Christian Wagner

Storied film editor Christian Wagner is the answer to a trivia question: Who's the first American to edit a James Bond film? The Bond offering he worked on was the 2002 Lee Tamahori-directed "Die Another Day," featuring Pierce Brosnan as the dashing super-spy. By the time he Bonded, Wagner had a long trail of major feature film credits behind him. He was a favorite editor of quick-scene director Tony Scott, first collaborating with him on the Mexico-set, '90 romantic thriller "Revenge," starring Kevin Costner. Wagner and Scott would continue to work together throughout their careers on such movies as the edgy Quentin Tarantino-scripted crime thriller "True Romance" (93) and the sprawling '01 espionage epic "Spy Game." Wagner wasn't only a favorite of Scott's; the editor worked on scores of other films with noted directors. Among his bosses were Michael Bay ('95's explosive cop action/comedy offering, "Bad Boys") and John Woo (with the '97 identity-switch thriller, "Face/Off"). Prior to his association with such filmmakers, Wagner generally served in assistant positions on lower-budget genre offerings. He was first assistant editor on the Chuck Norris Chicago police drama "Code of Silence" ('85), for example, and took a similar role on the '86 horror offering "The Wraith."