Tony Scott – the director of Top Gun, True Romance, Man on Fire and many others – has died. According to USA Today, the filmmaker jumped off of the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles, leaving a suicide note in his parked car. He was a husband and father to two young children.
Scott was certainly a trailblazer – creating a model for other commercial directors to break into feature film production – and he was also a fierce creator who rose to the top of the Hollywood list when it came to action directors. He was known for frequently partnering with the same group of actors including Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken and James Gandolfini. Of course, he also produced much of his work alongside brother Ridley Scott and was perhaps the only man on the planet who could make a washed-out red baseball cap look cool.
He leaves behind a lot of stories, but that’s never quite enough is it? Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
Updated: Outlets are now reporting that the suicide note was left in his office, not his car. The police found contact information inside the car which led to his office and the note.
Updated, two: ABC News reports that Scott had inoperable brain cancer, which quite likely contributed to his decision.