'English Patient,' 'Cold Mountain' Director Minghella Dead at 54 - The New York Sun 'English Patient,' 'Cold Mountain' Director Minghella Dead at 54 By JILL LAWLESS, | March 18, 2008 LONDON ï¿½ The Oscar-winning director who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, Anthony Minghella, died Tuesday of a hemorrhage following surgery. He was 54. Click Image to Enlarge Reed Saxon/AP Filmmaker Anthony Minghella after winning the Best Director Oscar for 'The English Patient' in 1997. Minghella's agent confirmed today that he has died at the age of 54. Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella 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 former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election ad in 2005, said he was "really shocked and very sad." "Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with," Mr. Blair said. "Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber." Jude Law, who starred in Minghella's "Cold Mountain," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and 2007's "Breaking and Entering," said he had "come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague." "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. He made work feel like fun.

He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family." The 1996 World War II drama "The English Patient" won nine Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Minghella, and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche. Based on the celebrated novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje, the movie tells of a burn victim's tortured recollections of his misdeeds in time of war. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Minghella said too many modern films let the audience be passive, as if they were saying, "We're going to rock you and thrill you. We'll do everything for you." "('The English Patient') goes absolutely against that grain," he said. "It says, 'I'm sorry, but you're going to have to make some connections. There are some puzzles here. The story will constantly rethread itself and it will be elliptical, but there are enormous rewards in that.'" Minghella also was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay for the movie and for his screenplay for "The Talented Mr.

Ripley." His 2003 "Cold Mountain," based on Charles Frazier's novel about the American Civil War, earned a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger. The 1999 "The Talented Mr. Ripley," starring Matt Damon as a murderous social climber, was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It earned five Oscar nominations. Among his other films were "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (1990), and last year's Oscar-nominated "Michael Clayton," on which he was executive producer. Minghella also turned his talents to opera. In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at the English National Opera in London ï¿½ choreographed by Minghella's wife, Carolyn Choa. The following year, he staged it for the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera. It was the first performance of the Met's new era under general manager Peter Gelb. Minghella was recently in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No.

1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Due to air on British television this week, the book is the first in a series about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe; a 13-part television series was recently commission by HBO. A press secretary to Botswanan President Festus Mogae, Jeff Ramsay, said the director had been coming to the country ahead of the detective film and learning about Botswana. He said Minghella had told him how he had been forced to shoot "Cold Mountain" in Romania and that it had "seemed wrong." He said this made the director "more sure that the film could only be shot in Botswana." "Much more than a TRUE artist who thrilled in offering his divine gift with the world, Anthony Minghella was a dear, dear trusted friend," the actress who plays Ramotswe, Jill Scott, said in a statement. "My heart aches with grief.

Words can not express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved." Born the second of five children to southern Italian emigrants, Minghella came to moviemaking from a flourishing playwriting career on the London "fringe" and, in 1986, on the West End with the play, "Made in Bangkok," a hard-hitting look at the sexual mores of a British tour group in Thailand. He worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut with "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Producer David Puttnam told the BBC that Minghella was "a very special person." "He wasn't just a writer, or a writer-director, he was someone who was very well-known and very well-loved within the film community," Mr. Puttnam said. "Frankly he was far too young to have gone." Minghella is survived by his wife; his actor son, Max Minghella; and his daughter, Hannah.

receive the latest by email: subscribe to the new york sun's free mailing list 'English Patient' Director Anthony Minghella Dies of Hemorrhage at 54 | Fox News 'English Patient' Director Anthony Minghella Dies of Hemorrhage at 54 Published March 18, 2008 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print LONDON – Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, died Tuesday of a hemorrhage following surgery. He was 54. Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella 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." • FOX411 Remembers Minghella • Anthony Minghella Filmography Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election ad in 2005, said he was "really shocked and very sad." "Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with," Blair said. "Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber." Jude Law, who starred in Minghella's "Cold Mountain," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and 2007's "Breaking and Entering," said he had "come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague." "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. He made work feel like fun.

He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family." The 1996 World War II drama "The English Patient" won nine Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Minghella and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche. Based on the celebrated novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje, the movie tells of a burn victim's tortured recollections of his misdeeds in time of war. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Minghella said too many modern films let the audience be passive, as if they were saying, "We're going to rock you and thrill you. We'll do everything for you." "('The English Patient') goes absolutely against that grain," he said. "It says, `I'm sorry, but you're going to have to make some connections. There are some puzzles here.

The story will constantly rethread itself and it will be elliptical, but there are enormous rewards in that."' Minghella (pronounced min-GELL'-ah) also was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay for the movie and for his screenplay for "The Talented Mr. Ripley." His 2003 "Cold Mountain," based on Charles Frazier's novel about the U.S. Civil War, earned a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger. The 1999 "The Talented Mr. Ripley," starring Matt Damon as a murderous social climber, was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It earned five Oscar nominations. Among his other films were "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (1990), and last year's Oscar-nominated "Michael Clayton," on which he was executive producer. Minghella also turned his talents to opera. In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at the English National Opera in London -- choreographed by Minghella's wife, Carolyn Choa. The following year, he staged it for the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera.

