View source for John Ottman

{{Short description|American film composer and editor (born 1964)}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name                = John Ottman
| image               = John_Ottman.jpg
| caption             = Ottman in 2011
| image_size          = 
| background          = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name          = 
| alias               = 
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1964|7|6}}
| birth_place         =[[San Diego]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| origin              = 
| genre               = [[Film score]]
| occupation          = [[Composer]] and [[Film editing| film editor]]
| instrument          = 
| years_active        = 1993–present
| label               = 
| associated_acts     = 
| website             = {{url|http://www.johnottman.com}}
}}

'''John Ottman''' (born July 6, 1964) is an American film [[Film score|composer]], [[Film director|director]], and [[Film editing|editor]]. He is best known for collaborating with director [[Bryan Singer]], composing and/or editing many of his films, including ''[[Public Access (film)|Public Access]]'' (1993), ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'' (1995), ''[[Superman Returns]]'' (2006), ''[[Valkyrie (film)|Valkyrie]]'' (2008) and ''[[Jack the Giant Slayer]]'' (2013), as well as the [[X-Men (film series)|''X-Men'' film series]]. For his work on Singer's 2018 [[Queen (band)|Queen]] biopic ''[[Bohemian Rhapsody (film)|Bohemian Rhapsody]]'', Ottman won the [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing]].

==Life and career==
Ottman was born in San Diego, California. Growing up in San Jose, Ottman made many amateur films garnering local attention in the community. He attended [[De Anza College]] and then transferred to the [[USC School of Cinematic Arts|School of Cinematic Arts]] of the [[University of Southern California]], where he graduated in 1988.<ref>[http://cinema.usc.edu/alumni/alumni-history/ "Notable Alumni"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826034853/http://cinema.usc.edu/alumni/alumni-history/ |date=2009-08-26 }}, webpage of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, retrieved April 15, 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.deanza.edu/news/2019/ottman.html|title = De Anza Alum Wins Oscar}}</ref> One of his first assignments was to provide original music for the computer game ''[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (video game)|I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]''. In 2007, Ottman appeared in the documentary ''[[Finding Kraftland]]'' for his agent Richard Kraft.

He is best known for his multi-tasking as editor and composer for Bryan Singer's films, and on a few occasions, producer roles to boot. ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'', ''[[Apt Pupil (film)|Apt Pupil]]'', ''[[X2 (film)|X2]]'', ''[[Superman Returns]]'' (including adapting themes originally composed by [[John Williams]]), ''[[Valkyrie (film)|Valkyrie]]'', ''[[Jack the Giant Slayer]]'', ''[[X-Men: Days of Future Past]]'' and ''[[X-Men: Apocalypse]]''. Other notable films he worked on as composer are ''[[Snow White: A Tale of Terror]]'', [[House of Wax (2005 film)|the 2005 remake of ''House of Wax'']], ''[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]'', ''[[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]]'' and its sequel ''[[Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]'', ''[[The Invasion (film)|The Invasion]]'', and ''[[Astro Boy (film)|Astro Boy]]''.

