Jeremy Thomas, Legendary British Producer and Oscar Winner, Dies at 77 — SkimNews
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- Jeremy Thomas died peacefully at his Oxfordshire country home on Friday September 11, 2026, surrounded by family, according to a statement from his team (he was 77).
- Thomas founded the Recorded Picture Company and co-founded Hanway Films, producing more than 80 features across more than five decades championing international and auteur cinema.
- Thomas won the Best Picture Oscar for Bernardo Bertolucci's 'The Last Emperor' in 1988 — one of nine Academy Awards the film received — and made five features with the Italian director over 17 years.
- Thomas's producing credits spanned Jonathan Glazer's 'Sexy Beast,' David Cronenberg's 'Crash,' Nagisa Oshima's 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,' and collaborations with Jim Jarmusch, Werner Herzog, Terry Gilliam, Richard Linklater, Wim Wenders, Takashi Miike, and Matteo Garrone.
- Thomas was working until the end: Werner Herzog's 'Bucking Fastard,' starring Rooney and Kate Mara, premiered at Venice this year, while Takashi Miike's 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo' was set to world premiere at TIFF on Sep 14.
- Thomas came from British cinema royalty — he was the son of 'Doctor' film director Ralph Thomas and nephew of 'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas — and began his career in cutting rooms before his first producing credit, the 1976 Australian film 'Mad Dog Morgan.'
- Thomas received a 2006 European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema and was the subject of Mark Cousins' 2021 Cannes documentary 'The Storms of Jeremy Thomas.'
Why it matters: Thomas's death removes one of independent cinema's most enduring producer champions at a moment when auteur-driven international filmmaking faces mounting commercial pressure. His active slate at Venice and Toronto — premiering films just days before his death — underscores how irreplaceable his taste and relationships were to directors from Cronenberg to Miike. For the directors he championed, his passing signals the loss of a rare financier willing to back risky, non-English-language projects.
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