It was the first performance of the Met's new era under general manager Peter Gelb. Minghella was recently in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Due to air on British television this week, the book is the first in a series about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe; a 13-part television series was recently commission by HBO. Jeff Ramsay, press secretary to Botswanan President Festus Mogae, said the director had been coming to the country ahead of the detective film and learning about Botswana. He said Minghella had told him how he had been forced to shoot "Cold Mountain" in Romania and that it had "seemed wrong." He said this made the director "more sure that the film could only be shot in Botswana." "Much more than a TRUE artist who thrilled in offering his divine gift with the world, Anthony Minghella was a dear, dear trusted friend," Jill Scott, who plays Ramotswe, said in a statement. "My heart aches with grief.

Words can not express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved." Born the second of five children to southern Italian emigrants, Minghella came to moviemaking from a flourishing playwriting career on the London "fringe" and, in 1986, on the West End with the play, "Made in Bangkok," a hard-hitting look at the sexual mores of a British tour group in Thailand. He worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut with "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Producer David Puttnam told the BBC that Minghella was "a very special person." "He wasn't just a writer, or a writer-director, he was someone who was very well-known and very well-loved within the film community," Puttnam said. "Frankly he was far too young to have gone." Minghella is survived by his wife; his actor son, Max Minghella; and his daughter, Hannah. Advertisement The Talented Mr.

Ripley (1999) - News NEWS 24 November 2008 12:05 PM, PST | Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives | See recent Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives news » The Talented Mr. Ripley by way of Somerset Maugham , Henry May Long is a drama about two men, Henry May and Henry Long, set in the upper crust and under belly of 1887 New York City. Long is obsessed with the golden child May, and via constant surveillance has come to know his secret debt and drug addiction. He convinces May to care for him for three months, as an illness takes his toll, in exchange for money to repay May’s debts. Hiding out, along together, their friendship expands and May begins to find meaning in his own limited life of guaranteed success and leisure.

Long intends to set sail on a whaling ship at the end of the term, and May comes with to see him off, only to be confronted with Long’s own web of lies and sordid » - Scott Macaulay 31 October 2008 12:08 AM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news » Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has spoken about the death of her beloved father - insisting she tried using "Eastern medicine" to ease his suffering. Bruce Paltrow was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and his eventual death in Italy in 2002 left the Iron Man star totally devastated. And Paltrow admits that before her father passed away, she tried using alternative remedies in a bid to nurse him back to health. She says, "In 1998, I was filming The Talented Mr. Ripley in Ischia, a little island off the coast of Naples in Italy. I got a call that changed my life. My father had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and it was stage four.

Although he underwent treatment and survived for another four years, I watched his health deteriorate slowly until his death in 2002. "During this time I began to read about Eastern medicine and the body's capacity to heal itself. I tried to get my father on board - with mixed results. He loved acupuncture but hated macrobiotic food, which he likened to 'biting into The New York Times.'" » 30 October 2008 3:25 AM, PDT | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news » Gwyneth Paltrow 's health-conscious lifestyle and eating habits can be traced back to a phone call a decade ago that, she says, "changed my life." In a new Goop newsletter, the actress writes that, while filming The Talented Mr. Ripley in Italy in 1998, she learned her father had been diagnosed with throat cancer. "I watched his health deteriorate slowly until his death in 2002," Paltrow, 36, says of her director dad, Bruce.

"During this time I began to read about Eastern medicine and the body's capacity to heal itself." Paltrow, who was known for following her own strict diet, encouraged her dad » - Eunice Oh 5 August 2008 3:00 PM, PDT | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news » New York -- Five months after announcing that it was scaling back, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment has made the exec moves to match. The financing and producing entity has removed president of production Bill Horberg from his post and promoted senior marketing and distribution exec Bingham Ray to president of creative affairs, now Ske's top creative spot. Horberg has been given a first-look producing deal with the company. The personnel moves come as part of what execs described as a shift in strategy toward thrillers, horror and broad comedy and away from the more prestige fare it has been known for since Horberg joined three years ago. On Tuesday, the company announced its first film in that vein, the thriller "Sunflower" from writer Misha Green. "This is a commercial enterprise, and we need to be making broader movies." Ske president Jim Tauber said.

"As much as we like these art house and smart house movies, we can only make one or two of them. We can't afford to make a slate of them." The company has made a number of critically well-received films during the past several years, including " United 93 " and " Lars and the Real Girl ," but few have broken out commercially. " United 93 " was the biggest earner of the past few years, taking in $32 million in domestic boxoffice. Meanwhile, Charlie Kaufman 's directorial debut "Synecdoche, New York," a $20 million project that had been one of the big hopes of this year's Festival de Cannes, attracted few bidders on the Croisette and wound up selling to Sony Pictures Classics several months after the festival. Ske announced in March that it would cut back the number of films per year from roughly five to three and would seek different financial terms; it also would no longer market its own movies. Among the movies upcoming for Ske are the Jennifer Aniston drama " Management ," which will play the Toronto Film Festival, and Greg Mottola 's coming-of-age dramedy " Adventureland ," set for release by Miramax.

