Following a long, tough battle with brain cancer, director/producer Gary Winick has died at the age of 49.
His name might not have the instant recognition factor of, say, a Tarantino or a Scorsese, but Winick skipped easily between more mainstream films such as** 13 Going on 30** and, more recently Letters to Juliet, and indie pics, most successfully with Tadpole.
But it’s his contribution to other filmmakers’ work that might have even more resonance, since he co-created digital video collective IndigEnt with John Sloss and IFC Films, which helped get the likes of Rebecca Miller’s Personal Velocity, Steve Buscemi’s Lonesome Jim and Richard Linklater’s Tape made on thrifty budgets.
Winick got his start in horror, directing the 1989 film Curfew. His varied career saw him acting as an editor, producer or director on a raft of movies, including Sam the Man,** Chelsea Walls**, Charlotte’s Web, and, as mentioned above, last year’s Amanda Seyfried romantic drama comedy.
"He was suffering from brain cancer for quite some time, and it ultimately metastasized throughout his body," his manager Rosalie Swedlin, tells The Hollywood Reporter. "What's remarkable is that after his first surgery, he was able to direct Letters to Juliet. It was a battle that we thought he had won, and ultimately they just didn't get it all.” He'll be missed.