Video Games, Hideo Kojima, and Soup for Breakfast: Antonio Gómez-Pan’s Essential List
Antonio Gómez-Pan is a Madrid-born editor whose bold and distinctive voice garnered attention with the Sundance smash ‘My Invisible Friend’. Known for his dynamic range and intuitive storytelling, Antonio has built a reputation for seamlessly navigating between the worlds of commercial, music video, and narrative film editing.
A proud member of the Spanish Film Academy, his work has been recognised with top honours at festivals, including Gold accolades in Cannes and Berlin. His recent projects include the Tribeca 2024-winning short film ‘The Note’, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard; The Weeknd’s ‘Is There Someone Else?’; and Nick Roney’s delightfully absurd ‘The Flute’, a SXSW 2023 Winner, receiver of the Jury Award for Midnight Shorts, and the coveted Vimeo Staff Pick.
Between projects, and in a moment of reflection amidst the usual rhythm of tight deadlines and creative collaboration, Antonio turned his attention to authorship, penning ‘The Art of Renunciation’, a thoughtful and incisive exploration of the editorial process, published by Ocho y Medio.
Notching up commercials for the likes of North Face, Samsung, Coke Zero and Nissan, amongst others, the Madrid native – now based in Los Angeles – is represented by Final Cut.
Antonio sat down with LBB to discuss guilty pleasures, the most ‘Los Angeles’ lunch in Los Angeles, and his collection of vintage video games…
Lifestyle
Place of birth: Madrid, capital of the reign
Hometown: Madrid, where I am from, and Barcelona, where I went to film school and lived for eight years
Staycation: Malibu
Vacation: Laxe (Galicia, Spain) – Romans called it Finis Terrae, the end of the world. It's the perfect place to relax
Pet: My dog, Patata, the best bad boy there ever was
Place of work: Final Cut
Place of workout: Lifting up my toddler 1,000 times a day
Good Habit: Calling my family EVERY single day
Bad Habit: My wife would say playing video games
Mode of transport: My feet – I prefer to walk everywhere I go
Bonus Travel Essential: My iPad Pro
Culture
Artist: Hideo Kojima
Musician: DEVO, Talking Heads, The Magnetic Fields…
Commercials/music video director: I am obsessed with Nick Roney and Rick Darge lately
Film director: Ari Aster
Author: Daniel Clowes
Photographer: Cristina García Rodero
Film: ‘House’ (Nobuhiko Obayashi)
Series: ‘How To With John Wilson’ and ‘The Rehearsal’
Invention: Soup for breakfast
Commercial: Very cliché, but I love the ‘Home Pod, Welcome Home’ (Spike Jonze)
Music Video: Another commonplace choice, Daft Punk’s ‘Revolution 909’ (Roman Coppola)
Video Game: Right now, I am in awe with ‘Disco Elysium’, and very much looking forward to ‘GTA VI’
Board Game: ‘Monopoly Deal’; easy to learn, difficult to master
Book: Many! This year, I got pretty obsessed with ‘Solo Leveling’ (Chugong), finishing the eight volumes in a month
Graphic Novel: ‘Like A Velvet Glove Cast in Iron’ (Daniel Clowes)
Podcast: ‘Radio Rental’, but only the stories – I don't like the in-betweens
Newspaper (off or online): The New York Times and El País
Magazine: The New Yorker
Obsession: Restore and repair Youtube videos
Bonus Culture Essential: I just discovered the Human Space app. If you are a curious person, I highly recommend it
Food and Drink
Breakfast: Yoghurt with cereal
Restaurant: Taverna Tony, the best restaurant in Malibu
Cheap bite: Coming from Spain, nothing in LA seems cheap. I do love Joy, a restaurant down the street from me in Highland Park
Working lunch: We’ve been eating a lot of Goop Kitchen in the office lately – the most LA lunch in LA!
Dish: Fried Calamari and a good rare steak
Snack: Not to be insufferable, but probably a tangerine from my garden
Guilty Pleasure: I was raised in a Catholic country; everything makes me feel guilty
Bar: The Goldfish, a very cool venue close to my house
Booze: Prosecco
Not Booze: Diet Coke with a lot of ice
Bonus Food: Poke
Bonus Beverage: Iced black tea with milk
Kit
Phone: iPhone 16 Pro Max
Computer: Macbook Pro M2 Max
Headphones: I use the airPods Max and the airPods Pro, depending on the occasion (What is going on with Apple and the Pro and Max prefixes? Sounds like someone has a complex…)
Camera: I use my phone
Pen/pencil: Ball pen
Where you document an idea: In my Notes app
Casual Clothing: Linen pants and shirt
Smart Clothing: I have an Apple Watch, but I barely use it
Footwear: I just got a pair of Viba Roma shoes and I love them
Accessory: A big brim hat I got in New Orleans that follows me everywhere I go
Collection: Vintage video games, specially eight-bits and 16-bits. Last time I went to Spain, I put everything in boxes – hopefully we will be reunited soon
Home comfort: My home projector is my favourite luxury. It has 4K and 3D!
App: Apple Podcast; I usually listen to ‘Good Hang’ with Amy Poehler in the morning
Website: It’s https://pointerpointer.com – I can spend hours in it
Blog: ign.com
Digital work tool: Adobe Premiere
Analogue work tool: I am obsessed with the Magic Trackpad (at least this one doesn't have a Pro or a Max in it)
Morning grooming/makeup essential: I love being pampered, but don't have a lot at home. I spray some Aesop cologne on before I head out for the day
Bonus Kit Essential: Always bring an extra controller to the office so we can play doubles
