MASTER EDITOR: TIM SQUYRES
For celebrated film editor Tim Squyres, known for his career-long collaboration with director Ang Lee, the devil is in the details and home is in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Photography: Chad Hunt
Interview by Wilhem Kuhn
For celebrated film editor Tim Squyres, known for his career-long collaboration with director Ang Lee, the devil is in the details and home is in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Photography: Chad Hunt
Interview by Wilhem Kuhn
Scorsese and Schoonmaker. Spielberg and Kahn. Tarantino and the late, great Sally Meke. The relationship between a filmmaker and his or her editor is one that, once it clicks, sticks for life. That’s what happened when a young editor, Tim Squyres, was introduced to Ang Lee in New York in 1991. Famed indie film producer Ted Hope, who at the time was running his production company Good Machine, recommended Squyres to Lee. “He basically said, ‘I know a guy who’ll work for cheap,’ and that was me,” Squyres says. “I interviewed for the job—to edit Pushing Hands—and it was the most forgettable interview ever.” The two survived their awkward first meeting. “It worked, so we did another film, and another, and just kept going,” recalls Squyres. The list of titles on which the two have collaborated includes indelible classics such as The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, Ride with the Devil, and, of course, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which Squyres was nominated for an Academy Award as well as a BAFTA and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards.
At the moment, Squyres and Lee are deep in pre-production of the team’s next film, Old Gold Mountain, which will be filming in California later this May. When not working with the multiple Academy Award-winner Lee, Squyres stays busy working with other directors. His latest collaboration with director BenDavid Grabinski, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, recently debuting at the SXSW film festival.
SOCKO! asked cinematographer, producer, educator, and executive director of the Lighthouse International Film Festival Wilhelm Kuhn to chat with Squyres about how to make a long career in the movies and why basing yourself in the Garden State for the long haul works. Here’s an edited version of their conversation.
At the moment, Squyres and Lee are deep in pre-production of the team’s next film, Old Gold Mountain, which will be filming in California later this May. When not working with the multiple Academy Award-winner Lee, Squyres stays busy working with other directors. His latest collaboration with director BenDavid Grabinski, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, recently debuting at the SXSW film festival.
SOCKO! asked cinematographer, producer, educator, and executive director of the Lighthouse International Film Festival Wilhelm Kuhn to chat with Squyres about how to make a long career in the movies and why basing yourself in the Garden State for the long haul works. Here’s an edited version of their conversation.
Tim Squyres & Willem Kuhn in conversation at Montclair Film
Being the editor is one of the best jobs in filmmaking. You’re not out in the elements all night, and you’re one of the few people involved in shaping the entire story.”
Wilhelm Kuhn: Hi, Tim. Nice to see you again. Last time we spoke was in December, when we had a conversation about a specific film [Sense and Sensibility] that was something of a landmark in your career—and in Ang Lee’s as well. Today, I’d love to broaden things out and talk about your career overall, especially your connection to New Jersey. You’re a New Jerseyan by birth, and I’m one by adoption since 2019.
So maybe we can start with your background—how your family ended up in New Jersey, what it was like growing up there, and when you decided to pursue filmmaking.
Tim Squyres: I’m a New Jerseyan by birth, but from South Jersey—Gloucester County, near Philadelphia. My grandparents lived in Maplewood, so I visited a lot as a kid, but I didn’t live there. I moved to the New York City area when I was about 25.
Originally, I planned to be an astronomer or some kind of scientist. I come from a family of scientists, so that was the path I was on when I went to college. I went to Cornell, which isn’t exactly a film school.
But while I was there, I got curious about filmmaking and took an introductory class—and that was it. I got hooked.
Kuhn: How did you find your way into the independent film scene in New York?
Squyres: I just started working—making connections, doing different jobs. At first, I was more focused on directing and camera work. But as a teaching assistant at Cornell, I helped a lot with editing, and by chance some of the first people I met after coming to New York were editors, so people started to associate me with that.
Eventually, I realized editing is one of the best jobs in filmmaking. You’re not out in the elements all night, and you’re one of the few people involved in shaping the entire story. That really appealed to me, so I stuck with it—and eventually met Ang Lee.
Kuhn: I always think that as an editor you are almost the final writer of the film.
Squyres: Exactly. Sometimes you’re restoring what was in the script, and sometimes you’re throwing it out and building something new from what you actually have.
Kuhn: How did your collaboration with Ang Lee begin?
Squyres: I actually moved to New Jersey before I met Ang. I moved there in 1987, first to Jersey City and then to Maplewood—into my grandparents’ house.
We hadn’t planned to live in the suburbs, but we ended up buying it.
I met Ang in 1991. At the time, I’d edited one feature and done a lot of smaller projects. A producer named Ted Hope, whom I’d worked with before, recommended me. He basically said, “I know a guy who’ll work for cheap,” and that was me.
So maybe we can start with your background—how your family ended up in New Jersey, what it was like growing up there, and when you decided to pursue filmmaking.
Tim Squyres: I’m a New Jerseyan by birth, but from South Jersey—Gloucester County, near Philadelphia. My grandparents lived in Maplewood, so I visited a lot as a kid, but I didn’t live there. I moved to the New York City area when I was about 25.
Originally, I planned to be an astronomer or some kind of scientist. I come from a family of scientists, so that was the path I was on when I went to college. I went to Cornell, which isn’t exactly a film school.
