Jeremy Thomas, the Oscar-winning British film producer behind movies like The Last Emperor and Sexy Beast, died on Friday.
His publicist confirmed he “passed away peacefully” at his home in Oxfordshire, surrounded by family and loved ones.
Thomas’ career spanned five decades, during which he worked with acclaimed directors including David Cronenberg, Nagisa Oshima, and Nicolas Roeg, backing both independent and mainstream films.
His most celebrated project, Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and earned Thomas an Oscar for producing in 1988.
Thomas frequently collaborated with Bertolucci on other films as well, including The Sheltering Sky and The Dreamers. He also gave early career support to several notable British directors, including Jonathan Glazer, Stephen Frears, and Ben Wheatley.
Among his other well-known projects were Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and film adaptations of JG Ballard’s novels Crash and High-Rise.
Thomas began his career as a film editor before moving into production, landing his first producing role on the 1976 Australian film Mad Dog Morgan. He later received recognition for his contributions to European cinema in 2006 and was named a CBE in 2009.
His final project, a collaboration with director Takashi Miike titled Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this coming Monday.
