‘Notting Hill’ director Roger Mitchell dies at 65
Filmmaker Roger Mitchell, known for directing films such as “Notting Hill”, “Venus” and “My Cousin Rachel”, has died at the age of 65, reports Variety.com. He died on Wednesday.
A statement from his publicist to the agency on Thursday read: “It is with great sadness that the family of Roger Mitchell, director, writer and father of Harry, Rosie, Maggie and Sparrow, announces his death on September 22 at the age of 65.” does.”
Born in South Africa, Mitchell had a successful career in theatre, working at the UK’s Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was resident director, and the National Theatre, among others.
For TV, he made the mini-series ‘Downtown Lagos’ (1992), which was followed by the highly acclaimed adaptation of Hanif Qureshi’s ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ (1993).
Michael made his film directorial debut in 1997 with ‘My Night with Reggae’, where a group of gay English men spend a night of remembrance after a friend of theirs dies of AIDS.
Notting Hill, the romantic comedy written by Richard Curtis and starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, was a global hit.
Mitchell is also known for “Venus” starring Peter O’Toole, which earned him his final Oscar nomination; “Morning Glory” starring Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams; and “Hyde Park on Hudson,” which stars Bill Murray, Laura Linney and Olivia Williams.
The filmmaker’s last fiction features were “Blackbird” (2019), with Susan Sarandon leading the ensemble cast, which also included Kate Winslet and Sam Neill, and “The Duke” with Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren.
Mitchell won the BAFTAs for Best Miniseries for ‘The Lost Honor of Christopher Jefferies’ and for Best Single Drama for ‘Persuasion’.
The industry is paying tribute to him.
Winslet, who worked with Mitchell on the play “Blackbird”, called the director “a handsome man who made the world a better place”.
Winslet said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to have lost the kindest and best men. Roger Mitchell was a loving and devoted family man, but has been instrumental in bringing together other, creative families around the world.” were also responsible for it.”
Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and the team at Sony Pictures Classics paid tribute to Mitchell on Thursday, describing him as a “world-class filmmaker.”
“We are devastated and shocked by the news of the passing of our dear friend Roger Mitchell,” a statement from the Sony Pictures Classics team said.
“We were with him at Telluride a few weeks ago to celebrate his extraordinary achievement with ‘The Duke’. Our hearts go out to his family and friends, who are deeply saddened by all of us.”
“Very sorry to hear of the passing of a wonderful director Roger Mitchell with so much sincerity and compassion, his kindness means so much to me in this world. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. To Roger for being so wonderful. Thank you for all of us. Lasting love,” actor Samantha Morton tweeted.
The British Film Institute tweeted: “We are saddened to hear that film director Roger Mitchell has passed away. His other films best known for ‘Notting Hill’ include ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Venus’.”
London Film Festival director Tricia Tuttle wrote: “What terrible news about Roger Mitchell. Devastating for his family. And sad sad news for all of us who have loved so many of his films.”
.