The company Tuesday also announced the promotions of Jodi Hildebrand to vp production and Dan Cohen to creative executive. Tauber described the staff changes as part of the company's desire to hit financial targets. Although Ray is known primarily as a marketing guru, he is taking on a role that encompasses creative oversight because the two needed to be bridged, Tauber said. "We don't want to make a movie unless we know clearly who the audience is, and we think Bingham gives us the marketing perspective," he said. Industryites said that Ray, a longtime veteran of the indie world, was a good choice despite a lack of production experience. "Bill and Bingham are both very smart at what they do," said an exec at a studio that has worked with Ske. "The difference is that Bingham can read a script and have a much better sense of whether it will connect with an audience.

And if you look at Kimmel recently, that's been the problem with their movies: the audience." Ray served as president of Ua and helped found Focus Features antecedent October Films, which was responsible for a host of indie hits in the '90s including "The Apostle" and "Secrets & Lies." Horberg, a veteran of Sydney Pollack 's and Anthony Minghella 's Mirage Enterprises, is a producer with a long history of successful studio and indie pictures, including " The Talented Mr. Ripley " and " Sliding Doors ." Ske said with the producing deal, Horberg will now be able to work on bigger-budget films that don't fit the Ske model. Tauber said he saw these changes as reflective of a specialty business in flux. "We're facing the same challenge that every independent and every independent distributor is facing," he said.

"So we're being reactive to that, casting a wider net, trying to be more diverse in what were doing." » - By Steven Zeitchik 1 July 2008 7:00 AM, PDT | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news » Composer Gabriel Yared will conduct a concert dedicated to the memory of director Anthony Minghella at the Ghent International Film Festival on Oct. 15. Yared worked with Minghella on " The English Patient ," " Cold Mountain " and " The Talented Mr. Ripley ;" he won an Oscar for his "Patient" score and was nominated for his work on the other two films. The tribute concert will feature suites that Yared composed for those films performed by a chamber orchestra and solo soprano. The Ghent International Film Festival, in its 35th edition, focuses on film music; other events at this year's festival will include performances by Kadril, Tuur Florizoone , Dario Marianelli and Angelo Badalamenti . » - By Ann Donahue, Billboard Minghella filmography Updated 6:29 p.m.

Pt March 18 Writer-director Anthony Minghella , who died early Tuesday in London of an apparent brain hemorrhage, leaves behind a legacy of acclaimed work and a wide range of projects. At 54, the British filmmaker known for his adaptations of literary material was, in many respects, in the prime of his career. Minghella and the Weinstein Co. recently concluded a deal with HBO and the BBC to air the adaptation of the literary franchise "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" as a movie and 13-episode television series. The filmmaker also was attached to write and direct the adaptation of Liz Jensen 's France-based psychological thriller "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax," in development at the Weinstein Co., and had served as a producer on the recently wrapped " The Reader ," the adaptation of the Oprah Winfrey -blessed German novel from the Weinstein Co.

and Scott Rudin that's » - By Steven Zeitchik and Gregg Goldstein Director Anthony Minghella Dies at 54 18 March 2008 | IMDb News Director Anthony Minghella , who won an Academy Award for directing the 1996 epic The English Patient , has died at age 54, his agent announced today. Variety reports that a spokesman for Mr. Minghella said he suffered a brain hemorrhage on Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Hospital in London, while in for a routine neck operation. A director who worked in theater and television (most notably for the series Inspector Morse and the lush, haunting The Storyteller series), Minghella made his feature film directorial debut with the ghost story/romance Truly, Madly, Deeply , which starred Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman . The film won Minghella a BAFTA award for his screenplay and effectively launched his film career. The little-seen indie romance Mr. Wonderful followed in 1993, but it was three years later that Minghella had his biggest success with The English Patient , an adaptation of the novel by Michael Ondaatje .

Aggressively marketed by Miramax and arriving near the height of the independent film movement (though the film, with its epic scope, pushed the definition of indie filmmaking), the film became a surprise success, ultimately taking in $78 million in the US and winning a whopping nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture as well as Director for Minghella. Three of the film's stars, Ralph Fiennes , Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche , were Oscar-nominated, with Binoche taking home the Best Supporting Actress award in a shocking upset over Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall . Minghella followed up that success in 1999 with the moody thriller The Talented Mr, Ripley , another book-to-film adaptation based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith . Though the film starred high-profile actors Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow , it was the then little-known Jude Law who walked away with the film with his role as a callow, rich playboy. The film earned Law a Best Supporting Actor nomination and Minghella another Adapted Screenplay nod.

