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Today's guest is award-winning film editor, Sarah Broshar who’s short list of credits includes The Fabelmans, West Side Story, Ready Player One, and The Post. All of which were projects that had her working with Hollywood legends Steven Spielberg and editor, Michael Kahn. Looking at her credits in her IMDb profile, you might think, "She must have gotten really lucky," but as Sarah shares in our conversation, her 'luck' mostly comes from consistently solving problems and providing value over and over.

As we go deeper into her story, Sarah shares that not only is she 'lucky' to be working with legends, she's also working with people who value family and boundaries which is not very common to high demand projects (or the industry, in general). Getting your foot in high-profile projects and working with people who will respect your boundaries is already challenging enough but as we find out in Sarah's story, she paved her own way to get to where she is now. Sarah's inspiring story reveals that creating your own 'luck' is the key to working with the best and setting boundaries is the key to having a life outside of work.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

Sarah’s origin story
What Sarah did that got her recommended for an internship with Michael Kahn
How Sarah got into the room without even focusing on getting in the room
Sarah’s view on ‘luck’
How Sarah became invaluable from working as an intern in an environment that hasn’t worked with interns before
How Sarah chooses opportunities and how she can say ‘no’ without regrets
How Sarah finished West Side Story during the pandemic while being pregnant
The challenges of working with legends
Sarah’s non-negotiable (even for Steven Spielberg) and why Steven and Michael respect that
Sara’s creative calling
What makes creatives irreplaceable according to Sarah
The advice that Sarah gave years ago to someone she mentored at AFI and why she can’t relate to that advice now

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Ep216: Chase Jarvis On Building Your Network of ‘A-Gamers,’ Designing the Life You Want, and Fulfilling Your ‘Creative Calling’

Ep230: The Performance Paradox – How Only Focusing On Performance Leads to Performing Worse | with Eduardo Briceño

The Fabelmans (IMDb)

Roofless Painters

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D.

Continue to Listen & Learn

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Ep196: How to Become Oscar-level Successful (Without Being a Dick) | with Peter Ramsey

Ep176: Why You Don’t Need to Go to Film School to Be Successful | with Eddie Hamilton, ACE [Pt 1]

Ep129: How to Cultivate a “Service-Centric” Mindset (and Why It Will Make You More Successful) | with Agustin Rexach

Ep118: Legendary Editor Walter Murch On Optimizing Creativity, Productivity, and Well-Being In Hollywood For 50+ Years

Ep116: Maintaining Boundaries, Well-Being, and Sanity on Hollywood Blockbusters | with Jeffrey Ford, ACE

Ep117: The Secret to Surviving 40+ Years Working In Hollywood | with Carol Littleton, ACE

Ep115: How to Be So Thorough You Can’t Be Denied | with James Wilcox, ACE

Ep200: Ralph Macchio ‘Waxing On’ About Authentically Living a More Balanced and Fulfilling Life

Ep220: William Zabka on Managing Overnight Success, Choosing the Right Opportunities (to Avoid Being Pigeonholed), Staying Creative, and Balancing Fatherhood with Hollywood

Ep11: Making It In Hollywood as a “Creative” (What They Don’t Teach You In Film School) | with Norman Hollyn

Ep79: Balancing Health, Happiness, & Hollywood (and the Consequences When You Don’t) | with Roger Barton

Guest Bio:

sarah-broshar-bio Sarah Broshar

Sarah Broshar recently finished co-editing The Fabelmans, which marks her ninth collaboration on a Steven Spielberg directed film. Along with Michael Kahn, she also co-edited West Side Story (Critics Choice Award winner for Best Editing), Ready Player One and The Post. She served as Additional Editor on Bridge of Spies and The BFG, after working as First Assistant Editor on War Horse and Lincoln. She began her journey with Spielberg and Kahn in 2009 by operating the Avid on The Adventures of Tintin. In 2019, Sarah edited Paramount’s hit Pet Semetary. She has also edited a number of independent features and was nominated for an ACE Eddie Award for The Post. Sarah is a graduate of the American Film Institute and Northwestern University.

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).

Ep238: Setting Boundaries Between Work & Life (Even When You Work For Steven Spielberg) | with Sarah Broshar

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