While we were busy working things happened today.
Anthony Minghella, the British Academy Award-winning director of elegant, sweeping, lyrical epics like “The English Patient,”died a very unromantic, un-epic death at the early age of 54. At first no one seemed to know what the cause of death was, but then it was revealed that Minghella died of a brain brain hemorrhage while undergoing “a routine operation on his neck.” The Guardian however, said the director had surgery was due to “cancer of the tonsils and neck.” Either way, he’s not making films anymore. [Reuters]
Then someone else died. This time it was Arthur C. Clarke, the 90-year-old co-screenwriter behind ”2001: A Space Odyssey,” with Stanley Kubrick. Known as a science fiction writer, Clarke died of debilitating post-polio syndrome issues. [New York Times]
Mediocre actor turned decent filmmaker Peter Berg has been confirmed as the director of the “Dune” remake (of course based on Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel). Apparently the studios didn’t learn this hard lesson the first time they attempted in with David Lynch (which might be the best and worst sci-fi film ever made). [Variety]