Minghella tried to replicate his successful literary adaptation formula with Cold Mountain , a high-profile version of the bestselling Civil War novel that, ironically, was filmed partly in Romania. Despite another big (and some said, overly aggressive) push by Miramax and a cast that included Nicole Kidman , Jude Law , Renee Zellweger , Natalie Portman and Philip Seymour Hoffman , the movie was considered a major under-performer, though it did earn $95 million in the US alone and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Zellweger. Major nominations for Best Picture or Director, however, failed to materialize. Minghella worked on a smaller scale with the London-based drama Breaking and Entering , which reteamed him with both Law and Binoche, and had just completed filming on The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency , the pilot for a TV series based on the novel by Alexander McCall Smith. Beginning in 2000, Minghella also became a producer, with credits including The Quiet American , The Interpreter , and the recent Oscar winner Michael Clayton . In 2005, Minghella also staged an acclaimed version of the opera Madame Butterfly, which played at the English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

Minghella is survived by his parents, his siblings in the entertainment industry Dominic Minghella and Edana Minghella , two other sisters, his wife, choreographer Carolyn Choa , and two children, Max Minghella and Hannah Minghella . --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff » 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2000 8 items from 2008 IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual.

Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy. Film director Minghella dies - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Film director Minghella dies Updated March 19, 2008 10:53:00 The film world is mourning the sudden death of one of its leading directors, Anthony Minghella. Stephanie Kennedy Transcript TONY EASTLEY: The film world is mourning the sudden death of one of its leading directors. A decade ago Anthony Minghella's sweeping wartime movie The English Patient marked a turning point for British films after it received nine Academy Awards. Minghella also had Oscar successes with The Talented Mr Ripley and Cold Mountain. Stephanie Kennedy reports from London. PRESENTER: The winner is Anthony Minghella for The English Patient. (Sound of applause) STEPHANIE KENNEDY: He was one of Britain's top writers and directors, and he was held in high esteem in Hollywood with his films receiving vast critical acclaim. He made his directional debut in Truly, Madly, Deeply, in 1991. But his crowing achievement came six years later.

He won an Academy Awards for The English Patient. The wartime epic garnered a total of nine Oscars including Best Film, and was a commercial triumph. (Excerpt from The English Patient) ACTOR: I wouldn't want to die here. I don't want to die in the desert. So promise me you'll come back for me. ACTOR 2: I promise. I'll come back for you. (End excerpt) STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Ralph Fiennes starred in the film and he paid tribute to his director. RALPH FIENNES: I think everyone who worked with Anthony on The English Patient was deeply affected by his humanity and his truly collaborative spirit. And he had a rare gift which was a vocabulary, a way of talking to actors. A gentler, nuanced way of encouraging performances in the very pressurised and odd atmosphere of the film set. And his incisiveness and alertness to the emotions of his characters - I guess because he had written it too - but he was a very gentle director, and a very, very thorough.

STEPHANIE KENNEDY: The 54-year-old had a successful operation on a growth in his neck last week, but overnight he died from a haemorrhage. Just before he went into hospital he delivered a speech about his life and work. ANTHONY MINGHELLA: The thing that's different, I suppose, most notably to (inaudible) and Americans, is that if you're embraced, you're sort of completely embraced. And it was quite giddy, and I wanted to direct. I thought, "Well, I can pretend I'm director", which I've never thought I was, I always thought I was a writer who had been able to direct this one film. And I tried to be a director and discovered, I think conclusively, that I'm not really a director. What I am is a writer who is able to direct the films he writes. STEPHANIE KENNEDY: The world of cinema is in shock over the British director's sudden death. Actor Kevin Spacey. KEVIN SPACEY: He's one of the greats and anybody who loves storytelling will realise that he had much more to do, and it's an incredibly sad moment. I just found out.

And he was a great man, a great friend. (Excerpt from the film The Talented Mr Ripley) ACTOR: Come get him! Come get him! ACTOR 2: Tell me, why is it that when men play they always play at killing each other? STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Anthony Minghella also directed The Talented Mr Ripley, another Oscar-winning film which starred Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. GWYNETH PALTROW: He was a real artist. He had an amazing vision, and he was very sweet to his actors. You know, he would kind of massage everybody and while he was very talking, very tactile and warm, lovely man. STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Mr Minghella's skills extended outside the film world. He directed the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, in a Labour television advertisement during the last election campaign In London, this is Stephanie Kennedy reporting for AM.

Top Stories Anthony Minghella, 1954-2008: 'He was on a personal mission' | Film | The Guardian Anthony Minghella 'He was on a personal mission' Industry mourns champion of British film who excelled at opera and TV as well as winning Hollywood acclaim Anthony Minghella, 1954 - 2008 Close This article is 8 years old Anthony Minghella , a central figure of the British film industry and one of the most renowned filmmakers it has produced, died yesterday morning aged 54 from a haemorrhage in hospital - days after an operation was judged to have gone well. Tributes came from all corners of the arts, including film, television and opera; from colleagues at the British Film Institute, which he led for five years; and from politicians including the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who counted Minghella as a friend and called him "one of Britain's greatest creative talents". Minghella will chiefly be remembered for his films, from Truly, Madly, Deeply to The English Patient - for which he won an Oscar - to The Talented Mr Ripley to Cold Mountain.

