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Driven mad with grief over the loss of Megaupload, Filesonic has committed suicide

Former LAPD detective Philip Vannatter, lead investigator of the Simpson-Goldman murders, and also conducted the investigation that lead Roman Polanski to his '77 arrest.

According to Tim Lucas on Facebook Dick Tufeld passed away yesterday. Haven't seen an obit yet.

knives wrote:To be honest I thought she had died a long time ago, like in the '80s so good for her for living as long as she did.

Jamesetta had a pretty big comeback ride starting in the late 80's and all through the 90's and beyond. Releasing a whole series of well-respected Cd's, touring, being inducted into various HoF's, etc. The film Cadillac Records also recently drew a bunch of attention to her as well. So don't know where you've been.
But Etta has been out and about for the past 20 years.

Along with the Mitty Collier rec, I'd suggest Etta James fans listen to Ann Cole, Candi Staton, Mable John, Ann Sexton (no, not the poet) ...

Lovely guy, a tragic loss, and very sadly missed...

This has just begun to travel across Twitter:

Theo Angelopoulos killed in a road accident whilst filming his latest feature.

That is incredibly sad news. Fox News reports on the incident

Goddammit

Hugely sad news. RIP.

That's terrible. Such a wonderful talent.

Very sad news. For me, and I'm sure for so many of us, his films Reconstruction and The Travelling Players had a profound impact from the moment we first saw them.
Long live cinema.

I don't have words to describe my shock and sadness. Truly one of the biggest losses for the film community possible.

jwd5275 wrote:Hit by a motorcycle.

What? The only testimonial AP could be bothered scaring up is that Ulysses' Gaze is a "numbing bore"? Is that what journalism amounts to nowadays?

I think they mean that "numbing bore" = "one of the most staggeringly beautiful films ever made." Just sayin'.

A terrible loss. Angelopoulos was an enormous talent, and he wasn't done.

Adding (shallow) insult to (tragic and fatal) injury.

This is dreadful news.

An awful blow, especially after reading that recent interview with him in Sight & Sound where he seemed full of enthusiasm for his next project, and seemed to be really wanting to engage with the current world situation through his art.

Apparently the motorcyclist was an off duty police officer

Nicol Williamson

James Farentino

The Independent wrote:To filmgoers, he is probably best known for The Exorcist III and for playing Merlin in Excalibur. John Boorman, the director, cast him in the latter film opposite his former lover Helen Mirren to the dismay of both actors

I had not realised that, but it certainly adds to that nice sense of power struggle between Merlin and Morgana, using the people around them as pawns! Williamson was perhaps the greatest Merlin, certainly the one with the strangest mannerisms! I liked the feeling that Merlin was manipulative and seemed not to be particularly trustworthy in the film, even when working in the character's interests!

This reminds me to mention a nice TV movie called The Hour of The Pig (I think known as The Advocate in the US) - very much in the Cadfael/Name of the Rose mould of medieval crime but with a great cast including Colin Firth, Michael Gough, Donald Pleasance and Williamson.

Williamson was also Hamlet in Tony Richardson's film.

I've never seen an Angelopoulos film, which is a pretty shameful thing to say, I guess. Given that I have access to the Artificial Eye boxsets, that can be remedied.

thirtyframesasecond wrote:I've never seen an Angelopoulos film, which is a pretty shameful thing to say, I guess. Given that I have access to the Artificial Eye boxsets, that can be remedied.

Rather spookily I was watching Landscapes in the mist from the Vol 2 box-set last night when this exceedingly sad news came in. I had just reached the part with the motorcycle market to crown it all. To be hit by a motorcycle cop on a film set does make you wonder if it's not a case of death imitating art considering some of the scenes from Travelling Players or The Hunters.

First Ruiz, and now Angelopoulos. Just awful.

Angelopoulos. What a loss. Unbelievably sad news.
In what stage was his current project? Is there a chance any of it will be seen, or was it too early in the process?