But while I was there, I got curious about filmmaking and took an introductory class—and that was it. I got hooked.
Kuhn: How did you find your way into the independent film scene in New York?
Squyres: I just started working—making connections, doing different jobs. At first, I was more focused on directing and camera work. But as a teaching assistant at Cornell, I helped a lot with editing, and by chance some of the first people I met after coming to New York were editors, so people started to associate me with that.
Eventually, I realized editing is one of the best jobs in filmmaking. You’re not out in the elements all night, and you’re one of the few people involved in shaping the entire story. That really appealed to me, so I stuck with it—and eventually met Ang Lee.
Kuhn: I always think that as an editor you are almost the final writer of the film.
Squyres: Exactly. Sometimes you’re restoring what was in the script, and sometimes you’re throwing it out and building something new from what you actually have.
Kuhn: How did your collaboration with Ang Lee begin?
Squyres: I actually moved to New Jersey before I met Ang. I moved there in 1987, first to Jersey City and then to Maplewood—into my grandparents’ house.
We hadn’t planned to live in the suburbs, but we ended up buying it.
I met Ang in 1991. At the time, I’d edited one feature and done a lot of smaller projects. A producer named Ted Hope, whom I’d worked with before, recommended me. He basically said, “I know a guy who’ll work for cheap,” and that was me.
Courtesy of IMDB
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a huge breakthrough, but it didn’t feel like one while we were making it. We worked incredibly fast, with very little money.”
Kuhn: What would you say was the breakthrough in your collaboration?
Squyres: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a huge breakthrough, but it didn’t feel like one while we were making it. We worked incredibly fast, with very little money, and didn’t even preview it before Cannes. The first real audience saw it there—and loved it.
Kuhn: That must have been incredible.
Squyres: Terrifying—but incredible. That film became sort of our entry into Hollywood.
Kuhn: You’ve worked with major studios, often based in Los Angeles, but stayed rooted in New York and New Jersey. How did you manage that?
Squyres: Most of my work has been in New York, but I’v had some long stretches cutting out of town. At the time I had young kids, and it’s…it’s a drag. I would come home every few weeks, you know, fly home on the weekend, get in first thing Saturday morning. My daughter was in the marching band, so I’d go drive the equipment truck to wherever the football game was, do all that stuff, and, you know, that was my weekend, then I’d fly back. Nowadays, working remotely has gotten a lot easier. I’ve done a couple of remote jobs with people in Los Angeles.
Kuhn: That’s interesting. So staying in New Jersey didn’t hold you back?
Squyres: Not really. It’s a bit more commuting, but it’s manageable—and it’s a great place to live. The train sure beats LA traffic. My kids grew up here, and I’ve always been able to work from here.
Kuhn: Let’s talk about advice for young filmmakers. What would you tell someone starting out today?
Squyres: The biggest thing is: You get your initial jobs through connections. Not through a résumé.
You work on something small, meet people, and then those people move on to other projects and bring you along. That’s how it works.
So whatever you can get onto—do it. Be smart, be pleasant, do your job well, and get to know people. Don’t be a pain, but be someone others want to work with again.
Luck plays a role, too—but the more you’re around, the more chances you have to get lucky.
Kuhn: So talent matters—but it’s not enough on its own.
Squyres: Exactly. Talent, personality, and luck. You need all three.
Watch Tim Squyres’s most recent work, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, on Hulu.
Squyres: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a huge breakthrough, but it didn’t feel like one while we were making it. We worked incredibly fast, with very little money, and didn’t even preview it before Cannes. The first real audience saw it there—and loved it.
Kuhn: That must have been incredible.
Squyres: Terrifying—but incredible. That film became sort of our entry into Hollywood.
Kuhn: You’ve worked with major studios, often based in Los Angeles, but stayed rooted in New York and New Jersey. How did you manage that?
Squyres: Most of my work has been in New York, but I’v had some long stretches cutting out of town. At the time I had young kids, and it’s…it’s a drag. I would come home every few weeks, you know, fly home on the weekend, get in first thing Saturday morning. My daughter was in the marching band, so I’d go drive the equipment truck to wherever the football game was, do all that stuff, and, you know, that was my weekend, then I’d fly back. Nowadays, working remotely has gotten a lot easier. I’ve done a couple of remote jobs with people in Los Angeles.
Kuhn: That’s interesting. So staying in New Jersey didn’t hold you back?
Squyres: Not really. It’s a bit more commuting, but it’s manageable—and it’s a great place to live. The train sure beats LA traffic. My kids grew up here, and I’ve always been able to work from here.
Kuhn: Let’s talk about advice for young filmmakers. What would you tell someone starting out today?
Squyres: The biggest thing is: You get your initial jobs through connections. Not through a résumé.
You work on something small, meet people, and then those people move on to other projects and bring you along. That’s how it works.
So whatever you can get onto—do it. Be smart, be pleasant, do your job well, and get to know people. Don’t be a pain, but be someone others want to work with again.
Luck plays a role, too—but the more you’re around, the more chances you have to get lucky.
Kuhn: So talent matters—but it’s not enough on its own.
Squyres: Exactly. Talent, personality, and luck. You need all three.
Watch Tim Squyres’s most recent work, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, on Hulu.
Courtesy of IMDB
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This story appeared in the inaugural issue of Socko! Magazine [May, 2026]. Click here to subscribe
