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Walter Scott Murch (b. 1943) is widely recognised as one of the leading authorities in the field of film editing, as well as one of the few film editors equally active in both picture and sound. [Listener: Christopher Sykes; date recorded: 2016]
TRANSCRIPT: That evening, Matthew phoned me and said, 'George is dropping out of this job. It's wrapping Christmas presents for George Cukor. It pays – whatever it was – $200', which was a lot of money. 'Yes', I said and so the next day, George was gone and I replaced George and there we were, two 22-year-old film students in the attic of George Cukor, who had won the academy award for 'My Fair Lady' the previous year. And in today's dollars, it was probably $100,000 worth of gifts, at least, arranged in a descending pyramid from cigarette lighters at the bottom to fur coats and silver service for Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. And we were designated to get our grubby mitts on this stuff and actually make nice wrapping. And we rose to the challenge and I learned how to wrap Christmas presents which is a talent I still have. To do it quickly and neatly and make the bow nice and we never saw George until late in the process. At around 12.30, the Swedish cook would say, 'Lunch is on the table' and we would wind up in the kitchen with this woman, the Swedish cook, eating Cukor's leftovers from the night before, which were delicious, and doing the best job that we could imagine doing.
