John Ottman

John Ottman is a respected film editor, composer and director. He is best known for his collaborations with film director Bryan Singer, acting as film editor and composing the scores for such films Superman Returns, X-2, Valkyrie, Fantastic Four andThe Usual Suspects, for which he won a BAFTA award for his editing. From an early age in San Jose, California, Ottman began writing and recording radio plays on cassette tapes. He’d perform many characters with his voice (and some sound effects), and called upon his neighborhood friends as extra cast members. By the fourth grade, Ottman was playing the clarinet and continued doing so throughout high school. But his real concentration turned from audio productions to making films. He turned his parents’ garage into a movie studio, where multiple sets were interchangeable to accommodate productions – invariably some sort of science fiction film. By high school, his films evolved to hour-long productions complete with large sets and lavish scores edited together from his favorite soundtracks. Ottman graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts of the University of Southern California.