Ukoko

I didn’t immediately realise why I was so shocked and affected by the news when I received a Twitter update from BBC Breaking telling me the writer, director and UK film industry evangelist, Anthony Minghella, had died following a fairly routine operation. In truth, I hardly knew the man; I had the privilege of working on one his last films, Breaking and Entering, and won’t easily forget the site of him leading the crew in song while waiting for the DOP to prepare a shot - It’s something I’ve seen many directors do. But beyond that my relationship was, officially, just one of the many crew of a film.

But then I got to thinking. In the short time I had spent in his company and the handful of times we had spoken, it was always as if I were talking to someone I had known for years. He spoke to people the way old friends speak: interested, engaged, curious and genuine. It’s rare to meet people like that and especially sad to lose one of them.

Mirage Enterprises have set-up a blog for people to leave messages for the family he leaves behind.

http://minghella.blogspot.com/2008/03/anthony-minghella-in-memoriam.html