He also directed (in addition to editing and scoring) the 2000 horror film ''[[Urban Legends: Final Cut]]''. He won a [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing]] for ''The Usual Suspects'', as well as two [[Saturn Award for Best Music|Saturn Awards for Best Music]] for ''The Usual Suspects'' and ''Superman Returns''. In 2019, he was nominated for a [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing]] and won the [[ACE Eddie Award]] and the [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Academy Award]] his work on ''[[Bohemian Rhapsody (film)|Bohemian Rhapsody]],'' a film Ottman saw through on his own after both directors' departure (Bryan Singer being fired and Dexter Fletcher beginning pre-production on "Rocketman" shortly after finishing the shoot.) Ottman navigated the film's development in post and the tricky waters between film-maker and studio, working with producer Graham King and Dennis O'Sullivan. Upon ''Bohemian Rhapsody'' getting nominated for, and winning its Best Editing awards, a scene of the band outside a pub went viral online after a post by Youtuber Thomas Flight, who was critical of the editing style. Ottman, aware of the clip, explained that for a test screening, a heightened pace for the first act was asked for by the studio. After the test, Ottman returned the scene to its original pace and design. Ottman regretted that he missed returning the scene outside the pub closer to his original version. The scene (directed by Fletcher) contained no master shot of the band at the table.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/bohemian-rhapsody-editing/|work=[[/Film]]|title='Bohemian Rhapsody' Editor is as Embarrassed About that One Scene as You Are|date=March 20, 2019|access-date=March 21, 2019}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Composer===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Discography
|- 
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Feature films
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
! style="width:17em;"| Distributed by
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1993
| ''[[Public Access (film)|Public Access]]''
| rowspan="2" | [[Bryan Singer]]
| 
| Occidental Studios<br/>Cinemabeam
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 1995
| ''[[The Usual Suspects]]''
| 
| Spelling Films International<br/>[[Gramercy Pictures]]<br/>[[PolyGram Entertainment|PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]]
|-
| ''Night Train''
| John Coven
| [[Short film]]
|
|-
| ''The Antelope Chess Game''
| Lance Tracy
| 
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1996
| ''[[The Cable Guy]]''
| [[Ben Stiller]]
| 
| [[Columbia Pictures]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1997
| ''[[Snow White: A Tale of Terror]]''
| Michael Cohn
| 
| PolyGram Filmed Entertainment<br/>[[Interscope Communications]]
|-
| ''[[Incognito (1997 film)|Incognito]]''
| [[John Badham]]
| 
| rowspan="2"| [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 1998
| ''[[Goodbye Lover]]''
| [[Roland Joffé]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Halloween H20: 20 Years Later]]''
| [[Steve Miner]]
| Themes by:
*[[John Carpenter]]
| [[Miramax|Miramax Films]]
|-
| ''[[Apt Pupil (film)|Apt Pupil]]''
| Bryan Singer
| 
| [[TriStar Pictures]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1999
| ''[[Lake Placid (film)|Lake Placid]]''
| Steve Miner
| 
| [[20th Century Fox]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2000
| ''[[Urban Legends: Final Cut]]''
| Himself
| Also director
| Columbia Pictures
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2001
| ''[[Bubble Boy (film)|Bubble Boy]]''
| Blair Hayes
| 
| [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures]]
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 2002
| ''[[Pumpkin (film)|Pumpkin]]''
| Anthony Abrams<br/>Adam Larson Broder
| 
| [[United Artists]]
|-
| ''[[Eight Legged Freaks]]''
| [[Ellory Elkayem]]
| 
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| ''[[Trapped (2002 film)|Trapped]]''
| [[Luis Mandoki]]
| 
| Columbia Pictures
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2003
| ''[[X2 (film)|X2]]''
| Bryan Singer
| 
| 20th Century Fox<br/>[[Marvel Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Gothika]]''
| [[Mathieu Kassovitz]]
| Composed with:
*[[Lior Rosner]]
| Warner Bros. Pictures<br/>Columbia Pictures
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | 2004
| ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]''
| [[David R. Ellis]]
| 
| [[New Line Cinema]]
|-
| ''[[Imaginary Heroes]]''
| [[Dan Harris (screenwriter)|Dan Harris]]
| Main theme only
| [[Sony Pictures Classics]]
|-
| ''Lonely Place''
| Kevin Ackerman
| Short film
|
|-
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 2005
| ''[[Hide and Seek (2005 film)|Hide and Seek]]''
| [[John Polson]]
| 
| 20th Century Fox
|-
| ''[[House of Wax (2005 film)|House of Wax]]''
| [[Jaume Collet-Serra]]
| 
| rowspan="2"| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| ''[[Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]]''
| [[Shane Black]]
| 
|-
| ''[[Fantastic Four (2005 film)|Fantastic Four]]''
| [[Tim Story]]
| 
| 20th Century Fox
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2006
| ''[[Superman Returns]]''
| Bryan Singer
| Themes by:
*[[John Williams]]
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2007
| ''[[Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]''
| Tim Story
| 
| 20th Century Fox
|-
| ''[[The Invasion (film)|The Invasion]]''
| [[Oliver Hirschbiegel]]<br/>[[James McTeigue]]
| 
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| ''[[Valkyrie (film)|Valkyrie]]''
| Bryan Singer
| 
| [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2009
| ''[[Orphan (2009 film)|Orphan]]''
| Jaume Collet-Serra
| 
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| ''[[Astro Boy (film)|Astro Boy]]''
| rowspan="3"| [[David Bowers (director)|David Bowers]]
| 
| rowspan="3" | [[Summit Entertainment]]
|-
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 2010
| ''The RRF in New Recruit''
| rowspan="2" | Short film
|-
| ''Astro Boy vs. The Junkyard Pirates''
|-
| ''[[The Losers (2010 film)|The Losers]]''
| [[Sylvain White]]
| 
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| ''Halloween: The Night He Came Back''
| Eric Iyoob<br/>Darla Rae
| Short film
| Film It Productions
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2011
| ''[[The Resident (film)|The Resident]]''
| [[Antti Jokinen]]
| 
|[[Image Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Unknown (2011 film)|Unknown]]''
| Jaume Collet-Serra
| Composed with:
*[[Alexander Rudd]]
| Warner Bros. Pictures<br/>[[StudioCanal UK|Optimum Releasing]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| ''[[Jack the Giant Slayer]]''
| Bryan Singer
| 
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2014
| ''[[Non-Stop (film)|Non-Stop]]''
| Jaume Collet-Serra
| 
| [[Universal Pictures]]
|-
| ''[[X-Men: Days of Future Past]]''
| Bryan Singer
| 
| 20th Century Fox
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2016
| ''[[The Nice Guys]]''
| Shane Black
| Composed with:
*[[David Buckley]]
| Warner Bros. Pictures
|-
| ''[[X-Men: Apocalypse]]''
| Bryan Singer
|
| 20th Century Fox
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
! style="width:17em;"| Distributed by
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1998
| ''[[Fantasy Island (1998 TV series)|Fantasy Island]]''
| [[Michael Dinner]]
| TV series theme and pilot score
| [[Columbia TriStar Television]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |2002
| ''[[Brother's Keeper (2002 film)|Brother's Keeper]]''
| [[John Badham]]
| rowspan=2|[[Television film]]
| [[USA Network]]
|-
| ''[[Point of Origin (film)|Point of Origin]]''
| [[Newton Thomas Sigel]]
| [[HBO Films]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2015
| ''[[Battle Creek (TV series)|Battle Creek]]''
| [[Bryan Singer]]
| Episode: "The Battle Creek Way"
| [[CBS Television Studios]]<br/>[[Sony Pictures Television]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2017
| ''[[The Gifted (U.S. TV series)|The Gifted]]''
| Bryan Singer
|
| [[20th Television]]
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Video documentaries
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
! style="width:17em;"| Distributed by
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2002
| ''Round Up: Deposing The Usual Suspects''
| 
| 
| [[MGM Home Entertainment]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2003
| ''Evolution in the Details: The Design of X2''
| 
| Short
| rowspan="2" | [[20th Century Fox Home Entertainment]]
|-
| ''The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2''
| 
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 2004
| ''Celling Out''
| rowspan="2" | [[Jeffrey Schwarz]]
| rowspan="2" |Short
| rowspan="2" | [[New Line Home Entertainment]]
|-
| ''Dialing Up Cellular''
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Video games
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
! style="width:17em;"| Distributed by
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1995
| ''[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (video game)|I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]''
| [[David Mullich]]
| 
|[[Cyberdreams]]