But he was also an accomplished playwright and a significant influence in television when he worked on shows such as Grange Hill, Boon and Inspector Morse. When he tried his hand at opera, with Madame Butterfly for the English National Opera in 2005, it was a sensation. His death was all the more shocking because it was out of the blue. His American publicist Leslee Dart said doctors performed surgery on Minghella last week for cancer of the neck and tonsils. "The surgery had gone well and they were very optimistic," she said. "But he developed a haemorrhage and they were not able to stop it." He died at 5am and leaves a wife, Carolyn Choa, and two grown-up children. Actor Ralph Fiennes said he was devastated. "He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humour and precision. He delighted in the contribution of everyone - he was a true collaborator. His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death.

I'll remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter." Jude Law, who appeared in three of Minghella's films, said he came to regard him more as a friend than a colleague. "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." The director and former chairman of the UK Film Council, Sir Alan Parker, recalled flying to Romania to persuade him to take the job of chairman of the BFI. "He was very gracious and he was amazingly generous to me. He asked 'Is this a poisoned chalice,' which of course it was, but he accepted in the end." He added: "He had grace, charm, eloquence and good manners in a business that is not generally known for these things." One of his closest colleagues at the BFI was director Amanda Nevill. She said: "Anthony has been the heart and soul and leading light of the BFI for five years. He was on a mission to provide another window through which we can better understand the world we live in. This wasn't meant in a worthy way.

He wanted people to get as excited and inspired and energised as he was by creative things." His willingness to put something back impressed many. Sir Christopher Frayling, chairman of Arts Council England, said: "He was quite an operator, managing to keep so many plates in the air. At the BFI he was chairman in a key moment in its history and he was always up on it. Most people in the film industry are rather suspicious of the public sector; they associate it with films people don't want to watch." At the time of his death Minghella was producing a film version of Bernard Schlink's novel The Reader, starring Kate Winslet and Fiennes, and adapted by Sir David Hare. Hare said: "He was a very unusual combination - a writer of great quality who also had the vision to see a project all the way through. That put him in an extremely distinctive category. He never lost sight of the value of theatre - like Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears, you could say he was a theatre director who made films." Some of his last few weeks were spent promoting The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency which he produced, directed and co-wrote with Richard Curtis.

The pilot will be on the BBC over Easter and a series has already been commissioned. Jane Tranter, head of fiction at the BBC, said Minghella considered a film version but thought it would make "brilliant TV". She said: "Anthony had such an ability to deliver the epic but he also had a terrific ability to deliver nuance and detail. He was a major national figure." When Minghella first moved to London 25 years ago he stayed for 18 months in Hampstead at the home of conductor David Parry. It was there a plan was hatched to one day make a production of Madame Butterfly together. This they finally did in 2005. It was a great hit, and was recently put on at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Parry said: "Doing Madame Butterfly was the great collaboration of my life. Anthony was extraordinarily musically acute, and had a fantastic instinct for the dramaturgy of the music. That's why Madame Butterfly was such a success.

He was a marvellous person, incredibly kind, very faithful, and never had any feeling of pretence or posing." Mary Plazas, who starred as Madame Butterfly in his production, said: "Directing his first opera, he took command of that ship so easily - without in any way trying to control us. He had a unique ability to test the temperature of human nature. We all know about his artistic gifts - but he also had a wonderful grace in the way he treated people." CV Born to Italian immigrant parents who ran a successful ice-cream business on the Isle of Wight, Anthony Minghella studied at Hull University, where he then lectured in drama. His broadcast career began in the early 1980s as a script editor on Grange Hill. He later wrote early episodes of ITV's Inspector Morse. His big break came in film, directing Truly, Madly, Deeply in 1991. His feature film Mr Wonderful (1993) was his first venture into Hollywood.

Huge successes followed with adaptations of novels, such as The English Patient (1996), winning nine Oscars, including Best Director; The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), and Cold Mountain (2003), with a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. He was awarded a CBE in 2001. Anthony Minghella - Photo 1 - Pictures - CBS News Anthony Minghella Next Director Anthony Minghella, seen here at the New York premiere of his movie "Breaking and Entering," on Jan 18, 2007, died in March 2008 at the age of 54. He was known for turning novels like "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into award-winning movies. Credit: AP Photo/Stuart Ramson Director Anthony Minghella poses with his "Breaking and Entering" stars in New York Jan. 18, 2007. From left are actors Robin Wright Penn, Juliette Binoche, and Vera Farmiga.

