Friday,
March 21, 2008
Obit: Anthony Minghella,
54; Director, Won Oscar for 'English Patient'
The
ANNOTICO Report
Anthony
Minghella was born Jan. 6, 1954, on
Other
acclaimed Films include "The Talented Mr. Ripley", "Cold
Mountain", "Truly, Madly, Deeply", "Mr.
Wonderful", "Breaking and Entering.", and "The No. 1
Ladies' Detective Agency".
Starting
out in British TV, he wrote for "Grange Hill," "The
Storyteller" and the miniseries "Inspector Morse."
In 1984, the London Theatre Critics named him the most promising playwright of
the year for three plays: "A Little Like
Drowning," "Love Bites" and "Two Planks and a
Passion." Two years later, the London Theatre Critics selected his
"Made in
Anthony Minghella, 54; Director Won Oscar for 'English Patient'
From
the
By
Dennis McLellan, Staff Writer
March 19, 2008
Anthony Minghella, the Academy Award-winning director
of "The English Patient" whose other acclaimed films include
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain," died Tuesday
in London. He was 54.
Minghella died in a
He had not been ill before the surgery, she said.
The London-based writer-director's death came as a shock to friends and
colleagues, who remembered him as a gentle, caring and intelligent man and an
inspiring leader on a film set.
"The grace, joy and tenderness he brought to his films were symbolic of
his life and the many people he touched," Harvey Weinstein, an executive
producer of "The English Patient" and "
Producer-director Sydney Pollack, Minghella's partner
in the production company Mirage Ente rprises, described him in a statement as a "realistic
romanticist" and "a sunny soul who exuded a gentleness that should
never have been mistaken for lack of tenacity and resolve."
Minghella was a critically acclaimed playwright and a
successful TV writer in England when he wrote and directed his first film,
"Truly, Madly, Deeply," a 1991 British romance starring Juliet
Stevenson and Alan Rickman that Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers called
"the thinking man's 'Ghost.' "
That was followed by "Mr. Wonderful," a 1993 comedy romance starring
Matt Dillon and Annabella Sciorra.
Then came "The English Patient," the World War II romantic epic that,
as a London Independent writer once observed, "opened
every door in
The 1996 film dominated the Academy Awards for that year, winning in nine of
the 12 categories it was nominated in, including director, picture and
supporting actress for Juliette Binoche.
"Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor's process that
very few directors have," Ralph Fiennes, who co-starred in the movie, said
in a statement. "He directed most of 'The English Patient' with an ankle
in plaster, never losing his gentle humor and precision. He delighted in the
contribution of everyone -- he was a true collaborator."
Minghella received Oscar nominations for two
screenplays: "The English Patient" (adapted from the Michael Ondaatje
novel) and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel), a 1999 drama starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth
Paltrow and Jude Law.
"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that
was a joy to speak and then put it onto the screen in a way that always looked
effortless," Law said in a statement. Law also starred in 2003's "
Directors Guild of
"His films had grandeur and scale and big subject matter, yet there was
always an emotion and an intimacy that served as the backbone of his
work."
As a director, Minghella made an unusual professional
departure in recent years: opera, a longtime passion.
At the invitation of the head of the English National Opera, who thought Minghella's talents as a writer, director and musician were
well-suited for opera, he staged a successful
production of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly"
in 2005 and directed it again a year later as the season opener of
Minghella recently wrote and directed "The No. 1
Ladies' Detective Agency," an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel
about a Botswanan private eye. It is to be shown
Sunday on the BBC and later on HBO.
"He was one of
The son of parents of Italian descent who owned an ice cream factory, Minghella was born Jan. 6, 1954, in Ryde
on
He majored in drama at the
In 1984, the London Theatre Critics named him the most promising playwright of
the year for three plays: "A Little Like
Drowning," "Love Bites" and "Two Planks and a
Passion."
Two years later, the London Theatre Critics selected his "Made in
"He was a brilliant writer and a lovely guy," British director Danny
Boyle, who met Minghella when they were working on
"Inspector Morse" and directed "Two Planks and a Passion,"
told The Times.
Like screenwriters Ronald Harwood ("The Pianist") and Richard Curtis
("Love Actually"), Boyle said, Minghella
was able to write emotional, moving stories that never felt calculated and
cloying. "That was what set him apart," he said.
Minghella is survived by his wife, choreographer
Carolyn Choa; his son Max, an actor; his daughter
Hannah, who was recently named president of production at Sony Pictures
Animation; his parents, Gloria and Eddie; his brother Dominic; and his sisters Gioia, Lauretta and Edana.
dennis.mclellan@latimes.com
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