Oscar-winning film producer Jeremy Thomas dies aged 77 — SkimNews
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- Jeremy Thomas died peacefully at his Oxfordshire home on Friday at age 77, surrounded by family, according to his publicist's statement.
- Thomas won the Academy Award for Best Picture as producer of Bernardo Bertolucci's 'The Last Emperor' (1988), which took home nine Oscars and starred Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, and Vivian Wu.
- Thomas repeatedly collaborated with Bertolucci, also producing 'The Sheltering Sky,' 'Little Buddha,' 'Stealing Beauty,' and 'The Dreamers.'
- Thomas's credits spanned Nagisa Oshima's 'Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence' (starring David Bowie), Cronenberg's 'A Dangerous Method,' Roeg's 'Bad Timing,' and Matteo Garrone's 'Pinocchio.'
- Thomas was a former chairman of the British Film Institute, won a Bafta for outstanding British contribution to cinema in 1990, and received a CBE in the 2009 New Year Honours.
- Thomas's final collaboration with Japanese director Takashi Miike, 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo,' was due to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Monday — days after his death.
Why it matters: British independent cinema has lost one of its most prolific producer-champions, a figure whose five-decade filmography bridged arthouse landmarks and festival hits. Thomas's nine-Oscar sweep with 'The Last Emperor' and sustained collaborations with Bertolucci, Cronenberg, Oshima, and Bowie-era productions gave him rare crossover reach. His posthumous premiere at Toronto underscores how active his slate was right up to his death.
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