[[MGM Interactive]]
|}

===Other credits===
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Editor
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1988
| ''[[Lion's Den (1988 film)|Lion's Den]]''
|rowspan="4"| Bryan Singer
| 
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1993
| ''Public Access''
| 
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1995
| ''The Usual Suspects''
| 
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1998
| ''Apt Pupil''
| 
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2000
| ''Urban Legends: Final Cut''
| Himself
| With Rob Kobrin
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2003
| ''X2''
|rowspan="7"| Bryan Singer
| rowspan="2" | With [[Elliot Graham]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2006
| ''Superman Returns''
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| ''Valkyrie''
| 
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| ''Jack the Giant Slayer''
| With [[Bob Ducsay]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2014
| ''X-Men: Days of Future Past''
|
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2016
| ''X-Men: Apocalypse''
| With Michael Louis Hill
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2018
| ''[[Bohemian Rhapsody (film)|Bohemian Rhapsody]]''
| Academy Award Winner - [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] / BAFTA Award Nomination - [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
|-
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Director
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1988
| ''Lion's Den''
| rowspan="2" | Himself
| Directed with:
* Bryan Singer
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2000
| ''Urban Legends: Final Cut''
| Also composer
|-
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Producer
|-
! style="width:3em;"| Year
! style="width:19em;"| Title
! style="width:10em;"| Director
! style="width:10em;"| Notes
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 1998
|''Apt Pupil''
| rowspan="4" |Bryan Singer
| Associate producer
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| ''Valkyrie''
| Executive producer
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| ''Jack the Giant Slayer''
| Associate producer
|-
|style="text-align:center;"| 2016
| ''X-Men: Apocalypse''
| Co-producer
|}

===Miscellaneous===
* 2023: His [[X-Men]] scores from ''[[X2 (film)|X2]]'' and ''[[X-Men: Days of Future Past]]'' were used for the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] film ''[[The Marvels]]''.<ref>''[[The Marvels]]'' Press Kit Final</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of film director and composer collaborations]]
* [[List of film director and editor collaborations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0653211}}
* [http://www.johnottman.com/ John Ottman's Official Website]
* [http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6170156826 John Ottman's Official Facebook Profile]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070214051001/http://www.readjunk.com/interview.php?rv=120 Interviews with John Ottman on (July 2006)]
* [http://www.filmmusicsite.com/composers.cgi?go=interview&coid=84&firstname=John&lastname=Ottman Interviews with John Ottman at FilmMusicSite]

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for John Ottman
|list = 
{{Academy Award Best Film Editing}}
{{American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Editing 1985–2009}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Music}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottman, John}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:American film editors]]
[[Category:American male film score composers]]
[[Category:Best Editing BAFTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Film Editing Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Film directors from California]]
[[Category:American gay musicians]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ composers]]
[[Category:Gay composers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:LGBTQ film score composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from San Diego]]
[[Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Varèse Sarabande Records artists]]
[[Category:La-La Land Records artists]]