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"Top Gun" Director Tony Scott Dies In Apparent Suicide, After Jumping Off Bridge
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Tony Scott, the director of movies like Top Gun, True Romance, Man on Fire and Unstoppable, died today in an apparent suicide after jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridgein San Pedro. The L.A. Country Coroner's Office and L.A. Police Department told the Daily Breeze that "Scott, 68, climbed a fence on the south side of the bridge's apex and leapt off 'without hesitation' around 12:30 p.m."A Los Angeles Port Police dive team found Scott's body hours later, pulling it from "murky water." The Daily Breeze also reports, "A suicide note was found inside Scott's black Toyota Prius, which was parked on one of the eastbound lanes of the bridge," while the AP says that the note in the car had contact information, with a suicide note in his office. Scott's publicist later confirmed the death.
Scott was born in England and he, along with older brother Ridley Scott, became incredibly successful in Hollywood. The Scotts produced films and television shows (like The Good Wife and Numb3rs), and Tony Scott was known for his kinetic style of directing, aided by exciting plots. For instance, here's the 1986 NY Times review of Top Gun:
TO take it from the top, ''Top Gun'' fires off as spectacular a show of state-of-the-art jet battle as the movies have given us. The F-14 Tomcats soar, swoop and somersault at fantastic speed. They catch the enemy from behind in what seems touching distance, and then, in an instant's reversal, are caught in the enemy's sights. As directed by Tony Scott, with the technical assistance of a couple of former Navy pilots, the snappily edited sequences of battle and mock battle sweep us in and out of the cockpit. You can't always be sure exactly what's going on, but it's exciting anyhow.
Roger Ebert, said of True Romance, based on Quentin Tarantino's screenplay, "There isn't a moment of "True Romance" that stands up under much thought, and yet the energy and style of the movie are exhilirating." And The New Yorker wrote about Unstoppable, one of five films Scott directed Denzel Washington in, "Scott is obviously having a good time here—his camera swoops adventurously up and around the hurtling train, and the stunt work is terrific. Though it’s a ridiculous ride, it offers the heightened pulse of a great race."Here are some trailers of Scott's movies, as well as an interview Scott gave about being a director:
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Scott and his wife Donna have two sons.
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