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Maryann Brandon

Maryann Brandon

Editor, also actor and producer · USA

Oscar nominee · Primetime Emmy nominee

Mary Jo Markey is an American television and film editor. Markey has been elected to membership in the American Cinema Editors society. She is a frequent collaborator with J. J. Abrams. Markey has edited several mainstream films, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Mission: Impossible III. She has also worked as an editor on several television shows, such as three episodes of Felicity, Breaking News, Skin, and fourteen episodes of Alias, and was also chief editor on Lost. She worked with Abrams on three of his television shows (Felicity, Alias, and Lost) and on almost all of his feature films as director with Maryann Brandon, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker being the lone exception. Markey worked with Abrams on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released in December 2015. Along with her co-editor Brandon, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing for her work on the film. In her role editing Abrams' Star Trek, she reported she did not realise that he intended to make extensive use of lens flares and bright lighting and contacted the film developers asking why the film seemed overexposed. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mary Jo Markey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

From
USA
Works as
Editor, also actor and producer
Titles
28 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 32% in 30 days

What are Maryann Brandon's films like?

Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Action10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 54th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Drama6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 47th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 23rd percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Animation2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 96th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Animation movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 87th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
38%
Self
21%
Morality
15%
Survival
12%
Society
6%
Power
5%
Ideas
3%
Identity9 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship8 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds9 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 27 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 15 · Serious 8 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 15 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 6

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 11 · Intense 11

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 19 · Whiplash 2

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 12 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 12 · Relentless 5

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 16 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 13 · Affecting 11 · Heavy 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 24 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
15
Warm
9
Thrilling
9
Hopeful
9
Melancholic
9
Other
22

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy13
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Maryann Brandon's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 18 of their 28 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Maryann Brandon's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

30 credits, 28 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles from 1989 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

$2.1B worldwide

Highest rated

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing1 of 27: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleEditing27 of 27: 26 only editing, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score65th

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s6 · crew2000s7 · crew2010s11 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

2 major nominations and no wins, 2003–2016.

  1. 2016
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Film Editing
  2. 2003
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Maryann Brandon's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 27; across their 27 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 57th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

57thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Approval · how many liked their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Reach · how many have seen their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 27

Midcredits score across 28 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th7
  • Below 25th7

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 28 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · editor

Clika (2026)

81st percentile spread · 54% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · editor

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 21 reviewed titles; fans 59, detractors 34. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Maryann Brandon's work okay for kids?

Across up to 15 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore14 titles38–70 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity15 titles7–39 · median 25 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity15 titles13–62 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs13 titles5–39 · median 30 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense12 titles42–66 · median 55 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Maryann Brandon work with?

People who share at least 2 of Maryann Brandon's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; J.J. Abrams shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles