Woah wait... what? Anthony Minghella died? What??

How did I not hear about this?

Man, you know how I heard? By my Alexa Hot Searches RSS feed. I thought he had a new movie coming out. I was excited.

Wow, that's sad.

And he's in Atonement??? Man... I skipped it, even though I loved the book, because of the bad reviews and the general suckiness of McEwen film adaptations (Enduring Love not withstanding). But now I think I'm going to have to see it.

And this is crazy: "When Anthony Minghella died March 18, more than a dozen projects -- in film, TV, theater and opera -- were left in limbo."

Busy guy. And jesus. He was only 54. Ooof. Sad.

Minghella's rise to film dominance perfectly overlapped my high cineaste phase. I'm not much of an art film lover anymore - or, rather, I've learned to love the blockbuster. And I agree that "The English Patient" and "Cold Mountain" were both flawed a little, though I was such a bit Michael Odaatje fan back then I missed it at the time. But i would submit that "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is nearly perfect, and I would also say that Anthony had a mastery of the craft of grand cinema: he knew how to make a beautiful film in the way almost no one else could touch. I think that article's reference to all the help he gave other directors is a testament to that.

As an aside, celebrity death posts are always so weird, aren't they? It's like you're simultaneously discovering something, wrestling with it, grieving, paying tribute, and spreading news. And sharing personal feelings or preferences. weird. Still, though, the feeling of sadness we have is real.

Edit: Oops wrong link. Fixed.

Current Music: "God's Children" By The Gutter Twins from Saturnalia