What They Don’t Tell You About Editing a Feature with 'Sacramento' Editor

The No Film School Podcast

What don't they tell you? They you gotta take a break! In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and Jason Hellerman sit down with editor Max Goldblatt, who cut the heartfelt and hilarious indie road trip film Sacramento. Directed by Michael Angarano and starring Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart, and Maya Erskine, the film made waves at Tribeca and has since garnered a devoted following. Max shares how he got into editing, his long-time collaboration with Angarano, and offers invaluable insight into the nuanced craft of post-production—especially on a tight budget and timeline.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Max Goldblatt discuss...

• How Max and director Michael Angarano formed their creative bond through music
• The challenges and victories of licensing a Rolling Stones song for an indie film
• Editorial techniques like split compositions and how they elevate performance
• Why taking breaks during the edit can lead to better storytelling
• Max’s unconventional path into editing and the moment he almost walked away from filmmaking
• The balance between instinct and structure when cutting complex character scenes

Memorable Quotes:

• “Michael kind of broke the cardinal rule of putting a song in the script.”
• “Sometimes there's just this alchemy when you choose something maybe almost at random.”
• “I was about to quit trying to pursue film period before I was connected with Mike Angarano.”
• “Sometimes it takes feedback or questions that people have about characters, and you realize that the answer was there all along.”

Guests:

• Max Goldblatt

Resources:

• Sacramento on IMDb
• Michael Angarano’s first film, Avenues
• Robert Schwartzman's film The Argument
• Jason Hellerman's article on "Man on a Mission" stories

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