Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas, known for films including The Last Emperor and Sexy Beast, has died aged 77, his publicist has said.
A statement to the Press Association confirmed that Thomas “passed away peacefully” surrounded by his family and loved ones at his country home in Oxfordshire on Friday.
Thomas was a celebrated figure in the film industry who worked with international directors including Bernardo Bertolucci, David Cronenberg, and Matteo Garrone through his decades-long career.
His other best-known films included the 1990 drama The Sheltering Sky, starring John Malkovich and Debra Winger, as well as the 2015 dystopian thriller High-Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons.
The British producer carved a name for himself with the mainstream success of The Last Emperor, a 1987 biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final monarch of China’s Qing dynasty.
The film, directed by Bertolucci and starring John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O’Toole, and Vivian Wu, received high critical acclaim and won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Thomas went on to have four other collaborations with Bertolucci during his film career, extending into the early 2000s on The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, Stealing Beauty, and The Dreamers.
Thomas started his career in the film industry working on the cutting-room floor before landing his first producing role on Mad Dog Morgan – a 1976 Australian biopic of the 19th-century outlaw.
Despite being based in London throughout his career, Thomas dedicated himself to working with directors from across the world.
He produced three films for the acclaimed director Nicolas Roeg: the 1980 mystery Bad Timing, the 1983 thriller Eureka, and the 1985 comedy-drama Insignificance.
The veteran producer also worked on Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 war drama Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, starring the late David Bowie as a defiant British soldier named Major Jack ‘Strafer’ Celliers.
Thomas’ other credits included A Dangerous Method, directed by the Canadian filmmaker Cronenberg and starring Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, and Keira Knightley in a historical drama about psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Thomas received an Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema award from the European Film Academy in 2006.
His latest collaboration with Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, titled Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday.
Source: Press Association