolades include two American Cinema Editors Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Satellite Award.

Early life and education He was born in Catania, Sicily, and later emigrated to Aarau, Switzerland as a child with his parents. There, he attended Swiss-German schools until high school.

After graduation, he decided to move to the United States to pursue his college education. He spent two years at the University at Albany, The State University of New York, after which he was accepted as an undergraduate at UCLA. The Swiss government's scholarship helped him through five years of UCLA and in 1985 he earned his Master of Fine Arts from the UCLA Film School.

Career

Assistant editor After his MFA, a couple of short films, a screenplay, two video documentaries, and a 16 mm thesis film, he returned to Europe to pursue his desire to become a film director. Shortly afterward, he returned to the United States on a work visa to pursue his career in Hollywood as a film editor. He began as an assistant editor on Andrei Konchalovsky's Shy People. Later, he received an assistant editor position working with Oliver Stone. However, it was not easy to get the job. Scalia admired Oliver Stone's work, especially Salvador, so he decided he wanted to work with that director. He got a contact through the sister of one of the assistant editors. Scalia worked on such films as Wall Street (1987) and Talk Radio (1988). He later continued as an associate editor on Born on the Fourth of July and as an additional editor on The Doors.

Editor After five years of working with Oliver Stone, Scalia was finally asked to fully edit a film. It was JFK, for which Scalia and his co-editor, Joe Hutshing, were honored with an Academy Award for Film Editing. Craig McKay was nominated the same year for editing The Silence of the Lambs. Scalia edited a sequel to the movie, Hannibal ten years later. He also received a BAFTA Award and A.C.E. Award for his work.

Pietro Scalia worked with Bernardo Bertolucci on Little Buddha (1993) and Stealing Beauty (1996), as well as with Sam Raimi on The Quick and the Dead (1995). He earned two more Academy Award nominations: first in 1997 for Good Will Hunting and second in 2000 for Gladiator, and a second Academy Award for director Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. He also edited G.I. Jane and a pilot episode of a TV series American Gothic in late 1990s.

In the recent years, Scalia edited such movies as Levity (2003) directed by Ed Solomon, a documentary entitled Ashes and Snow, The Great Raid directed by John Dahl, and Memoirs of a Geisha, one of the most publicized movies of 2005, directed by Rob Marshall. Scalia also worked on Hannibal Rising, a movie that tells a story of a teenaged Hannibal and his young sister Mischa Lecter after their parents are killed in World War II. It was directed by Peter Webber and released in 2007. He has a long lasting relationship with Ridley Scott working on movies such as American Gangster in 2007, Body of Lies in 2008 and Robin Hood in 2010. Most recently he worked with director Ridley Scott on The Martian, released in October 2015. In May 2017, Scalia replaced editor Chris Dickens on the film Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was released in May 2018.

Personal life Scalia lives in Los Angeles with his wife Teresa Sparks and two children, Julian and Maia Scalia.

Filmography +Key Denotes titles that have not yet been released Film + Editor Year Film Director Notes1990 MegavillePeter Lehner1991 JFKOliver Stone1992 JackpotMario Orfini1993 Little BuddhaBernardo Bertolucci1995 The Quick and the DeadSam Raimi1996 Stealing BeautyBernardo Bertolucci 1997 G.I. JaneRidley Scott1st of 11 collaborations with Scott Good Will HuntingGus Van Sant 1998 The Big HitChe-Kirk Wong Playing by HeartWillard Carroll2000 Gladiator Ridley Scott 2001 HannibalAlso music producer Black Hawk Down 2003 LevityEd Solomon Masked and AnonymousLarry CharlesAlso associate producer 2005 The Great RaidJohn Dahl Memoirs of a GeishaRob Marshall 2007 Hannibal RisingPeter Webber American Gangster Ridley Scott2008 Body of Lies 2010 Kick-AssMatthew Vaughn Robin Hood Ridley Scott 2012 PrometheusGhost Recon: AlphaShort film The Amazing Spider-ManMarc Webb2013 The CounselorRidley ScottAlso music supervisor2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2Marc Webb 2015 Child 44Daniel Espinosa The Sea of TreesGus Van SantAlso co-producer The MartianRidley Scott2016 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of BenghaziMichael Bay2017 Alien: CovenantRidley Scott2018 Solo: A Star Wars StoryRon Howard 2022 AmbulanceMichael Bay MorbiusDaniel EspinosaAlso associate producer The Gray ManRusso brothers2023 FerrariMichael Mann2024His MotherMaia ScaliaShort film2026Brian DuffieldFilming

+ Other credits Year Film Director Contribution Notes1985Over the SummerTeresa SparksSound editor, camera assistant 1987 Shy PeopleAndrei KonchalovskyFirst assistant editor Wall StreetOliver Stone Assistant editor1st of 5 collaborations with Stone 1988 Cameron's ClosetArmand Mastroianni Haunted SummerIvan Passer Talk Radio Oliver Stone1989 Born on the Fourth of JulyAssociate editor1991 The DoorsAdditional editor1995 White Man's BurdenDesmond NakanoConsulting editor2004Incident at Loch NessZak PennActorRole; as Himself

Television + Editor Year Title Notes1995 American GothicEpisode: "Pilot"

Documentaries + Editor Year Title Director2005 Ashes and SnowGregory Colbert2007 The 11th Hour2009 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian TragedyRobert Lemelson

+ Other credits Year Title Role2007 Breaking the IceSupervising editor

Awards and nominations

+ Institution Year CategoryWorkResultAcademy Awards 1992Best Film EditingJFK1998Good Will Hunting 2001Gladiator2002Black Hawk DownAmerican Film Institute Awards2002Editor of the YearBAFTA Awards1993Best EditingJFK2001Gladiator2002Black Hawk Down2008American Gangster2016The MartianCamerimage2008Special Award (for Editor with Unique Visual Sensitivity)Critics' Choice Movie Awards2016Best EditingThe MartianDavid di Donatello1996Best EditingStealing BeautyLocarno Film Festival2023Vision AwardNastro d'Argento2006Special Award (for editing)Memoirs of a Geisha2014Best EditingThe Counselor, The Amazing Spider-Man 2Satellite Awards2001Best EditingGladiator2007American Gangster 2016The Martian

References

External links

, July 2009