Dive into the Editing Secrets of 'Challengers'

Editor Marco Costa has become director Luca Guadagnino's right-hand man lately, working on several of his projects starting with 2020's We Are Who We Are, the series for HBO. After that, Costa hopped on the grim cannibal drama Bones and All before zipping onto the courts for the hit Challengers.

One of this year's best films, Challengers follows three fledgling tennis champions. Close friends Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O'Connor) spot the magnetic Tashi (Zendaya) at a match and are immediately enamored. Tashi, drawn to them both and the opportunities they might present her, begins a cat-and-mouse love triangle that stretches for years.

It's a delectable sports drama and complicated romance, and it wouldn't be what it is without the storytelling in the edit bay, too. We were glad to chat with Costa via email just ahead of his next release (Queer, also with Guadagnino).

Enjoy learning about the secrets of the game!

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Editor's note: The following interview is edited for clarity.

No Film School: Sports films can present unique editing challenges. Could you walk us through the editing process for the tennis sequences?

Marco Costa: It’s true that there’s a lot of tennis in Challengers, but we approached the film as if it weren’t a sports movie. Luca often referenced the filmography of Mike Nichols during editing, so that was the kind of cinema we were looking to for inspiration. I deliberately avoided watching any tennis films before diving into the footage because I didn’t want to be influenced in any way.

In fact, after seeing the first days of dailies, I realized there was a strong sense of dance behind the way Luca choreographed the characters on the tennis court. To find inspiration, I rewatched Cabaret by Bob Fosse, and I saw a lot of Challengers' tennis in that film.

Luca usually doesn’t use storyboards, but for this film, he decided to storyboard the tennis sequences to make sure we had all the coverage we needed during editing, and it worked out perfectly.

Then there’s the fact that Luca knew practically nothing about tennis, which I think was an advantage. He was able to portray tennis in a new, cinematic way, with fresh eyes.

ChallengersMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

NFS: How did your editing help develop and reveal the shifting power dynamics between Tashi, Art, and Patrick?

Costa: There’s a specific scene where we tried to create this meaning through the language of editing.

It’s the first scene where Art, Tashi, and Patrick interact with each other—the first dialogue scene between the three characters. It’s at the Adidas party. We knew this scene was narratively crucial because it represents a significant step in the story. So, we wanted to build a subtext through the editing rather than assembling it in a conventional or traditional way.

This scene perfectly establishes the dynamics between the three characters. The editing always revolves around Tashi. From Art to Tashi, from Tashi to Patrick, and back again.

This was meant to establish Tashi’s pivotal role and her position of dominance. Every cut between Art and Patrick through Tashi serves to reaffirm her dominant position. This increases the tension between the two men, emphasizing how she is the center of their attention and desire. The editing, constructed to always return to Tashi, highlights the competition between Art and Patrick. Each cut that links them to her underscores their reliance on her reactions, suggesting a dynamic where both men are defined by her.

Then, after establishing this pattern, there’s a specific moment where the editing creates a direct bridge between Art and Patrick, transitioning directly between the two male characters without passing through Tashi. This serves to build a dynamic that is later developed throughout the film. The editing opens a direct link between Art and Patrick, preparing the audience to sense that their relationship will become significant as the story progresses.

The film is built around a love triangle, so we wanted to bring the image of the triangle into the editing itself. And it’s a triangle where all the points connect and interact with each other. I think this scene is emblematic of how the editing was used to develop the dynamics between the characters.

ChallengersMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

NFS: Could you describe your creative partnership with your frequent collaborator, director Luca Guadagnino, and how you arrived at the final cut?

Costa: I met Luca when I was 25, and seven years later, I’m still struck and fascinated by his creative thinking.

We usually start editing during the shoot itself: at the end of the day, after the shooting, Luca comes into the editing room, and we discuss the footage, review it, test it, and edit it.

We’re not fans of the terms “assembly” or “rough cut.” When we edit, we’re already thinking about the final form of the film. It’s not a temporary version.

Of course, during the first cut, we include every line and every scene as it is in the script, even if there are scenes we know we’ll eventually cut. It’s always important to see exactly as it was written.

For Challengers, the final cut came together fairly quickly because Luca and Justin [Kuritzkes] had worked extensively on the script together, so there was no need for major intervention in the storyline. The various temporal layers were already working effectively in the writing.

In the editing process, we only tested moving scenes around, shifting them forward or backward, but ultimately, the script’s structure was the one that worked for us.

NFS: What was the most valuable lesson or insight you gained from editing Challengers that you'll carry into future projects?

Costa: Certainly, the manipulation of time. I received a lot of footage in slow motion, which allowed me to play with constant accelerations and decelerations.

We tried to fracture and fragment the flow. Because, in the end, tennis is like that: it’s made up of fast moments and pauses.

On a professional level, this was my first studio film. When I started working on it, I wasn’t even 30 years old, so I was pretty terrified: “Will I be able to do this? Am I up to it?” Fortunately, I was surrounded by amazing people like Luca and Amy Pascal, whoa lways made me feel comfortable and gave me the opportunity to express my creativity to the fullest without fear.

Challengers was an important step in my growth.

ChallengersMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

NFS: Are there any specific sequences in the film that you're especially proud of? Why?

Costa: It would be too obvious for me to say the final sequence, where the editing is so crucial and intense, so I’ll go with the bedroom scene where Art announces his retirement to Tashi.

It’s a scene I’m particularly fond of, where I received—if I’m not mistaken—around 25 different shots, and you can feel a progression of the language in the scene. One of the biggest challenges for us was bringing the language of tennis into the dialogue. In this scene, you can feel the ball going back and forth across the court, constantly being hit from one side to the other. You feel how the emotional tension transforms into competition.

NFS: Is there anything you'd like to add?

Costa: Yes, I’d definitely like to mention that we decided to edit the entire film without any temp music. We didn’t want to be influenced in any way. I knew the type of music Luca had requested [from] Trent [Reznor] and Atticus [Ross], so we edited with the rhythm in mind. The music was already in our heads.

Then, once we received the music, we barely had to change anything in the cut because it was perfect and aligned seamlessly with the scenes. The music undoubtedly elevated the film, taking it to an even higher level.