FILLMORE : Film Editor Honored for ‘Band Played On’

Smack in the middle of Lois Freeman-Fox’s dining room table stands a pewter statue of a man holding scissors and a plaque reading American Cinema Editors.

One day, when she calms down from the thrill of receiving the award at the Regent Beverly Wilshire earlier this month, Freeman-Fox plans to move it to the piano. But not quite yet.

A Fillmore resident, Freeman-Fox, 46, has worked in the Hollywood film editing industry for the past 19 years. On March 12, she received her profession’s greatest honor, the Eddie award, for her work on the HBO movie “And the Band Played On.”

The film is based on journalist Randy Shilts’ landmark book chronicling the spread of the AIDS virus, the government’s indifference to the havoc it wreaked on gays and the gay community’s refusal to take responsibility for stopping the spread of the disease.

“This was a very difficult project,” Freeman-Fox said. “It was very sensitive politically.”

While she felt the project was the best work she has ever done, Freeman-Fox said she would certainly not call it fun, what with every interest group portrayed in the film reviewing preliminary versions and asking to have their group portrayed more favorably or extensively.

“It became quite complicated,” she said.

The American Cinema Editors Award is one of Hollywood’s most low-key award shows. This year, the award for best edited motion picture of 1993 went to veteran film editor Michael Kahn for “Schindler’s List.” Freeman-Fox won the award for best edited motion picture for non-commercial television.

Freeman-Fox has also edited the feature films “Turner and Hooch” and “Stop or My Mom Will Shoot.”