Editing The Thin Red Line (1998 film) (section)

===Post-production===
[[Bill Pullman]], [[Lukas Haas]] and [[Mickey Rourke]] performed but their scenes were eventually cut. [[Billy Bob Thornton]] recorded narration that was scrapped. [[Martin Sheen]] and [[Viggo Mortensen]] participated in readthroughs of the script and are thanked in the end credits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/04/10-actors-cut-from-terrence-malick-films-how-they-reacted-99568/|title=10 Actors Cut From Terrence Malick Films & How They Reacted|first=Jessica|last=Kiang|date=April 10, 2013|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713224834/https://www.indiewire.com/2013/04/10-actors-cut-from-terrence-malick-films-how-they-reacted-99568/|url-status=live}}</ref> Editor Leslie Jones was on location for five months and rarely saw Malick, who left her to her own devices.<ref name="Torgerson">{{cite magazine
 | last=Torgerson
 | first=Liv
 | title=Conversations With ... Billy Weber and Leslie Jones
 | magazine=Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter
 | volume=20
 | issue=3
 | date=May–June 1999
 | url=http://www.editorsguild.com/v2/magazine/Newsletter/MayJun99/weber_jones.html
 | access-date=2007-11-27
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518030610/http://www.editorsguild.com/v2/magazine/Newsletter/MayJun99/weber_jones.html
 | archive-date=May 18, 2008
 | url-status=dead
}}</ref> After principal photography wrapped, she came back with a five-hour first cut and spent seven months editing, with Thornton contributing three hours of narrative voice-over material.<ref name="Young"/><ref name="Torgerson"/> It was at this point that editor [[Billy Weber]] joined and they spent 13 months in post-production and the last four months mixing the film, using four [[Avid Technology|Avid]] machines with a fifth added at one point.<ref name="Torgerson"/> Malick edited the footage one reel at a time with the sound off while listening to a [[Green Day]] CD.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Winter|first1=Jessica|title=Absence of Malick|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2010/10/absence_of_malick.html|website=slate.com|date=October 5, 2010 |publisher=Slate|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-date=March 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324133622/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2010/10/absence_of_malick.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There were no preview screenings but several in-house ones, the largest for marketing executives which was attended by 15 people.<ref name="Torgerson"/> The editors faced the challenge of blending footage of veteran actors with less-experienced ones, integrating the many cameos, and the voice-overs. According to Jones, "Malick removed scenes with dialogue whenever possible, with the final film varying greatly from the original concept."<ref name="Torgerson"/> Four months after principal photography, Malick invited Toll to a rough-cut screening of the film.<ref name="Bourton"/> In December 1998, Toll did the first color correction at the lab prior to the film's release in North America.<ref name="Bourton"/>

The editing resulted in many of the well-known cast members being on screen for only a brief period. John Travolta and George Clooney's appearances are little more than [[Cameo appearance|cameos]], yet Clooney's name appears prominently in the marketing of the movie. The unfinished film was screened for the New York press in December 1998 and [[Adrien Brody]] attended a screening to find that his originally significant role, "to carry the movie", as he put it, had been reduced to two lines and approximately five minutes of screen time.<ref>{{cite news
 | last = Mottram
 | first = James
 | title = The Prime of Mr. Adrien Brody
 | work = [[The Independent]]
 | date = April 21, 2001
 }}</ref>

Malick was upset that the studio screened his unfinished version for critics and Penn ended up helping him in the editing room, shaping the final version.<ref name="Young"/> Malick spent three more months and cut 45 additional minutes from the film. The director refused to subject his film to test screenings before delivering his final cut.<ref name="Portman">{{cite news
 | last = Portman
 | first = Jamie
 | title = Elusive Director Surfaces with ''Thin Red Line''
 | work = [[Montreal Gazette]]
 | date = January 2, 1999
 | url = <!--| access-date = 2008-01-07-->}}</ref> After Geisler and Roberdeau told their story to ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' magazine, Medavoy's attorneys declared them in breach of contract and threatened to remove their names from the film unless they agreed to do no future interviews until after the [[Academy Award]]s.<ref name="Biskind"/>