Mark Livolsi obit

Mark Livolsi, Film Editor on ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ ‘The Blind Side’ and ‘The Lion King,’ Dies at 56

Mark Livolsi, the in-demand film editor who worked on films that included 'Wedding Crashers,' 'The Devil Wears Prada,' 'The Blind Side' and the upcoming reimagining of 'The Lion King,' has died. He was 56. 

He was not on the list.

Mark Livolsi, the in-demand film editor who worked on features that included Wedding Crashers, The Devil Wears Prada, The Blind Side and the upcoming reimagining of The Lion King, has died. He was 56.

Livolsi died unexpectedly in his Pasadena apartment on Sept. 23, his wife, Maria, told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death is not yet known.

Livolsi collaborated with directors Cameron Crowe on Almost Famous (2000), Vanilla Sky (2001), Elizabethtown (2005) and We Bought a Zoo (2011) and with Oliver Stone on Wall Street (1987) and Heaven & Earth (1993).

A four-time Eddie Award nominee, Livolsi edited the remake of The Jungle Book (2016) and The Lion King (2019) for director Jon Favreau; The Blind Side (2009) and Saving Mr. Banks (2013) for John Lee Hancock; Wedding Crashers (2005), Fred Claus (2007) and The Judge (2014) for David Dobkin; and The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Marley & Me (2008) and The Big Year (2011) for David Frankel.

Asked in a 2013 interview what skills a good editor must have, Livolsi said: “A sense of timing, an ability to see the small details while understanding the big picture, a clear storytelling sense, an eye for good performances and, above all, a love of movies and the craft of editing, without which no one would work this hard and sacrifice this much for very long.”

Recently, he spent a great deal of time at work with his only son, Mark Jr., who served as a production assistant on The Jungle Book and as an assistant visual effects coordinator on The Lion King.

He also is survived by his daughter, Madeleine.

Selected filmography

Editor

Year     Film     Director           Notes

2001    Vanilla Sky      Cameron Crowe         

2003    Pieces of April Peter Hedges  

2004    The Girl Next Door    Luke Greenfield         

2005    My Suicidal Sweetheart          Michael Parness         

Wedding Crashers       David Dobkin First collaboration with Dobkin

2006    The Devil Wears Prada           David Frankel First collaboration with Frankel

2007    Fred Claus       David Dobkin

2008    Marley & Me  David Frankel

2009    The Blind Side            John Lee Hancock      First collaboration with Hancock

2011    The Big Year   David Frankel

We Bought a Zoo        Cameron Crowe         

2012    Stand Up Guys            Fisher Stevens

2013    Saving Mr. Banks       John Lee Hancock     

2014    The Judge        David Dobkin

2016    The Jungle Book         Jon Favreau     First collaboration with Favreau

2017    Wonder            Stephen Chbosky       

2019    The Lion King Jon Favreau     Posthumous release

Editorial department

Year     Film     Director           Role     Notes

1987    Dead of Winter            Arthur Penn    Second assistant editor           

Wall Street       Oliver Stone    Apprentice editor: New York  First collaboration with Oliver Stone

1988    Funny Farm     George Roy Hill          Assistant film editor   

1989    The Dream Team        Howard Zieff  Apprentice editor: New York 

Crimes and Misdemeanors      Woody Allen   Assistant film editor    First collaboration with Woody Allen

1990    Alice    Second collaboration with Woody Allen

1991    Shadows and Fog        Third collaboration with Woody Allen

1992    Night and the City       Irwin Winkler  Assistant editor: New York    

1993    Heaven & Earth          Oliver Stone    Second assistant editor            Second collaboration with Oliver Stone

1994    The River Wild            Curtis Hanson Assistant editor          

1995    French Kiss     Lawrence Kasdan       First assistant editor   

1996    Marvin's Room           Jerry Zaks       Assistant editor          

1997    Deconstructing Harry Woody Allen   Assistant film editor    Fourth collaboration with Woody Allen

1998    Meet Joe Black           Martin Brest    Assistant editor          

1999    The Thomas Crown Affair      John McTiernan         

2000    Almost Famous           Cameron Crowe          Associate editor           First collaboration with Cameron Crowe

2005    Elizabethtown Additional editing       Third collaboration with Cameron Crowe

2009    The Winning Season   James C. Strouse         Additional editor        

2010    MacGruber      Jorma Taccone           

Sound department

Year     Film     Director           Role

1985    Seven Minutes in Heaven       Linda Feferman           Apprentice sound editor

1986    Heartburn        Mike Nichols  Assistant sound editor

Thanks

Year     Film     Director           Role

2019    The Lion King Jon Favreau     In memory of our friend