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[q]Anthony Minghella, Director of `English Patient,' Dies at 54
By Laurence Arnold
Enlarge Image/Details
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Anthony Minghella, the British filmmaker who won an Academy Award for directing ``The English Patient,'' has died. He was 54.
Minghella's death was reported today by the British Broadcasting Corp., which cited his agent. No cause was given.
His Oscar as best director for ``The English Patient'' (1996) was one of nine that the film won, including best picture. He also was nominated for writing the screenplay. He earned another Academy Award nomination for writing ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' (1999).
Minghella also wrote for theater, television and radio, and he admitted feeling anxious about being accepted as a filmmaker.
``It is as if I have been working in a tunnel and I've no idea what the reaction is going to be,'' he said in a 2000 interview with the Sunday Times of London. ``It is a naked thing to admit, but I feel very strongly that I want people to appreciate that I am not just a flash in the pan. I still wonder if everyone is going to point and say, `He is not a proper film- maker.'''
Just this month, Minghella stepped down as chairman of the British Film Institute, succeeded by Greg Dyke. He had been reappointed to a second three-year term in January 2006.
When he became chairman in 2003, Minghella told the BBC: ``We're not getting enough movies made here, our studios aren't busy enough, we don't have enough studios.''
Minghella adapted ``The English Patient,'' a story of pain and love during World War II, from a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. Its stars included Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Pollack Partnership
In 2000, Minghella joined Sydney Pollack -- who produced ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' -- as a partner in Mirage Enterprises, Pollack's production company.
A 2006 biography of Minghella by the British Film Institute says Mirage ``has supported a number of distinctive filmmakers and their projects,'' including Phillip Noyce's 2002 movie ``The Quiet American.''
Minghella was born Jan. 6, 1954, in Ryde, on the U.K.'s Isle of Wight. He said studying drama at the University of Hull provided a welcome escape.
``I went there and did not leave for years,'' he said in 2000. ``I became a teacher and stayed until 26, spending a lot of time, by myself, in the library. I can definitely sympathize with the feelings of wanting to be someone else.''
Minghella also directed the films ``Cold Mountain'' (2003), and ``Mr. Wonderful'' (1993). His adaptation of the best-selling novel ``The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' has yet to be released.
In 2006, he directed a production of Puccini's ``Madama Butterfly'' at New York's Metropolitan Opera. [/q]
[q]Anthony Minghella, Director of `English Patient,' Dies at 54
By Laurence Arnold
Enlarge Image/Details
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Anthony Minghella, the British filmmaker who won an Academy Award for directing ``The English Patient,'' has died. He was 54.
Minghella's death was reported today by the British Broadcasting Corp., which cited his agent. No cause was given.
His Oscar as best director for ``The English Patient'' (1996) was one of nine that the film won, including best picture. He also was nominated for writing the screenplay. He earned another Academy Award nomination for writing ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' (1999).
Minghella also wrote for theater, television and radio, and he admitted feeling anxious about being accepted as a filmmaker.
``It is as if I have been working in a tunnel and I've no idea what the reaction is going to be,'' he said in a 2000 interview with the Sunday Times of London. ``It is a naked thing to admit, but I feel very strongly that I want people to appreciate that I am not just a flash in the pan. I still wonder if everyone is going to point and say, `He is not a proper film- maker.'''
Just this month, Minghella stepped down as chairman of the British Film Institute, succeeded by Greg Dyke. He had been reappointed to a second three-year term in January 2006.
When he became chairman in 2003, Minghella told the BBC: ``We're not getting enough movies made here, our studios aren't busy enough, we don't have enough studios.''
Minghella adapted ``The English Patient,'' a story of pain and love during World War II, from a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. Its stars included Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Pollack Partnership
In 2000, Minghella joined Sydney Pollack -- who produced ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' -- as a partner in Mirage Enterprises, Pollack's production company.
A 2006 biography of Minghella by the British Film Institute says Mirage ``has supported a number of distinctive filmmakers and their projects,'' including Phillip Noyce's 2002 movie ``The Quiet American.''
Minghella was born Jan. 6, 1954, in Ryde, on the U.K.'s Isle of Wight. He said studying drama at the University of Hull provided a welcome escape.
``I went there and did not leave for years,'' he said in 2000. ``I became a teacher and stayed until 26, spending a lot of time, by myself, in the library. I can definitely sympathize with the feelings of wanting to be someone else.''
Minghella also directed the films ``Cold Mountain'' (2003), and ``Mr. Wonderful'' (1993). His adaptation of the best-selling novel ``The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' has yet to be released.
In 2006, he directed a production of Puccini's ``Madama Butterfly'' at New York's Metropolitan Opera. [/q]
