Carol Littleton


Carol Littleton is an American film editor. Her work includes Body Heat, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and The Big Chill. Carol Littleton was the recipient of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for Tuesdays with Morrie.
Littleton has been elected as a member of the American Cinema Editors. Littleton was a member of the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1999 through 2002 and served as president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild during the late 1980s. She is married to cinematographer John Bailey.

Life and career

Carol Littleton was born in Oklahoma. She attended the University of Oklahoma College of Arts & Sciences, obtaining her bachelor's degree in 1965 and her master's in 1970. Her obsession with film editing started in France, when Littleton became acquainted with French New Wave cinema. During the 1970s, Carol Littleton owned a production company that made commercials. She moved into working as a film editor with director Karen Arthur on Legacy. Other films were to follow and Littleton received an Academy Award nomination for editing Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Commencing with Body Heat, Littleton had an extended collaboration with the director Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan hired Littleton for Body Heat not only for her skill, but specifically because she was a woman. He believed only a woman editor could bring the eroticism he wanted in the film. Of the 11 films that Kasdan has directed, Littleton has edited nine.
In the late 1980s, Carol Littleton was elected and served as the president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild. Littleton is one of the major editors that author Gabriella Oldham interview for her book First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors.

Filmography

As film editor

The release year and director for each film are indicated in parenthesis.