About Matt

Matthew Friedman is an ACE Eddie Award-winning film editor and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He's known for his work on the Golden Globe nominated films Palm Springs (starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti) and The Farewell (starring Awkwafina and directed by Lulu Wang). Each film earned him an ACE Eddie Award nomination, and he won the 2020 Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film - Comedic for Palm Springs.

Embed from Getty Images

Matt has edited features around the world and has credits in numerous genres, including the animated comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, the 3D dance movie Step Up: Revolution, the comedy What Happens in Vegas, and the young adult cult classic John Tucker Must Die. Other credits include Lulu Wang's debut feature Posthumous, starring Brit Marling and Jack Huston; Some Kind of Beautiful, starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, and Malcolm McDowell; and Asbhy, which premiered at Tribeca and stars Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Sarah Silverman and Emma Roberts. He is also known as the voice of the talking bird in Scary Movie 2. All told, the films Matt has edited have grossed just shy of one billion dollars theatrically worldwide.

Matt has edited for producers and directors including Shawn Levy, Will Gluck, Betty Thomas, William H. Macy, Andrew Lazar, Adam Shankman, Karen Rosenfelt, Charles Stone III, and Will Smith. He’s also edited films in Chinese and Spanish, even though he does not speak the languages.

“As an editor, I collaborate with directors and actors to ensure that audiences see the best, subtlest, truest performances possible. And hopefully those performances move them.”

Matt is also a long-standing faculty member at AFI, dedicating his time to teaching the next generation of editors. He worked for and was mentored by renowned editors including Peter Teschner, Emma Hickox, Jill Bilcock, and Sheldon Kahn.

Matt’s love of film began at age 8, when his parents gave him a Super 8 camera. He quickly went to work making films blowing up model cars with Coleman White Fuel. His dream to work in entertainment led him to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, where he graduated with degrees in Radio/Television/Film and Economics. He also attended the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

Matt currently lives in the Hollywood Hills with his husband Chris and their son. Unfortunately, due to fire codes in the Hollywood Hills, Matt has been unable to blow up any model cars with Coleman White Fuel, though he looks forward to getting back to his roots in the near future. In the interim, he’s satisfying himself with Beat Saber, and yes, that is him playing the level in the video below:

The Farewell Film