Supervising Sound Editor Skip Lievsay to Receive MPSE Career Achievement Award
We’d call this a sound choice: The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) announced that it will honor Academy Award-winning Supervising Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer Skip Lievsay with its 2015 MPSE Career Achievement Award.
Skip Lievsay, one of New York City’s finest, is receiving top honors from the MPSE.
The news caps off a big year for the NYC-based Lievsay, who won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for his work on Gravity (with Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro). In all, Lievsay has contributed to nearly 150 films over more than 30 years, collaborating with the likes of directors Joel and Ethan Coen, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, John Sayles and many more.
Lievsay will be presented with the award at the 2015 MPSE Golden Reel Awards ceremony, February 15, 2015 in Los Angeles. Founded in 1953, the Motion Picture Sound Editors is a non-profit organization of professional sound and music editors who work in the motion pictures and television industry.
The Career Achievement Award recognizes sound artists who have distinguished themselves by meritorious works as both an individual and fellow contributor to the art of sound for feature film and television, and for setting an example of excellence for others to follow. Lievsay joins a distinguished list of sound pioneers, including 2014 Career Achievement Recipient Randy Thom, Larry Singer, Walter Murch and George Watters II.
“Skip represents the pinnacle in artistry in motion picture sound,” said MPSE President Frank Morrone. “He has worked tirelessly to invent new and creative ways to use sound to advance directors’ visions, to tell stories and to entertain audiences. The MPSE takes great pride in recognizing the work of a sound artist who has been an outstanding practitioner of our craft and remains at the top of his game.”
“It is an exciting and great honor to be recognized by my peers in the MPSE,” Lievsay said. “I accept it graciously although I hope I still have a few more mountains to climb.”
Lievsay worked briefly as a picture editor before devoting his attention to sound in the late 1970’s. One of his first credits as sound editor came on Blood Simple for then first-time directors Joel and Ethan Coen. That began an ongoing collaboration spanning such films as Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, O Brothers Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men, True Grit and Inside Llewyn Davis.
He received a total of five Oscar nominations for his work on Inside Llewyn Davis, True Grit and No Country for Old Men. Other career highlights include Noah, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Casino, Goodfellas, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Matewan and Miller’s Crossing.
Lievsay won the 2014 BAFTA Award for Best Sound for Gravity and is a 9-time nominee for MPSE Awards, alongside many other awards and nominations. Lievsay is married to picture editor Elizabeth Kling with whom he has collaborated on several projects, including the 1995 film Georgia.
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