The British-born director has worked with some of the most famous actors in the business including Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger. Credit: AP Photo/Stuart Ramson British film director Anthony Minghella arrives for the European premiere of the film "The Last King of Scotland" at the opening of the 50th annual London Film Festival, in London's Leicester Square Oct. 18, 2006. Credit: AP Anthony Minghella holds his Best Director Oscar at the 69th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Monday, March 24, 1997. Minghella won for "The English Patient." Credit: AP PHOTO Anthony Minghella embraces his "Cold Mountain" star, actor Jude Law, at the Miramax Film's post Golden Globes party Jan. 25, 2004, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Minghella was recently in Botswana filming a TV movie adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No.

1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Credit: AP/BEImages Sarah Ferguson, Britain's Duchess of York and "Cold Mountain" director Anthony Minghella pose together at the 10th Annual BAFTA/LA Tea Party held at the St. Regis Hotel. Minghella worked as a playwright in London's West End and as a TV script editor before making his movie debut with "Truly, Madly, Deeply." Credit: AP Anthony Minghella, nominated for best director for his work on "Cold Mountain," arrives with his wife, Caroline for the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 25, 2004, in Beverly Hills, Calif. His 1999 film "The Talented Mr. Ripley," earned five Oscar nominations. Credit: AP Director Anthony Minghella, left, accepts the award for Best Supporting Actress on behalf of Renee Zellweger from actor James Gandolfini at the 9th annual Critics' Choice Awards, Jan. 10, 2004, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Zellweger won the award for her role in Minghella's "Cold Mountain." Credit: AP Director Anthony Minghella, left, watches as British rock star Elton John cuts the ribbon at the opening of a patient garden in the Ian Charleson Day Centre for patients with HIV/AIDS at the Royal Free Hospital in London, Wednesday, June 11, 2003. Credit: CBS Anthony Minghella arrives for The National Board of Review's 2000 Gala Awards in New York, in this Jan. 18, 2000, photo. Interested in opera, the son of Italian immigrants directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" and restaged it the following year for the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera. Credit: AP Anthony Minghella, 54, Director, Dies - The New York Times The New York Times Movies |Anthony Minghella, 54, Director, Dies Search Correction Appended Anthony Minghella , the British filmmaker who won an Academy Award for his direction of “The English Patient,” died Tuesday morning in London. He was 54.

The cause was complications of surgery he had a week ago to treat tonsil cancer, said Leslee Dart, his publicist. The son of parents who made ice cream on the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England, Mr. Minghella used expansive tastes in literature and a deep visual vocabulary to make lush films with complicated themes that found both audiences and accolades. Mr. Minghella’s films, which also included “Breaking and Entering” (2006), “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1999) and “Cold Mountain” (2003), used a careful eye for cultural and historical detail to explore ways in which the dynamics of class often pushed people into corners that they had to fight or scheme their way out of. His gift for building fully realized worlds within worlds also found expression in opera. Mr. Minghella directed an acclaimed staging of “Madama Butterfly” in 2006, and he was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to direct and write the libretto for a new work by the composer Osvaldo Golijov that was scheduled for the 2011-12 season. Mr.

Minghella recently completed work on “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency,” an adaptation of an Alexander McCall Smith novel, which was filmed in Botswana, in southern Africa, for HBO and the BBC as the pilot of a series. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He worked as a writer and a director in both theater and television. Samuel Beckett was a particular fascination; Mr. Minghella organized a star-studded tribute to Beckett in 2006. After his movie-directing debut in “Truly Madly Deeply,” a made-for-television production that was released theatrically in 1990, Mr. Minghella went on to adapt a number of novels for a series of well-reviewed films. In addition to winning the directing Oscar in 1997 for “The English Patient” — which garnered a total of nine Oscars, including best picture — Mr. Minghella also received an adapted-screenplay nomination. In 2000 his screenplay for “The Talented Mr. Ripley” was nominated as well. Photo Anthony Minghella in 2006. Credit MJ Kim/Getty Images That same year Mr.

Minghella joined a fellow director, Sydney Pollack, to form Mirage, an independent production company that concluded a three-year first-look deal with the Weinstein Company earlier this month. They collaborated as producers on a number of films and worked on each other’s films as well. “He was interested in the magic,” Mr. Pollack said. “Not fake magic, like hiding the ball under the cup, but real magic, the kind that occurs between people. Nowadays, everybody making movies wants to get the clothes off fast and the guns out quick, he was just the opposite. He was interested in the poetry, lavishing the viewer with story, and scope and richness. Look at what you got for your $12 ticket with Anthony.” “There was a real authenticity to his work,” Mr. Pollack added. “He made movies about the world that we live in, where stuff happened that no one could have anticipated.” Mr. Minghella recently stepped down from his position as chairman of the British Film Institute, an organization that promotes making films in Britain. Anthony Minghella was born on Jan.

