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Film editor David Brenner, who died in the middle of work on the Oscar-nominated “Avatar: The Way of Water,” never shied away from a challenge. Ahead of the American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards, directors Zack Snyder and James Cameron remembered Brenner and his celebrated career.

Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, Brenner worked alongside some of the most technically demanding directors in Hollywood, from Oliver Stone to Cameron. But whether he was editing an alien invasion in “Independence Day” or a Vietnam veteran leading an antiwar protest in “Born on the Fourth of July” (for which he won an Academy Award), he always found the humanity of his subjects.

“He committed himself to bringing human behavior to the screen,” said Brenner’s widow, Amber Dixon. “Being an editor is like being a god, because putting things together takes you out of a black-and-white paradigm. He could abandon his...

David Brenner, an Oscar-winning film editor who has worked extensively with Zack Snyder and Oliver Stone, among other filmmakers, has died. He was 59.

Brenner died suddenly in his home in West Hollywood on Thursday, his wife, actress Amber Brenner, first told THR. The news was also confirmed in a GoFundMe page set up by “Avatar” producer Jon Landau, as well as in a social media post by Snyder. Amber Brenner did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

A cause of death has not been released.

Brenner won his Oscar in 1990 (shared with Joe Hutshing) for working on Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July.” He’s also credited on numerous other films, including, “The Doors,” “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “World Trade Center,” “Man of Steel,” “300: Rise of an Empire” and, most recently, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” He was currently at work editing James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels.