Tag Archives: anthony minghella

Oscar winning director Anthony Minghella dies

LONDON — Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella died suddenly Tuesday at the age of 54.

Minghella won an Oscar for “The English Patient” in 1997 and his credits also include “Cold Mountain” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”

“Anthony Minghella died this morning at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, west London,” Minghella’s spokesman said in a statement. “He was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, and the operation seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal hemorrhage.”

The acclaimed director most recently wrapped “The No.1 Ladies’ Detective’s Agency,” which he directed and co-wrote alongside Richard Curtis. It was due to air on the BBC here in less than a week.

Based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith, Mingella’s adaptation has been made for the BBC and HBO in the U.S.

Born Jan. 6, 1954, on the Isle of Wight, Minghella was most recently working on his segment of “New York, I Love You,” a project announced during the Festival de Cannes in 2007.

Minghella had written and was to direct a segment for the anthology of movies joining several love stories set in New York.

A notable figure in the world of arts and entertainment both here and in the U.S., Minghella recently stepped down from his post as British Film Institute chairman, a position he had held since 2003.

Industry observers give Minghella plaudits for persuading the government to fork out over 70 million pounds ($140 million) in funding for the institution.

Tributes from industry figures from around the globe flooded in as news of his untimely death spread, with Richard E. Grant, Kevin Spacey, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow expressing sadness.

Harvey Weinstein, who produced “Cold Mountain,” “Ripley” and “Patient” with Miramax, said he was shocked and heartbroken.

“He was my mentor, my partner and, most of all, my brother. The grace, joy and tenderness he brought to his films were symbolic of his life and the many people he touched,” Weinstein said. “There are many personal and professional moments we have shared together and I will treasure them for the rest of my life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family at this difficult moment.”

Minghella had discussed his life and work at an event last week hosted by BAFTA, in which he spoke about life after winning the best director Oscar for “Patient.”

“The thing that is most notably different about working in the U.S. is that if you are embraced then you are completely accepted,” he said. “It was quite giddy because you’d be there and Meryl Streep would come on the phone and you’d think it was your mother pretending to be Meryl Streep or maybe your sister, but it was really Meryl Streep.”

Minghella said the experience had been revealing. “I had never thought of myself as a director and found out that I was not. I am a writer who was able to direct the films that I write,” he said.

Longtime friend David Puttnam paid tribute to Minghella’s career.

“He was a really important figure. I’m really shattered,” Puttnam told BBC News shortly after learning of his death. “He was a really beautiful man, a lot of fun to be with. He was a storyteller in a classic British David Lean tradition. The performances he got out of actors were overwhelmingly good. This is someone who was a major figure and it will be a long time before we get over his loss.”

Source: Hollywood Reporter