6, 1954, and grew up on the Isle of Wight, where his parents, immigrants from Italy, ran an ice cream factory. An outsider even in his native land, Mr. Minghella took on large historical issues in his work, like the human consequences of epic warfare in “Cold Mountain,” about a soldier’s journey across an American landscape battered by the Civil War. Closer to home, his film “Breaking and Entering” examined the interlocking lives of thieves and their victims in today’s London, a place where he believed immigrants are less assimilated than tolerated. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy “But while we share the geographical space, we don’t share much else,” he said to The New York Times in 2006 in talking about the film, which was based on his first original screenplay since “Truly Madly Deeply.” “We’re not particularly well integrated. One of the curiosities can be the differences, rather than the similarities, between people walking down the street — differences in expectation and privilege, in wealth and opportunity.

It’s not tension or aggression, but a kind of guarded indifference. We coexist rather than create communities.” Mr. Minghella’s concern with seeing beyond roles assigned by hierarchy or education extended to the work itself. Advertisement “Anthony was the opposite of the prissy, hysterical director,” said Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. “He was calm and intelligent and persuasive, whether he was talking to a board member or a member of the stage crew.” Photo Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient, for which Anthony Minghella won the Oscar in 1997 for best director. Credit Phill Bray/Miramax In what was viewed as a risky move at the time, Mr. Gelb chose Mr. Minghella to direct “Madama Butterfly,” which opened the Met’s 2006 season. Although Mr. Minghella was a trained pianist, he was an opera neophyte before the “Butterfly” production, which originated at the English National Opera in London. “Everyone here had every reason to be suspicious of him because they knew his opera credentials were limited,” Mr. Gelb said.

”But he set the tone at the first rehearsal — he told the people in the production that he wanted them to read the text to him before they sang a note. The message was clear, that they were not only opera singers, but actors as well.” The subsequent production, which included blended cinematic elements (a series of movable screens) along with creative stagecraft (Cio-Cio-San’s son was rendered as a puppet) pleased critics and audiences alike. Mr. Minghella is survived by his wife, Carolyn Choa, who choreographed the “Butterfly” production; his son, Max; his daughter, Hannah; his parents, Eddie and Gloria Minghella; his brother, Dominic; and three sisters: Gioia, Loretta and Edana. With a large, bald head, and a thick frame, Mr. Minghella had the physical affect of dockworker, but when he opened his mouth, it was clear he was an omnivorously literate person. “I can’t think of a conversation that I had in the last five years that didn’t include a reference about what book he was reading,” said Scott Rudin, who produced a number of films with both Mr. Minghella and Mr.

Pollack. “He was the first person to pick up the phone and talk about some amazing play he had seen in North London, and a few days later there would be a script on my desk.” Mr. Pollack said the history of successful production collaborations between directors was so short as not worth measuring, but said that while he and Mr. Minghella often disagreed about particulars — “We fought plenty” — they had values in common. “We both know what was junk and what was good,” Mr. Pollack said. “There were a lot of movies that we planned together and are now not going to be able to do. It’s sad for me, but it’s also too bad that people won’t see those movies.” Correction: March 31, 2008 A picture caption on March 19 with information about online material on the director Anthony Minghella, who died on March 18, referred incompletely to the writing of the movie “Cold Mountain,” which he directed. While Mr. Minghella is in fact credited as writer of the screenplay, it was based on the novel by Charles Frazier, who is also included in the film credits.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C11 of the National edition with the headline: Anthony Minghella, 54, Director, Dies. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Oscar-Winning 'English Patient' Director Anthony Minghella Dies | Access Hollywood Oscar-Winning 'English Patient' Director Anthony Minghella Dies March 18, 2008 11:58 AM PDT Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, has died. He was 54. Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died Tuesday morning at London's Charing Cross Hospital of a hemorrhage. He said Minghella 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." Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election ad in 2005, said he was "really shocked and very sad." "Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with," Blair said. "Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber." Other stars who worked with Minghella expressed their shock and sorrow to Access Hollywood. Nicole Kidman, who worked with Minghella on “Cold Mountain,” released the following statement to Access: “I’m devastated. There is really no way to put it into words. He was a gift to the world.” Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes, who starred in Minghella’s “The English Patient,” also said he was “devastated” by the news. “I am devastated and shocked to hear of Anthony Minghella's death. Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor's process that very few directors have,” Fiennes said.

“He directed most of 'The English Patient' with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humour and precision. He delighted in the contribution of everyone - he was a true collaborator. His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death. I will remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter.” "The English Patient," the 1996 World War II drama, won nine Academy Awards, including best director for Minghella, best picture and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche. Based on the celebrated novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje, the movie tells of a burn victim's tortured recollections of his misdeeds in time of war. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Minghella said the film was the pinnacle of his career at the time: "I feel more naked and more exposed by this piece of work than anything I've ever been involved with." He said too many modern films let the audience be passive, as if they were saying, "We're going to rock you and thrill you.

We'll do everything for you." "This film goes absolutely against that grain," he said. "It says, `I'm sorry, but you're going to have to make some connections. There are some puzzles here. The story will constantly rethread itself and it will be elliptical, but there are enormous rewards in that."' Minghella also was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay for the movie and for his screenplay for "The Talented Mr. Ripley." His 2003 "Cold Mountain," based on Charles Frazier's novel of the U.S. Civil War, brought a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger. The 1999 "The Talented Mr. Ripley," starring Matt Damon as a murderous social climber, was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It earned five Oscar nominations. Among his other films were "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (1990), and last year's Oscar-nominated "Michael Clayton," on which he was executive producer. Minghella also turned his talents to opera.

