Wicked | Featurette: Editor Myron Kerstein - video Dailymotion

At university, the awkward Elphaba befriends the popular Galinda and practices sorcery in the hopes of meeting her idol, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Transcript

00:00I always approach music-driven films through the audience's eyes.

00:07I lean into finding the heart in things, like that's my style.

00:12And with Wicked, even though we have these giant set pieces,

00:16this epic canvas, ultimately it's the human moments

00:21between these two characters that will really move the audience.

00:31In the screening room, I get to experience Wicked

00:35as an audience member for the first time.

00:38I'd sit there and watch every take that was shot the day before,

00:42and I'm taking notes about how things are affecting me emotionally.

00:46Having the experience of working on Crazy Rich Asians with John

00:49or In the Heights, I knew I found a brother, a kindred spirit.

00:53To have a co-conspirator in the creation of your movie,

00:57to have someone bounce off things, is the greatest gift a storyteller can have.

01:02Just to help generate ideas is something that is crucial in making any film.

01:07Making anything is a collaborative effort between two artists.

01:11You have to build trust, you have to be allowed to play as much,

01:14because you can do anything in editing.

01:21When I saw The Raw Dailies in the Ozdust Ballroom,

01:24every take I cried at. It's a pin drop.

01:29They're speaking without any words.

01:31For a movie that's full of words and music and dance,

01:33this is the most quiet and powerful of it all.

01:37We can't hide behind musical numbers or flying monkeys or scope.

01:45It's all between these two characters, and those are the hardest scenes to cut.

01:50I used Alphabuzz Dance as a place to start,

01:54because it really affected me emotionally,

01:57and then built Glinda and Alphabuzz Dance together second.

02:04At this stage, we really start to see them connect emotionally

02:08and really start to feel the power of them together.

02:12And then we start to see how that affects somebody who's not in the movie.

02:17And how that affects somebody who's never felt that way about anybody else.

02:23This movie has really moved me,

02:26and I'm really excited for the audience to experience that.