The popular drama Maid from creator Molly Smith Metzler is currently streaming on Netflix, and ComingSoon spoke with editor Annette Davey about her work on the show. Davey is a seasoned editor who has notable credits on Transparent, Better Things, and Glow. She’s also the editor on Lionsgate’s recent film, Lady of the Manor, starring Melanie Lynskey, Judy Greer, Justin Long, and Ryan Phillippe.
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Jeff Ames: What led you to become an editor?
Annette Davey: I had always been interested in movies, but it was very hard to get into filmmaking in Adelaide, Australia, the city where I grew up. I decided to move to Sydney, where most of the film work was, and upon arrival, I went to the unemployment office, and they said they had a job in filmmaking! This was incredibly unusual, but it turned out to be the start of my film career.
A group of women had gotten together and received a grant from the government to train women in all aspects of filmmaking. It was a six-month training program only for women, and there was one place left! I applied and got the last spot, which was remarkable and super exciting; through this opportunity, I learned about all aspects of filmmaking and met my editing mentor, who encouraged me to pursue editing as my career.
What was it about Maid that made you want to work on it?
I loved the story of Maid, and it seemed especially relevant as we were shooting and doing post in the midst of the pandemic. I responded well to the type of story it was, and the scripts were fantastic. The characters were so well-drawn, and it was not judgemental in any way, which for me was the most important part of the story.
What was the most challenging aspect of Maid, and how did you overcome that?
Partly working during the pandemic was the most challenging. Everything was done remotely, and we were in L.A. while everyone else was in Canada. This sometimes made communicating a bit harder, and the time zones were tricky. But ultimately, the most challenging thing about Maid was making sure that we captured the spirit of the scripts and did not judge our characters in any way.
Do you have any fun, behind-the-scenes stories about the making of Maid?
It’s hard to have many fun behind-the-scenes stories when you are alone in your apartment all day and not even leaving for days at a time. I did get very used to wearing pajamas all day, and I often only dressed from the waist up for our Zoom calls. Hopefully, no one could see me under the desk in my pajama pants and slippers!
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What were some of the things you learned from Maid that you’re excited to apply to future endeavors?
I feel like I learned to compress time well on Maid and also to use silence effectively. We also used a lot of graphics to help tell the story, which I loved, and I really appreciated the way it supplied extra information but didn’t interrupt the flow of the actual story.
Do you have any other projects coming up that you can share with us?
I do have several upcoming projects. One is an exciting, fun limited series for Hulu Pam & Tommy, starring Sebastian Stan and Lily James. Plus, I just started work on a feature called Dreamin’ Wild starring Casey Affleck that I’m super excited about.
