Cory Stillman
With credits on such acclaimed miniseries as Netflix’s Maid and Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, editor Annette Davey, ACE was a natural choice to helm the editing team for Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, which tells the mostly true story of wellness guru Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever), who lied about a cancer diagnosis to boost her following on social media. As supervising editor on Samantha Strauss’ six-episode series, Davey had the opportunity to establish the pacing and tone from the onset.
“For the first 3-4 months of the shoot it was just myself and my assistant editor managing all the episodes,” says Davey. “I was able to create the style and tone of the series right from the beginning of the editing process, which I enjoyed immensely.”
That tonal balance required particularly careful calibration, considering the show’s fragile relationship with the truth. Davey chose to limit her research of the story’s origins, focusing instead on the broader themes that make Apple Cider Vinegar such a relevant series for today.
“I didn’t want to get too fixated on all of the details of Belle’s story as I really saw it as an ensemble piece and a look at how the wellness industry has become such an important and financially successful industry,” says Davey. “It also captured the beginning of the social media input into business and how you can use social media to create a large brand and use it to build your venture very quickly.”
For as timely a topic as social media influencing may seem, Apple Cider Vinegar is one of only a few shows to tackle it head-on. It is no wonder that Davey was tapped to become the supervising editor on the series, as her background cutting iconic limited series for major streamers has prepared her to do justice to these kinds of star-studded projects with heady ideas. In fact, the emergence of the limited series as a unique artform unto itself has afforded Davey her own kind of ascension within the industry. Her command of her own craft has led the Australian editor to pick up additional projects such as the Amazon Prime series Cruel Intentions and the forthcoming Claire McCarthy film Shiver, starring Maddie Ziegler and Greg Kinnear.
“I do really enjoy the limited series format as it feels almost like doing a long movie. With this longer framework you have more time to go into issues in more depth and really tell the story fully.”
Check out my full conversation with editor Annette Davey below!
Hi Annette! You served as supervising editor on Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar. How do the responsibilities of the role differ from those of a traditional editor?
This was a really exciting project for me being the supervising editor as this meant I worked across all 6 episodes. For the first 3-4 months of the shoot it was just myself and my assistant editor managing all the episodes. I was able to create the style and tone of the series right from the beginning of the editing process, which I enjoyed immensely. Once the second editor joined Apple Cider Vinegar they were able to follow the style of the series as this had already been established.
The series stars a talented trio of young actresses in Kaitlyn Dever, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Aisha Dee. How did you approach the evaluation of their performances in the edit?
All of the actresses were very experienced even though young, and had all done a lot of work internationally which meant they brought a great level of professionalism and craft to the series. I was familiar with a lot of their previous work which was exciting and they all delivered so well. It was a pleasure to watch & craft their performances right from the beginning.
The show also unfurls an increasingly complex web of lies amongst its characters. How did you map out the show’s deception from an editing standpoint?
The scripts on Apple Cider Vinegar were incredibly complex and interwoven with the different stories and each one began with some kind of lie. All of the web of lies between the characters were superbly integrated by the amazing show creator Samantha Strauss and it was a pleasure to read them and then see them come to life.
What kind of research went into your work on Apple Cider Vinegar, particularly considering the show’s basis on the “true” story of wellness guru Belle Gibson?
As I had been working in the USA for some years I wasn’t as aware of Belle’s story, so I did some research and read the book and most importantly watched the 60 Minutes interview which was recreated in the series. But I didn’t want to get too fixated on all of the details of Belle’s story as I really saw it as an ensemble piece and a look at how the wellness industry has become such an important and financially successful industry. It also captured the beginning of the social media input into business and how you can use social media to create a large brand and use it to build your venture very quickly.
Do you have a favorite sequence amongst Apple Cider Vinegar’s six episodes?
Probably my favorite – of many – sequence is in the final episode when Belle is imploding and everything is coming together to expose her as someone who was dishonest about her business, her illness, and her background. It’s a sequence where Belle is imagining that Milla (Alycia Debnam-Carey) is giving Belle advice on what to say to her followers as they are finding out she lied. Even though Milla is no longer alive, it’s intercut with the journalists finding out the truth of what she has done, coupled with Lucy being in the jungle taking ayahuasca (another wellness idea) and the followers are starting to doubt Belle and things are coming to a climax exploding over Belle’s carefully curated life.
You have extensive experience editing such notable miniseries as Maid and Pam & Tommy as well. What about the format of the limited series appeals to you?
I do really enjoy the limited series format as it feels almost like doing a long movie. With this longer framework you have more time to go into issues in more depth and really tell the story fully, and they often allow you to be very creative in your storytelling approach.
Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us more about?
I just finished a film directed by Claire McCarthy. The movie was shot in Canada but we did the post-production in Sydney as both Claire & myself are Australian. This was a really fun project; it’s based on a trilogy of YA books written by Maggie Stiefvater starring Maddie Ziegler & Levi Miller. The movie is called Shiver and is based on the first of the the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.
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