Jeff Groth makes it to Oscars red carpet for “Joker” editing

by Charles Cassady

“His journey from high school at Revere to where he is now is an amazing story – and a brave one.” That sounds like a movie-script pitch, but it’s actually Richfield’s Hugh Groth talking about his son, Jeff, a prominent editor in the commercial film and TV industry on the West Coast.

How prominent? Jeff Groth’s work on one of the biggest movies of 2019, “Joker,” earned him an Oscar nomination at the recent Academy Awards. Joaquin Phoenix took home the Best Actor statuette for his portrayal of the iconic Gotham City antihero of comics and screen.

Jeff Groth’s previous achievements as editor include the TV show “Entourage,” the movies “Office Christmas Party,” “Project X” and “The Hangover Part III,” and the documentaries “Religulous” (with Bill Maher) and “Year of the Yao.”

In the movie world, the film editor is the proverbial “invisible man” of the industry. His is the hidden hand, trimming the raw footage that often makes a difference between a motion picture that works and one that doesn’t.

Editors and directors work together, ideally, cutting and re-arranging and fixing up sequences, focusing on timing, continuity, narrative flow and action. It is crucial but a cloistered occupation, not usually associated with on-set glamour.

Editors don’t necessarily mingle with actors, said Jeff Groth. “You’re there to work, so it’s professional. But yes, you do find yourself working with onscreen talent sometimes,” he said. “They have opinions about how they appear, and depending upon who they are, they have a say in it – like Joaquin or Bill Maher.”

In Tinseltown lore, some notable movies were supposedly shaping up to be flops but were saved “in post,” (post-production, after all the shooting ended) thanks to the adroit handiwork of savvy editors. Two classic comedies, Woody Allen’s “Take the Money and Run” and Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” are said to be examples.

So, did Jeff Groth grow up in a family of pioneer film editors who settled in Ohio? Not quite, said Hugh Groth, but the family is diverse in both business and the arts.

“I lived in Richfield from age 8 to 18. Prior to that, we lived in Brecksville,” Jeff said. “We moved because my grandfather, Buell Davidson, who was a builder, had built a new house next door to his current one. We moved into his old house, which was also the house my mother grew up in.”

“Jeff grew up during the early years of my own business as a consulting product engineer,” Hugh said. “Jeff’s older sister, Sally Groth Gill, is an accomplished actress in the Cleveland/Akron area. Her twin brother, Ted, is a chemical engineer in the paper industry in Wisconsin. And our oldest, Polly Wheeler, is the wife of the Richfield mayor and vice president of Novex Systems, a company which produces forms and labels.”

Jeff was an Eagle Scout, attended Revere High School, and experimented with filmmaking using VHS camcorder equipment, at a time when cassette-based videotape eclipsed 8mm and 16mm film as an entry-level medium for moviemaking. Editing in those days was “analog” style, usually with two VCRs cable-connected together.

“Revere had ‘Media 1’ and ‘Media 2’ classes at the time,” said Jeff. “Not many people took them, but it provided us access to cameras and editing equipment. Our assignments consisted largely of making videos on SVHS tapes, and my friends – many of whom still live there and are still good friends of mine – and I would take cameras down to Boston Mills and make ski videos. We still watch those from time to time.”

 Jeff Groth attended Miami University of Ohio, majoring in communications.

“When Jeff graduated … he soon put everything in his car and drove to Portland, Oregon, where he knew no one and had no job or place to live. But he was confident that he could make his way. He did,” Hugh said. “He became an intern with a company [Avid] there that trained editors in film editing, then was employed by them.”

After working in New York and Denver, Jeff Groth now calls Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife Joy, a social worker.

“I, of course, am very proud of Jeff, for through it all he has maintained complete integrity and fairness in dealing with others and has made his way through an amazing talent, and an ability to work hard and persevere,” said Hugh.

Film editing has also come a long way, with computer-based editing now the standard. Companies such as Avid develop software and hardware that gives film editors control over the frames. Nonetheless, it is a far from simple process.

Jeff Groth said that editing “Joker” for director Todd Phillips took him a year. “That’s pretty typical,” he said. “I would say you can’t complete a feature in under six months, and the longest I’ve spent on a job is 16 months [for] ‘Project X.’”

“One often thinks of an editor, especially a film editor, as the technical part of the business,” said Hugh Groth, “but Jeff is not just a technician; he is an artist. I am sure he thinks of himself that way. His job is to take the scene cuts he is given and build the story to match, and even enhance in many cases, what is in the script. Sometimes it is actually collaboration between actors, director and editor, as it was in producing ‘Joker.’ That is what made that movie so successful.”

The next screen credit for Jeff Groth will be the first Ohio-connected production on which he has worked since those VHS/analog Revere days. It’s “Cherry,” a crime drama starring Tom Holland, shooting locally and directed by Clevelanders Joe and Anthony Russo – who brought comic-book material into cinematic gold with “Avengers.”

“I will likely be working on ‘Cherry’ until June,” said Jeff. “Then – who knows?”

His advice for aspiring editors hoping to follow in his footsteps to the red carpet? “If you know you want to be an editor, don’t be distracted by other work. Cut as many projects as you can,” he said. And … that’s a wrap!

Feature image photo caption: Oscar-award nominee Jeff Groth (left) and his wife, Joy Fruth are photographed on the Red Carpet preceding the Academy Award presentations. Groth was nominated as the editor of “Joker.”