Claire Simpson

Claire Simpson is a British film editor. For her work on Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986), she won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing and was nominated for The Constant Gardener (2005), while her work on both films won her the BAFTA Award for Best Editing. She also worked as editor of Stone's Salvador (1986) and Wall Street (1987).

Claire Simpson - Quotes about editing

• "I think that editing has...to do with architecture and, having built a house recently, I can honestly say that dealing with the plumbing can be as tantalizing as disguising the mechanics of the plot."^[1]
• "Cutting rooms are only dark and gloomy places if you make them so. Hard work, educated taste, sharp instincts, and a flair for the absurd have been essential to my career as an editor as well as important ingredients for my life. And never underestimate the value of good luck. I know many extraordinarily talented people who have not been lucky enough to win an Academy Award. Don't get me wrong, it was remarkably validating to win. But what really counts is to face every working day with the guts to be honest, both with your director and with the material you're working with. If you can't do that, don't take the job."^[1]

Filmography

Editor

Year	Film	Director	Notes	Ref.
1984	C.H.U.D.	Douglas Cheek
1985	Soldiers in Hiding	Malcolm Clarke	Second collaboration with Malcolm Clarke
1986	Salvador	Oliver Stone	First collaboration with Oliver Stone
	Platoon		Second collaboration with Oliver Stone
1987	Someone to Watch Over Me	Ridley Scott	First collaboration with Ridley Scott
	Wall Street	Oliver Stone	Third collaboration with Oliver Stone
	Hell High	Douglas Grossman
1988	Tequila Sunrise	Robert Towne	First collaboration with Robert Towne
1990	State of Grace	Phil Joanou
1992	The Mambo Kings	Arne Glimcher
1994	Black Beauty	Caroline Thompson
1996	The Fan	Tony Scott
1998	Without Limits	Robert Towne	Second collaboration with Robert Towne
1999	Jakob the Liar	Peter Kassovitz
2001	Town & Country	Peter Chelsom
2002	Possession	Neil LaBute
2005	The Return	Asif Kapadia
	The Constant Gardener	Fernando Meirelles
2008	Stop-Loss	Kimberly Peirce
	The Reader	Stephen Daldry	First collaboration with Stephen Daldry
2009	Nine	Rob Marshall
2011	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	Stephen Daldry	Second collaboration with Stephen Daldry
2014	A Most Wanted Man	Anton Corbijn
2015	Far from the Madding Crowd	Thomas Vinterberg
2017	The Snowman	Tomas Alfredson
	All the Money in the World	Ridley Scott	Second collaboration with Ridley Scott
2021	The Last Duel		Third collaboration with Ridley Scott
	House of Gucci		Fourth collaboration with Ridley Scott
2023	Napoleon		Fifth collaboration with Ridley Scott
2024	Gladiator II		Sixth collaboration with Ridley Scott	[2]

Editorial department

Year	Film	Director	Role	Notes
1979	Caligula	Tinto Brass	Third assistant editor	Uncredited
1981	Reds	Warren Beatty	Assistant film editor
2015	Black Mass	Scott Cooper	Additional editing

Thanks

Year	Film	Director	Role
2003	Imagining Argentina	Christopher Hampton	Thanks
2011	The Tree of Life	Terrence Malick	Special thanks

TV movies

Editor

Year	Film	Director
1983	Peace on Borrowed Time	Malcolm Clarke	First collaboration with Malcolm Clarke

TV series

Editor

Year	Title	Notes
2020	Raised by Wolves	1 episode

Editorial department

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Kennedy	Editor	7 episodes

Academy Award nominations & wins

• 2006 – The Constant Gardener (nominated) Best Film Editing
• 1987 – Platoon (won) Best Film Editing

Other awards and nominations

• 2006 – The Constant Gardener (nominated) ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film, Dramatic
• 2006 – The Constant Gardener (won) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing
• 2006 – The Constant Gardener (nominated) OFCS Award (Online Film Critics Society) Best Editing
• 1987 – Platoon (won) ACE Eddie - Best Edited Feature Film
• 1988 – Platoon (won) BAFTA Film Award - Best Editing