Richard Chew

Richard Chew
Photo by Gregory Schwartz, courtesy of Editors Guild Magazine
Born	Richard Franklin Chew 28 June 1940 (1940-06-28) (age 71) Los Angeles, CA, USA
Occupation	Film editor
Years active	1967–present
Spouse	Liv Torgerson
Awards	Academy Award for Best Editing 1977 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Saturn Award for Outstanding Editing 1977 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

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Richard Franklin Chew (born 28 June 1940) is an American film editor, producer, and cinematographer, best known for his Academy Award-winning work on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), alongside Paul Hirsch and Marcia Lucas. Other notable films include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Risky Business (1983), Waiting to Exhale (1995), That Thing You Do! (1996), and I Am Sam (2001). His career as an editor and cinematographer of a variety of films spans more than four decades.

Early life and career

Born of Chinese immigrant parents in Los Angeles, Richard attended its inner-city schools, served in the U.S. Navy, and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Philosophy. After a stint at Harvard Law School, Richard, inspired by the independent cinema of the 60's, left school to pursue a film career.

Starting with his camera and editing work on documentaries, such as The Redwoods, an Oscar winner for Best Short Documentary in 1967, he eventually transitioned to editing feature films as co-editor on Francis Coppola’s The Conversation, Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and George Lucas's Star Wars.

During his varied career, he has edited films for actor-directors such as Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, and Forest Whitaker. Other writer-directors with whom Richard has worked include: Cameron Crowe, Paul Brickman, Bruce Joel Rubin, and Emilio Estevez.

Richard was Oscar-nominated for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He also won British Oscars (BAFTA) as co-editor on both The Conversation and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His work on Shanghai Noon was nominated for Best Feature Comedy by American Cinema Editors.

On January 27, 2011 he was honored at the Detroit Institute of Arts with “An Evening with Richard Chew,” a program featuring clips of some of his extensive work plus an interview conducted by DIA film curator Elliot Wilhelm. Additionally, Chew has been named Allessee Visiting Professor of Media at Wayne State University for the 2011 Spring semester.

He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Motion Picture Editors Guild, and American Cinema Editors.

Selected Filmography

External links

• Richard Chew at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Chew at AllRovi
• Kunkes, Michael (November-December 2006). "Cutting with a Conscience: Richard Chew is an Ambassador for the Under-represented". Editors Guild Magazine 27 (6). https://www.editorsguild.com/Magazine.cfm?ArticleID=382. 
• "Interview with Richard Chew", Editors Guild Magazine, July 25, 2010