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John Ottman

John Ottman

John Ottman (born July 6, 1964) is an American film composer, director, and editor. He is best known for collaborating with director Bryan Singer, composing and/or editing many of his films, including Public Access (1993), The Usual Suspects (1995), Superman Returns (2006), Valkyrie (2008), and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), as well as the X-Men film series. For his work on Singer's 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, Ottman won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Ottman was born in San Diego, California. Growing up in San Jose, Ottman made many amateur films garnering local attention in the community. He attended De Anza College and then transferred to the School of Cinematic Arts of the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 1988. One of his first assignments was to provide original music for the computer game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. In 2007, Ottman appeared in the documentary Finding Kraftland for his agent Richard Kraft. He is best known for his multitasking as editor and composer for Bryan Singer's films and, on a few occasions, producer roles to boot. The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X2, Superman Returns (including adapting themes originally composed by John Williams), Valkyrie, Jack the Giant Slayer, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse. Other notable films he worked on as a composer are Snow White: A Tale of Terror, the 2005 remake of House of Wax, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Fantastic Four and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Invasion, and Astro Boy. He also directed (in addition to editing and scoring) the 2000 horror film Urban Legends: Final Cut. He won a BAFTA Award for Best Editing for The Usual Suspects, as well as two Saturn Awards for Best Music for The Usual Suspects and Superman Returns. In 2019, he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Editing and won the ACE Eddie Award and the Academy Award for his work on Bohemian Rhapsody, a film Ottman saw through on his own after both directors' departure (Bryan Singer being fired and Dexter Fletcher beginning pre-production on "Rocketman" shortly after finishing the shoot). Ottman navigated the film's development in post and the tricky waters between the filmmaker and studio, working with producer Graham King and Dennis O'Sullivan. Upon Bohemian Rhapsody getting nominated for and winning its Best Editing awards, a scene of the band outside a pub went viral online after a post by Youtuber Thomas Flight, who was critical of the editing style. Ottman, aware of the clip, explained that for a test screening, a heightened pace for the first act was asked for by the studio. After the test, Ottman returned the scene to its original pace and design. Ottman regretted that he missed returning the scene outside the pub closer to his original version. The scene (directed by Fletcher) contained no master shot of the band at the table. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Ottman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal information

Birthday

1964-07-06

Birth Place

San Diego, California, USA

Movies and TV shows :

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody

2018

8.0

Movie
Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

2006

7.1

Movie
Keyser Soze, Lie or Legend - Featurette

Keyser Soze, Lie or Legend - Featurette

2002

6.5

Movie
Navigate This Maze

Navigate This Maze

2007

0.0

Movie
Nothing Is What It Seems:  The Making Of 'The Usual Suspects'

Nothing Is What It Seems: The Making Of 'The Usual Suspects'

0.0

Movie
Requiem for Mutants: The Score of X2

Requiem for Mutants: The Score of X2

2003

5.7

Movie
Round Up: Deposing 'The Usual Suspects'

Round Up: Deposing 'The Usual Suspects'

2002

7.0

Movie
X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse

2016

6.5

Movie