Chris Lebenzon

Chris Lebenzon is a total legend in the editing game, honestly. The guy’s been shaping the movies we love for, what, forty years now? He pretty much jumps genres like it’s nothing—action, drama, musicals, animation, you name it. Lebenzon’s especially tight with Tim Burton and Jerry Bruckheimer, which, let’s be real, is a wild combo. Oscar nodded at him twice, big flex—for Top Gun (yeah, the original one from '86) and Crimson Tide, that submarine nail-biter from ‘95. He’s also snagged two Eddie Awards, one for Sweeney Todd (who knew slicing throats could look that slick?) and another for Alice in Wonderland, which was basically a fever dream come to life. Burton fans owe this guy a lot. Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—he cut ‘em all. And don’t sleep on his animated work, either. Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, even The Nightmare Before Christmas (consulting editor, but still). It’s like, if Burton was going for weird and wonderful, Lebenzon made sure it actually worked. His Bruckheimer credits? Stacked. Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, Enemy of the State, plus a dozen more blockbusters. We’re talking Gone in Sixty Seconds, Con Air, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and he even had his hands on Top Gun: Maverick. That’s a box office stampede—over $13 billion worldwide, last time anyone checked. And just to flex a little more, Lebenzon’s cut for John Hughes, Martin Brest, Disney on Maleficent, and even the Uncharted adaptation. Pretty wild résumé, right?