How Taylor Swift and Blake Lively helped ‘Deadpool and Wolverine' editor land the job of a lifetime

Shane Reid's journey to co-editing the smash-hit "Deadpool and Wolverine" started, of all places, with Taylor Swift.

Reid, who for years had carved out a successful career for himself cutting ads for brands like Hennessy, BMW and Adidas, saw his life change "almost overnight" when a meeting with Blake Lively led to him being tasked with editing a music video she was directing for her pop superstar friend.

The 2021 video for "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version)" has been viewed more than 64 million times, and quickly catapulted Reid into the world of big-screen blockbusters.

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"We got along amazingly and I got to know Ryan through that," he told CNBC Make It, referring to Lively's husband and "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds. "Blake sold me through and convinced Ryan and [Director] Shawn [Levy] I was someone they should bring on."

In an Instagram story following the release of "Deadpool and Wolverine", Reynolds credited Lively for encouraging him to give Reid a chance.

"My wife directed a music video and fell in love with her editor @sreid2," he wrote. "She insisted I work with him immediately and forever. She was right. He became the irreplaceable 2nd half of our Deadpool edit room. I've spent the last 10 months with this genius and I'm never letting go. Ever."

For Reid, who worked with the father-son duo of Jason and Ivan Reitman on "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" in between the music video and "Deadpool and Wolverine," his years of working in commercials prepared him to make the leap.

"I think the approach is what got me here," he said. "I think the confidence in what I can do when I'm sitting with that footage still cuts through and it's still the thing that keeps me hirable and keeps directors happy with what I'm doing."

Reid also believes that part of what helped him find success working with stars like Lively and Reitman is that he didn't go into the projects with any expectations that they would help him land bigger jobs down the road.

"They see a lot of people who want things from them and go into projects with expectations," he says. "I think if you go into projects as an authentic, creative person who is a partner and a collaborator who listens and who cares and who puts all of themselves into their work, that gets recognized." 

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