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Editors – Kelley Dixon, ACE and Josh Earl, ACE
The OBI-WAN KENOBI editing team of Kelley Dixon, ACE and Josh Earl, ACE have long been friends outside of the cutting room, but “Obi-Wan” is the first project they’ve shared. 5x Emmy-winning editor, Josh Earl didn’t have to think twice about Kelley Dixon’s offer to join the Lucasfilm series, ostensibly as her assistant even though he’s worked for years as an editor. Being a self-professed “Star Wars Nerd”, Josh jumped at the chance no matter what his role would be. As for Kelley, her plan was always to have Josh’s creative editorial talents shine through during post; culminating in him sharing editing credit with her on the series finale and earning both another Emmy nomination.
OBI-WAN KENOBI takes place ten years after the events of STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)—in which the Jedi were purged with Order 66 and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, became the Sith Lord Darth Vader—Kenobi is in hiding on the planet Tatooine, watching over Anakin’s son, Luke, when he is called on a mission to rescue Anakin’s daughter, Leia, after she is kidnapped by the Galactic Empire’s Jedi-hunting Inquisitors in a plot to draw Kenobi out. This leads to yet another dramatic duel between Kenobi and Vader.
KELLEY DIXON, ACE
In addition to her Emmy®-nominated work on OBI-WAN KENOBI, Kelley won an Emmy, plus three additional nominations, for her work on BREAKING BAD (2008-13), and would go on to rack up five more nominations for her subsequent work on the BREAKING BAD spinoff, BETTER CALL SAUL (2015-17). In recent years, Kelley has expanded her resume to include feature films such as THE GOLDFINCH (2019) and BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (2022).
JOSH EARL, ACE
Josh earned his Star Wars “cred” long before his turn on OBI-WAN KENOBI, having cut MARK HAMILL’S POP CULTURE QUEST (2016-17). But it was his work on the long-running reality hit DEADLIEST CATCH (2006-2019) that put five Emmy’s on Josh’s trophy shelf, right next to his Star Wars action figures. Among his many other credits, Josh has cut shows like AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS (2011) and documentaries such as SKI BUM: THE WARREN MILLER STORY (2019).
Editing OBI-WAN KENOBI
In our discussion with the OBI-WAN KENOBI editing team of Kelley Dixon, ACE and Josh Earl, ACE, we talk about:
- Bringing something from Breaking Bad to Tatooine
- Making the jump from editor to assistant editor?
- Being on location in “The Volume”
- Synthesizing new sounds for the Sith Lord
- Intercutting with lightsabers
The Credits
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