By Robert Goldrich, The Road To Emmy Series, Part 13

Last year Laura Zempel, ACE won the Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series on the strength of “The Theater and Its Double” episode of Euphoria–an honor shared with Julio C. Perez IV, Nikola Boyanov and Aaron I. Butler. Now she’s nominated once again–this time with fellow editor Nat Fuller in the Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category–for the “Figures of Light” finale of Beef (Netflix).

It’s one of 13 Emmy nods for Beef, including for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, a pair for directing (for “Figures of Light,” directed by series creator Lee Sung Jin, aka Sonny; and “The Great Fabricator” helmed by Jake Schreier), one for writing (Sonny for the episode “The Bird Don’t Sing, They Screech In Pain”), and Lead Actor and Actress (for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, respectively).

Beef follows an epic, ever escalating feud–triggered by a single, off-the-charts road rage incident–between two strangers, Amy Lau portrayed by Wong (Always Be My Maybe) and Danny Cho played by Yeun (Minari, The Walking Dead). The twists and turns, while darkly entertaining, say a lot about our society, laying bare the rage, angst, ugliness and insecurities that have become so prevalent–but still managing to cast a cathartic ray of hope somehow reflecting the better side of human nature.

Originally Harry Yoon, ACE–an ACE Eddie Award nominee in 2021 for Minari–was slated to edit the entire series. But the Beef schedule got pushed back, meaning that Yoon had to move on to another commitment after cutting the pilot. Zempel, who had worked with Yoon on Euphoria, was called in to take a prime role in editing Beef. The series also reached out to Fuller and Jordan Kim to take on episodes. 

Zempel and Fuller wound up coming together to cut “Figures of Light,” which was episode 10. Zempel did the first assembly and then had to leave to take on another project, with Fuller then coming in to take the episode over the finish line. The two editors got to know each other during the course of the series, having a productive ongoing give-and-take during the entire season even though they only formally teamed on “Figures of Light.” 

This dialogue among the editors, observed Fuller, over the course of the entire season put him, Zempel, Kim and Yoon in a positive place, with a strong sense of who the characters were, setting the tone throughout the series. This was particularly advantageous when Zempel and Fuller took on the final episode.

Zempel shared that by the time she and Fuller embarked on “Figures of Light,” they had seen the characters evolve and knew where they had to be in the final episode. That, continued Zempel, made editing that last installment “a little easier.” Sonny too as creator and showrunner was poised to direct the episode that poignantly wrapped the series.”

Fuller assessed that by the time the last episode rolled around, he, Zempel, Sonny and others such as director/executive producer Schreier had done “so much work to get these characters to this place” that it seemed natural “to punch this ticket and drive this thing home in a meaningful way.” 

Fuller added that by the time Amy and Danny are put in the wilderness by themselves in episode 10, viewers had seen “a crazy, zany drama” unfold between the characters. With “Figures of Light,” he said, it was time to “see what their connection really is,” to experience “the culmination of these two characters’ motivations." Amy and Danny come together “in the middle of nowhere," noted Fuller, and finally "have to face each other and themselves.”

Zempel said that Sonny was “wonderful” to work with on varied levels. The editor shared that on occasion she is a bit “nervous” when working with writers/directors who can be “strict with the script sometimes.” But Sonny was open to new ideas, to building upon the script.” He was “very collaborative” throughout, including on “Figures of Light” which was the lone episode of Beef that he directed. Zempel felt that Sonny relied on and trusted her and Fuller to help tell this story.

For the duration of the series, Zempel and Fuller noted that they had to walk a fine line spanning action, drama, humor and emotions, with one beat informing the next. The finale, though, had a different variable, said Zempel, citing a surreal element as reflected in two crows talking to each other at the outset, setting the tone for what viewers are in for as our protagonists end up hallucinating. Brought on by the ingestion of some very wild elderberries, their drug trip brings a new dimension to the proceedings, lending what Zempel described as a “subtextual feeling that the world around them is shifting,” setting the stage for when they seemingly swap bodies, with each in the other’s shoes for the first time, perhaps better understanding each other vulnerabilities–spanning the good, the bad and the ugly.

In addition to Beef and Euphoria, Zempel’s editing credits include the Apple Original film The Sky Is Everywhere, and the Jason Segel-created series Dispatches from Elsewhere. In addition to winning an editing Emmy, the aforementioned “The Theater and Its Double” episode of Euphoria earned Zempel an ACE Eddie nomination earlier this year in the Best Edited Drama Series category.

Fuller’s first career Emmy nomination is his current one for Beef. His editing credits also include the feature The Peanut Butter Falcon and multiple episodes of Stranger Things.

This is the 13th installment of SHOOT’s weekly 16-part The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories. Awards ceremonies are being rescheduled due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes.

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