Backstage Interview Transcript | 81st Academy Awards
Achievement in sound editing
CATEGORY: Achievement in sound editing
INTERVIEW WITH: Richard King
FILM: “The Dark Knight”
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Q. Richard King, congratulations for winning best visual effects for "The Dark Knight" sound editing?
Q. Were you and the team behind this film surprised there wasn't more nominations for this film?
A. We hoped that Chris Nolan would have been nominated because he was all of our guiding forces and was kind of the energy behind the whole film, so we were surprised that he didn't get a nomination.
Q. Now that you have the Academy Award in your hand, how are you feeling tonight?
A. I'm feeling really good.
Q. Thank you very much.
A. Thank you.
Q. Hi. Congratulations.
A. Thank you.
Q. Really enjoyed the film, and I'm just curious, a lot of people are curious: There's a lot of talk right around the time of Heath Ledger's unfortunate passing how much was done and how much looping you still had to do. Was there anything that you had to do to cover what he had already completed?
A. Completely done. And Chris is a director who likes to do original production and not a lot of looping. And there was hardly any looping in the film, and he wouldn't have done it in any event, so there was no issue at all there.
Q. Hi. Some of the other people who worked on the film, cinematography and editing, talked about the special challenges or creative opportunities working for a film that would be released both in IMAX and traditional theaters. What were the special innovative opportunities and technical challenges for you?
A. Well, we basically used the theatrical mix and then sweetened it for IMAX. The idea was just to make as visceral and exciting and powerful a sound track as we could. And we maximized that in a theatrical 5.1 format and we maximized that in the IMAX format using the little advantages that IMAX gave us as far as power and level. And so it was just a matter of experimentation, really.
Q. Hi. Congratulations on your award. I know you've been nominated a few times before and you've worked on some very intricate movies. I just wonder if you can express how you feel receiving the Oscar this evening.
A. It's awe inspiring. It's just an amazing experience and this is the second time I've won and the third time I've been to the Oscars, and it never gets old. It's just a remarkable, remarkable experience for a kid from Florida who wanted to be in the movie business. It feels great.
Q. Thank you so much and congratulations.
A. Thank you.
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