In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at the English National Opera in London — choreographed by Minghella's wife, Carolyn Choa. The following year, he staged it for the season opener of New York's Metropolitan Opera. It was the first performance of the Met's new era under general manager Peter Gelb. Minghella was recently in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." It is due to air on British television this week. The book is the first in a series about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe; a 13-part television series was recently commission by U.S. network HBO. Jeff Ramsay, press secretary to Botswanan President Festus Mogae, called Minghella's death a "shock and an utter loss." He said the director had been coming to the country ahead of the detective film and learning about Botswana.

Ramsay said Minghella had told him how he had been forced to shoot "Cold Mountain" in Romania and that it had "seemed wrong." He said this made the director "more sure that the film could only be shot in Botswana." Born the second of five children to southern Italian emigrants, Minghella came to moviemaking from a flourishing playwriting career on the London "fringe" and, in 1986, on the West End with the play, "Made in Bangkok," a hard-hitting look at the sexual mores of a British tour group in Thailand. He worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut with "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Producer David Puttnam told the BBC that Minghella was "a very special person." "He wasn't just a writer, or a writer-director, he was someone who was very well-known and very well-loved within the film community," Puttnam said. "Frankly he was far too young to have gone." Minghella is survived by his wife; his actor son, Max Minghella; and his daughter, Hannah.

Copyright © Comments () LONDON (AP) ” Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as “The English Patient,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Cold Mountain” into acclaimed movies, died Tuesday of a hemorrhage following surgery. He was 54. Minghella’s publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London’s Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella 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.” Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election ad in 2005, said he was “really shocked and very sad.” “Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with,” Blair said. “Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest caliber.” Jude Law, who starred in Minghella’s “Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr.

Ripley” and 2007’s “Breaking and Entering,” said he had “come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.” “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. He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family.” The 1996 World War II drama “The English Patient” won nine Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Minghella and best supporting actress for Juliette Binoche. Based on the celebrated novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje, the movie tells of a burn victim’s tortured recollections of his misdeeds in time of war. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Minghella said too many modern films let the audience be passive, as if they were saying, “We’re going to rock you and thrill you. We’ll do everything for you.” “(‘The English Patient’) goes absolutely against that grain,” he said.

“It says, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to make some connections. There are some puzzles here. The story will constantly rethread itself and it will be elliptical, but there are enormous rewards in that.”‘ Minghella (pronounced min-GELL’-ah) also was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay for the movie and for his screenplay for “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” His 2003 “Cold Mountain,” based on Charles Frazier’s novel about the U.S. Civil War, earned a best supporting actress Oscar for Renee Zellweger. The 1999 “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” starring Matt Damon as a murderous social climber, was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It earned five Oscar nominations. Among his other films were “Truly, Madly, Deeply” (1990), and last year’s Oscar-nominated “Michael Clayton,” on which he was executive producer. Minghella also turned his talents to opera.

In 2005, he directed a highly successful staging of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at the English National Opera in London ” choreographed by Minghella’s wife, Carolyn Choa. The following year, he staged it for the season opener of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. It was the first performance of the Met’s new era under general manager Peter Gelb. Minghella was recently in Botswana filming an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s novel “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” Due to air on British television this week, the book is the first in a series about the adventures of Botswanan private eye Precious Ramotswe; a 13-part television series was recently commission by HBO. Jeff Ramsay, press secretary to Botswanan President Festus Mogae, said the director had been coming to the country ahead of the detective film and learning about Botswana.

He said Minghella had told him how he had been forced to shoot “Cold Mountain” in Romania and that it had “seemed wrong.” He said this made the director “more sure that the film could only be shot in Botswana.” “Much more than a TRUE artist who thrilled in offering his divine gift with the world, Anthony Minghella was a dear, dear trusted friend,” Jill Scott, who plays Ramotswe, said in a statement. “My heart aches with grief. Words can not express how deeply he will be missed or how deeply he was loved.” Born the second of five children to southern Italian emigrants, Minghella came to moviemaking from a flourishing playwriting career on the London “fringe” and, in 1986, on the West End with the play, “Made in Bangkok,” a hard-hitting look at the sexual mores of a British tour group in Thailand. He worked as a television script editor before making his directing debut with “Truly, Madly, Deeply,” a comedy about love and grief starring Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman.

Producer David Puttnam told the BBC that Minghella was “a very special person.” “He wasn’t just a writer, or a writer-director, he was someone who was very well-known and very well-loved within the film community,” Puttnam said. “Frankly he was far too young to have gone.” Minghella is survived by his wife; his actor son, Max Minghella; and his daughter, Hannah.

Question: Which film director, with successes including Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr Ripley, died on 18 March 2008?
Answer: Anthony Minghella