Mulan editor David Coulson is no stranger to working on films about young girls overcoming adversity and societal customs that favor sons over daughters. You only have to go back to his first collaborative effort with director Niki Caro and her film, Whale Rider, to see that. That film seemed to come out of nowhere to rack up tons of awards and accolades, including the 2003 Sundance Film Festival Audience award and an Oscar® nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the breakout performance of star Keisha Castle-Hughes.

Since then David and Niki have done other great films like North Country, McFarland USA and The Zookeeper's Wife. And now in 2020, with a much bigger budget than usual, David and Niki have done it again for Disney's reimagining of their 1998 animated film of the same name. For a movie that seems tailor made for big theaters with giant screens and a zillion speakers, it plays very well at home as well on Disney Plus. In our interview with David, we not only talk about editing Mulan, but also about; the benefits of frequently collaborating with the same director, what he looks for in a good assistant, how to get your foot in the door for up-and-comers, plus the benefits and challenges of cutting VFX intensive films.

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