Tony Scott's life was tragically cut short on August 19th 2012. I've been thinking about how this man from Northumberland has affected not only my life but Hollywood itself. He made his first short film at the age of 25 and 14 years later his first feature film, The Hunger, was released. The film itself was not a commercial success, but it caught the attention of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. His next film would be one of his most memorable of his career. Not only would it launch Tom Cruise into superstardom but it would also contain many future film stars first or early roles. Tony followed up Top Gun with Beverly Hills Cop II, again with producers Bruckheimer and Simpson despite being fired 3 times during the production of Top Gun.
Throughout his career Tony Scott would go on to work with
some of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time, Denzel Washington, Bruce
Willis, Kevin Costner, Christian Slater, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Will Smith,
the list goes on. As a talented director he had a close working relationship
with his brother, each of them producing some of the other's directorial
efforts and working together as producers on several projects. They also were
both quite different film makers, if Ridley could be seen as the philosopher
then Tony was the entertainer. Many of Tony's films would be commercial
successes, however he was also a very likeable and approachable person. Dakota
Fanning spoke of Tony in an interview regarding their first meeting before she
was casted in Man on Fire. She made note of his trademark "pink" cap
and the cigar in their first meeting and that he was very protective over her
during filming.
Tony wasn't afraid to try new techniques such as playing
with frame rates or even playing around with exposures, Man on Fire is a
visually stunning film with a visual style that has been copied by several
different things, most recently the newest instalment of the Max Payne video
game franchise.
His loss will be noticed and my thoughts are with his family
in this truly tragic time, we must remember to not remember how he left this
world but remember the legacy he has left behind and his impact on the world.
Rest in Peace Tony.
