Jim Haygood is a partner and editor at Union Editorial. In addition to being a film (Fight Club) and commercial (Taco Bell, Sprint, Audi) editor, he has been involved with a variety of documentaries over the past few years and in a number of roles. Depending on the project, his role can include executive producer, producer, supervising editor, editorial consultant or editor.
James Haygood
Some of this longform work includes a variety of Netflix offerings, such as House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (EP/supervising editor); Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (producer); The Devil Next Door (co-producer/editorial consultant); Happy Jail (editorial consultant/editor); and Flint Town (editorial consultant).
His most recent project is Always Jane, which follows Jane Noury and her family in rural New Jersey as she navigates growing up and embracing her true identity. The docuseries was released in November. Union was a producer on the project and helped it find a home at Amazon Studios. Haygood was an EP, along with Union’s Michael Raimondi, director Jonathan C. Hyde, Mutt Film’s Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton and Jane Noury. Union’s Katherine LeBlond produced, and Zach Kashkett edited.
We recently reached out to Haygood to talk about his variety of roles and projects Always Jane and House of Secrets.
You’ve edited many memorable commercials (VW’s The Force) as well as classic feature films (Fight Club). What inspires you the most right now?
I’ve been doing this for a few decades now, so you go through a lot of phases, from “inspired” to “Oh God, what have I done with my life?’’ I made a choice early on to keep a toe in different areas of filmmaking, from entertainment to advertising. It’s not necessarily the best career move — clients and collaborators can move on in your absence — but it kept me feeling that I had options in terms of balancing work and life, and it gave me a larger pond to play in.
Always Jane
That said, moving into documentary films at this point has been inspiring. I love the connection to real people and their stories, and so much of the creation of documentaries happens in the editing room. It doesn’t hurt that this is an incredible, golden era for docs, when there is both real funding and large audiences. Those do tend to go together.
How did you become involved with Always Jane?
The director, Jonathan Hyde, was acquainted with our partner in New York, Sloane Klevin. He’d been filming the Noury family and their transgender daughter, Jane, and was looking for partners with experience in docs. Sloane forwarded his query to us. My partners in this long-form area (Michael Raimondi and Katherine LeBlond) and I looked at the teaser he had at that point and were immediately drawn to this family. They kind of leap off the screen — hilarious and heartfelt.
Always Jane
We reviewed all the footage he had and felt there was a film there, possibly a series, if some additional shooting could happen to fill some story holes. So we worked on developing the teaser and pitch for a couple months and then took it out. When we showed it to Amazon, it was that pitch you always hope for — they had an instant connection at an emotional level, and we were off to the races.
Did you ever consider editing the project?
I still do a lot of editing, but much of what I do now is acting more as a showrunner — overseeing and guiding the whole storytelling process. But I also fill in gaps with the editing team. Sometimes I’ll cut scenes to establish an approach or tone (sometimes that’s easier than trying to explain), and other times I’m polishing or just doing anything that needs to be done as deadlines loom.
Always Jane
But being less hands-on finally allows me to maintain a little distance and allows me to work on all episodes of a series at once. That overall crafting of a series is such a great storytelling challenge.
Is it hard for you not to edit a piece you are so involved in? Are you able to cut the cord? How did your relationship work with the editors on that one?
As I mentioned, I still edit — but it’s fantastic finding and developing new talent, and they are the ones deeply in the weeds and discovering the gems. I am completely dependent and rely on their skills and creativity.
Always Jane
Editor Zach Kashkett has been with Union for years, and as opportunities opened up in docs, he was right there. He has grown into an extremely talented editor. And then I get to meet and work with other amazing doc editors, like Rodrigo Brazáo, Eileen Meyer, M’Daya Meliani, Jessica Potter… It’s fantastic that the world has come around to documentaries and that these talents have a place to shine.
Another of your current projects — you served as EP/supervising editor — is Netflix India’s House of Secrets. This has become an international hit. How did you get involved?
I’ve worked with Netflix on several projects, and when that one came up, it seemed like a great opportunity to venture a bit into the unknown. We would be working with an Indian team: director Leena Yadav, a wonderful director of some fantastic Indian features, like Parched; and Indian editor Namrata Rao, who is a very established editor of Bollywood films.
House of Secrets
We would be helping them transition to documentaries and bring our knowledge of the Netflix crime doc style. Docs are pretty unknown in India, so it was a great chance to be part of building that audience in Asia. And then, of course, the story was tragically riveting, with connections to some very relevant social issues of patriarchy, Indian social norms and mental health. That was all a very attractive package.
How did the process unfold on House of Secrets?
We were brought onto the project in early 2020 — a year that clearly went off the rails. The plan was for the Indian team to come over to the States and work out of Union’s offices in LA. Flights were booked, apartments lined up and then, of course, that plan went to hell. So like everyone else, we moved onto Zoom — or as we called it, “Hollywood Squares.”
House of Secrets
Post production was extremely lucky to be able to still function during the lockdown. Technical issues had to be sorted out, but we were able to work, which was a blessing. So we got to it, beginning to crack the story and episodes while getting to know the Indian crew in the short windows we had to connect to Mumbai’s inverted time zone. It was a great experience, with everyone so passionate about the story, but it was also challenging navigating time differences and educating ourselves about cultural differences amid all the usual difficulties putting a show like that together. But we really became family — lots of laughs and also butting heads at times, like any other project. We can’t wait to finally meet in person since we really did become close.
When you started out as an editor, did you see yourself developing and producing? If not, when did the notion occur to you?
Well, that came late (I’m a slow learner), but as I gravitated to less hands-on work and more supervision, it was a natural move to get more involved in the overall execution of projects and developing projects of our own. It just makes sense for me now, and I’ve realized that I’ve learned a thing or two over the years! It’s fun for me to put that time in the trenches to use.
What are some of the most significant technical advances in film editing that you’ve experienced?
Ha, I’m the last person to ask! I stopped keeping up years ago since the technical side was never my strong suit. I will say that the pandemic has forced technology for remote editing to become an actual, solid tool, which is a great thing. I work on shows with crews spread around the US and the world, and I love that. And while we definitely missed being in the same room with other human beings, it’s a big creative leap in filmmaking not to be tied to a building, city or continent.
Where do you see Union in five years?
We’ve been working to create a wider foundation for Union by earning a great reputation beyond commercials. That’s been my emphasis for the last few years, and I’ve been so appreciative to have the support of my partners in doing that.
Always Jane is the culmination of that effort — a show that we developed, pitched, sold and executed (on a ridiculously tight schedule) is now streaming on a major platform. And to have that be the story we are so proud to share just makes the success even sweeter.
