Oscar Winner Walter Murch On 'Coup 53' And The British Secret Agent Who Overthrew Iran's Government

Walter Murch is a pioneer in using digital non-linear editing software to create films, and helped create the notion of "sound design" as well. He's won three Oscars in sound and film editing (for The English Patient and Apocalypse Now) and been nominated for six more. He talks with me about his latest project, the documentary Coup 53 (available through virtual cinema at coup53.com), the extremely secret British agent at the heart of the coup to oust a democratically elected prime minister in Iran in 1953, and the unfortunate lessons it taught the CIA about covert ops and regime change. MI6 agent Norman Darbyshire was a real-life James Bond, someone "who got things done," yet " almost completely disappeared from history," Murch says. "The coup was his masterpiece." We also talk about how editing a film is like churning butter; why he used Adobe Premiere Pro for the first time after decades with Avid and Apple Final Cut Pro; and the future of movie theaters, both the big chains and indie arthouses.

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