After starting out as an assistant editor in movies like Heathers (1988), Lord of the Flies (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992), Alan Edward Bell made his editorial debut with the 1998 film Icarus Descending. Since then, he has helmed the editorial department in well over a dozen movies, and is perhaps best known for his work in the acclaimed romantic comedy-drama 500 Days of Summer (2009) and The Hunger Games film series (2012-2015). His work in the former earned Bell the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editor in 2009, besides an Eddy Award nomination.

Other significant film credits include Little Manhattan (2005), the superhero movie The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), the dark fantasy western The Dark Tower (2017) and the spy thriller Red Sparrow (2018).